These easy Lemon Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies are crisp and buttery. These slice and bake cookies are gluten-free and perfect for spring!

Stack of low carb lemon almond flour shortbread cookies. A simple and easy cookie recipe!

Spring always gets me excited to bake with fresh citrus, especially lemon. My favorite baking recipes include these lemon bars, lemon scones, lemon cheesecake bars, and this lemon ricotta cake.

This spring I can’t get enough of these lemon almond flour shortbread cookies. These cookies have an irresistible combination of lemon and almond flavors. They’re buttery, with crispy edges and slightly chewy centers. If you love traditional shortbread cookies, you are going to love these almond flour cookies with lemon!

You can see pretty flecks of lemon zest in these almond meal cookies. I used Meyer lemons, which I highly recommend if you can get your hands on some. These almond meal cookies are slice and bake cookies, and the dough is really easy to mix up. Below I give you my best tips to make sure your cookies turn out perfect.

These lemon almond flour shortbread cookies would be a wonderful addition to an Easter brunch buffet or Easter dessert table. If you have extras, these cookies freeze well.

Easy Lemon Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies, with a package of almond meal/flour.
I made these almond flour cookies with Bob’s Red Mill finely ground almond meal/flour. I use Bob’s Red Mill products because their quality has proven itself time and time again. Bob’s Red Mill almond meal is ground from whole, blanched sweet almonds. Not only do almonds have a healthy boost of protein, they are also very low in carbohydrates and inherently gluten free.

When you make these shortbread cookies with almond meal, your almond meal cookies will be gluten free and have only 4 grams of carbohydrates per cookie. The hint of almond flavor and slight crunch from the almond meal is irresistible!

How to Make Almond Flour Cookies

The process of making these Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies is simple. These are slice and bake cookies, so there’s no rolling out of dough for this recipe. You’ll want to plan ahead, as you need to chill the dough for at least 2 hours before slicing and baking.

To start, you’ll cream together butter and sugar using an electric mixer. Next you’ll add lemon zest. The lemon zest will infuse the butter and sugar with lemon flavor, so the cookies have lemon flavor throughout.

Next, add a little salt and almond extract. Finally you’ll mix in the almond flour in three additions until the dough comes together. The finished dough should look like the photo below.

The dough for gluten-free lemon almond shortbread cookies in a stand mixer.

Shape the dough into two 1 ½-inch logs and chill in your refrigerator. Once the dough is chilled you’re ready to slice and bake!

Dough logs for slice and bake lemon almond shortbread cookies.

Baking Tips for Gluten Free Almond Shortbread Cookies

  • Use finely ground almond meal/almond flour for best results. I have only tested this recipe using Bob’s Red Mill almond meal/flour.
  • Use a kitchen scale to weigh your almond flour for the most accurate measurement.
  • Chill the dough logs for at least 2 hours before slicing the cookies. You want the dough to be very cold and firm. This will allow you to slice the cookies easily, and will prevent your cookies from spreading.
  • Bake the cookies right away after you slice the dough logs. If the dough warms up before you put it in the oven, you can place the baking sheets with the unbaked sliced cookies in your refrigerator for about 15 minutes to re-chill the dough. You want the dough to be very cold to prevent the cookies from spreading in the oven.

More Almond Flour Recipes

Crisp Lemon Almond Shortbread Cookies with a cup of tea.

Thank you to Bob’s Red Mill for sponsoring this post. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Kristine’s Kitchen possible.

Recipe retested, improved and updated 2/7/19.

These easy Lemon Almond Shortbread Cookies are slice and bake and a perfect Spring dessert! They are gluten free and low carb with only 3 grams of carbohydrates per serving!
4.71 from 17 ratings

Lemon Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies

Servings: 36 cookies
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Chilling Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 18 minutes
These easy Lemon Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies are crisp and buttery. These slice and bake cookies are gluten-free and perfect for spring!

Ingredients

  • 6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, softened slightly but still cool
  • ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons lemon zest, from 2 medium lemons
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 ½ cups (280 grams) Bob's Red Mill Finely Ground Almond Meal/Flour

Instructions
 

  • Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until well combined and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  • Add the lemon zest and mix on low speed until combined.
  • Add the salt and almond extract and mix on low speed to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  • Add the almond flour in 3 separate additions, mixing on low after each addition until combined. The dough will be crumbly at first, but continue to mix on low speed and it will come together. Once the dough begins to stick together (see photo in the post above), stop mixing.
  • Divide the dough in half. Shape each half first into a ball and then into a log that is 1 ½ inches in diameter and wrap in plastic wrap. You can roll the dough log a bit more after wrapping it in the plastic wrap to smooth it out. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.
  • When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into ¼-inch thick slices. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Bake for 7-10 minutes, until the cookies are barely golden on the edges and bottoms. Be very careful not to over-bake the cookies. If you are baking two pans of cookies at once, rotate the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking time.
  • Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling. Store cooled cookies wrapped airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Notes

  • I recommend that you weigh the flour for an accurate measurement.
  • Not all almond flours are ground the same or have the same moisture content. This recipe has only been tested with Bob's Red Mill almond flour/almond meal.
Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 71kcal, Carbohydrates: 4g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 5mg, Sodium: 32mg, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 60IU, Vitamin C: 0.4mg, Calcium: 17mg, Iron: 0.3mg
Nutrition information is an estimate.
Cuisine: American, Scottish
Course: Cookie, Dessert
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