Lemon Shrewsbury Biscuits have been popular British cookies for hundreds of years! Lemon zest adds bright citrus flavor to this crisp butter cookie. Embossed with a quick and easy pattern, these beautiful biscuits are ready for a tea party!
Why you'll love this recipe
English lemon cookies are made with just five very basic ingredients. The only ingredient that might be unfamiliar is caster sugar.
Caster sugar is often called ultrafine or Baker's sugar in the US. It is just granulated sugar that is more finely ground. You can buy it at many supermarkets, or make your own with granulated sugar and a few pulses in the food processor.
From the first crunchy bite of these deceptively simple cookies, you will understand why Shrewsbury cookies have been popular for centuries.
They are delicious! Crunchy, buttery and lemony. It’s about time that these cookies make a North American debut!
English lemon biscuits are a delight to create and to eat! Fill your cookie jar, then share some for a "Tea Time" care package theme!
Ingredients
- unsalted butter
- caster ultra-fine sugar or granulated sugar
- egg yolks
- zest of 1 lemon
- all-purpose flour
Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Stir in the egg yolks and lemon zest.
- Stir in 1 cup of flour. Add additional flour just until the dough comes together and is pliable.
- Roll out half of the dough to ¼ inch thickness.
- Cut the dough into 2” circles.
- Decorate the cookies using a comb to create crisscrossed dotted lines and the tip of a chopstick to make a small dot at the center of each square.
- Transfer the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes until just beginning to brown on the edges.
Storage
Store Shrewsbury Cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Tips and variations
- Turn granulated sugar into ultrafine/caster sugar by pulsing granulated sugar a few times in a food processor.
- Try orange zest in place of all or some of the lemon zest.
- Be careful when adding the flour to use only as much as is needed to form the dough. The amount may vary slightly depending on humidity. If your dough is crumbly, add water one teaspoon at a time until the dough holds together.
- For the lightest and crispest cookies, mix the ingredients minimally and roll out the dough as few times as possible. Over handled dough creates tough cookies.
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Frequently asked questions about types of sugar
Caster sugar is a finely ground white sugar. In the US. caster sugar is often called ultrafine, superfine, or Bakers sugar.
Caster sugar dissolves more easily than granulated sugar which produces a lighter texture in cakes and cookies.
Powdered sugar in the US usually contains corn starch to keep the sugar from clumping. Using powdered sugar as a substitute for caster sugar would affect the sweetness and the texture due to the cornstarch.
Granulated sugar can be substituted for caster sugar in many cake and cookie recipes. However, the texture will not be the same.
Caster sugar dissolves more than granulated sugar into the butter during the creaming process which results in a lighter and more tender crumb.
More British biscuits recipes
Bourbon Biscuits are a popular classic British bake for a chocolate sandwich cookie.
Hobnob Cookies are a crunchy, oat biscuit that is especially delicious coated in chocolate.
Scottish Shortbread is a traditional recipe for buttery shortbread that will melt in your mouth.
Viennese Whirls are a buttery cookie piped into swirls and sandwiched with jam.
My experience with this recipe
Recently, I came across a cookbook called, “Home Baking Biscuits and Cookies” by Wendy Hobson. It’s a book from the UK filled with a wealth of information about simple British biscuits.
I began my English biscuits baking with Shrewsbury Biscuits. Even though I was familiar with the ingredients, baking these lovely, lemon cookies required a bit of online research to gather some details about their appearance, texture and flavor.
Shrewsbury Biscuits are named after the town of Shrewsbury (pronounced SHROES-burr-ee) in the West Midlands of England in county Shropshire. They are a traditional cookie with a history going back to the 1600’s!
The recipe is so simple that, in slightly more recent times, it was commonly used to teach beginning baking skills in English high school home economics classes.
I chose to bake my lemon biscuits adapting the recipe first printed in the British Good Housekeeping Cookbook , but I decorated the cookies based on directions and photos from the blog, A Taste of the Past.
According to the blog post, historical references describe embossing the biscuits using a comb to create a grid, then poking holes in the diamonds of the grid. The resulting cookies are beautiful!
The comb is an easy and efficient tool for decorating cookies! The lines created are not only pretty. They also make it easy to break the biscuit into bite sized pieces!
The recipe produces delicious, beautiful, and easy lemon cookies. This English biscuits recipe is a winner.
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Lemon Shrewsbury Biscuits
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter room temperature
- ¾ cup caster ultra-fine sugar or granulated sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 cup plus ½ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F (gas mark 4). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Mix in the egg yolks and the lemon zest into the butter mixture.
- Gradually add the 1 cup of flour. Then slowly add as much of the ½ cup of flour , using just enough to make the pliable dough come together. You want a non-sticky, soft dough that can be rolled out. Depending on the humidity, not all of the flour may be used.
- Between two sheets of parchment paper, roll out half of the biscuit dough to ¼ inch thickness.
- Use a 2 inch round cookie cutter or biscuit cutter to cut the dough into round biscuits.
- Decorate the cookies using a comb to create crisscrossed dotted lines. Use the tip of a chopstick or skewer to make a small dot at the center of each square.
- Use a small spatula to transfer the cookies onto a prepared cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Repeat with the other half of the dough. The dough scraps can be rerolled.
- Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes until just beginning to turn golden brown on the edges.
- Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- Turn granulated sugar into ultrafine/caster sugar by pulsing granulated sugar a few times in a food processor.
- Be sure to use just the outer colored zest of the lemon not the lemon rind (colored zest plus the white pith) which is bitter.
- Try orange zest in place of all or some of the lemon zest.
- Be careful when adding the flour to use only as much as is needed to form the dough. The amount may vary slightly depending on humidity. If your dough is crumbly, add water one teaspoon at a time until the dough holds together.
- For the lightest and crispest cookies, mix the ingredients minimally and roll out the dough as few times as possible. Over handled dough creates tough cookies.
Nutrition
First Published: July 23, 2019. Last Updated: June 1, 2022. Updated for better reader experience.
Happy Baker
I just finished baking these cookies and the taste was awesome. My only problem was I lost the definition while baking the first batch and the cookie spread. So I decided to place the cookie sheet in the freezer for 10 minutes and that helped with the definition of the criss cross lines but some of the cookies still spread. I am wondering if this is something that you have come across or would you suggest me keeping in the freezer for a longer period of time. Thanking you in advance
Sammie
I used to bake these biscuits when I was young. However the recipe I followed, although similar, had almond extract in it. I love how recipes change from region to region and person to person. This is definitely a biscuit I will be baking - with lemon!
Wendy Sondov
Though I am a huge fan of lemon, I think an almond version of Shrewsbury Biscuits sounds lovely! I also love to see how recipes evolve in different areas and households. Even if you love a version new to you, the version you grew up with always tends to be the "right" one. 🙂 I hope you enjoy the biscuits!
Michelle Brogley
Fabulous 👌 recipe 😋
Spot on in taste and texture.
Wendy Sondov
I'm glad you are enjoying these biscuits, Michelle!
Anna
If you're local, it's actually pronounced 'Shrewsbury' Sh-r-oo-z-berry
Wendy Sondov
Thank you, Anna! I always try to pronounce names of cities and countries the way the inhabitants do. As I have never been to Shrewbury, I can only go by what I read on the internet, which was varied. Going forward, I will go with your pronunciation. Though I don't think anyone will mistake me for a local. 😉
Ronner
This is such a delicious recipe! My girls and I were looking for a good British biscuit for us to do a "non-ginger" gingerbread house this Holiday. The first time we made it was with orange zest (we didn't have lemons) - we baked it longer to get that crisp firm structure that is crucial for our gingerbread house. It was hands down the best tasting and structurally sound gingerbread house ever. We ate it all up and the girls had so much fun making it. It's now Christmas Eve and we are baking it for the second time - with lemon zest! Thank you so much for sharing!
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Ronner! What a fun (and delicious) use for these biscuits!! Ingenious too! Though I adore gingerbread, I know that many people, especially children, don't like all those spices. An orange cookie house is perfect. 🙂 Thank you so much for writing to share your story and fabulous idea! I hope you and your family have a lovely Christmas and a healthy, happy New Year!
Shazia Clark
What's the oven temperature?
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Shazia. The oven temperature, 350° F, is in the first step of the recipe. Happy baking!
Rachel Shimon
Hi,
I tried this recipe at home yesterday, and it turned out to be really delicious..
Thank you so much for such a yummy recipe.
Gonna save this and will share with others.
Keep sharing 🙂
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Rachel! I am delighted that you enjoyed the Shrewsbury Biscuits as much as I did! They may look deceptively plain, but as you said, they are really delicious! Thanks for sharing!
saltandserenity
I have never heard of these cookies. They are so pretty. I really love a simple old fashioned cookie. Sometimes you just want something a little bit sweet and plain. There is something really special about carrying on older traditions. Keep these old cookie recipes coming please!!
Wendy Sondov
I had never heard of them either, Cindy. To be honest, I didn't expect them to be more than a simple, plain cookie, but they are deceptive in their plainness. They are a butter cookie and they are a lemon cookie. Both flavors are very prominent. Plus the texture is so light and crisp. That was another thing I didn't expect. I made one batch with caster sugar and one with regular granulated sugar. The caster sugar batch was noticeably lighter. Old cookie recipes are still around for a reason! I really do love learning about international favorites!