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Lemon Glaze

5 from 8 votes

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This Lemon Glaze is an easy and delicious homemade icing recipe! Use on baked goods like cake, cookies, shortbread, scones, and more. Strong lemon citrus flavor great for spring and summer.
A hand dunking a lemon shortbread into lemon glaze

This Lemon Glaze is super easy to make and a perfect sweet addition to your baked goods!

A hand dunking a lemon shortbread into lemon glaze

This lemon glaze is soooooo good!

I am in love with lemon and adding a lemon icing to cake, cookies, scones, etc, makes them all that much better.

Lemon Glaze Uses

There are SO many ways you can use a lemon glaze recipe!

My favorite is to drizzle or dunk cookies with it. Some of my favorite recipes are my Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies and many other shortbread recipes.

It is also a great lemon glaze for cake, bundt cake, or pound cakes. Plus cinnamon rolls and scones. Anything with a sweet note that pairs well with lemon will taste delicious!

A spoon sitting in a white bowl full of Lemon Glaze on a cutting board

How do you make lemon glaze from scratch?

It is incredibly simple!

You only need a few ingredients: powdered sugar, moisture (we use lemon juice here), lemon zest for some added flavor, and a pinch of salt to balance it out.

Mix them all together, and if it is super thick, add just a touch more liquid until it is similar in consistency to honey. Too thin? You will need to add more sugar.

The balance of sugar to moisture is important in order for the glaze to set up!

A spoon mixing all of the ingredients together in a white bowl

Do you put glaze on warm cake?

No! And the same goes for warm cookies, warm scones, or anything else being warm.

Why?

Because the warmth from the cake or food will heat up the glaze and it will continue to run and get thinner instead of clinging to the food and solidifying. This means you will end up with glaze all over the plate or counter, and not the cake.

Only add the lemon glaze icing when the item is cool, unless you are talking about something you want messy like a cinnamon roll.

A spoon overflowing with Lemon Glaze into a bowl

How can you make icing sugar?

Do you not have powdered sugar (icing sugar) on hand?

No probem, you can actual make some!

Just put regular granulated sugar (caster sugar) in a food processor or blender and blend until it is a fine powder, just like powdered sugar. Run your fingers through it and if you still feel some grit and large crystals, keep blending! It can take a few minutes.

Since the blended sugar will reduce in volume, you will want to blend slightly more than the quantity that you need.

Shortbread Cookies

A collection of delicious shortbread cookies!

Pin image of a cookie being dunked into Lemon Glaze with title at top
A hand dunking a lemon shortbread into lemon glaze

Lemon Glaze

This Lemon Glaze is an easy and delicious homemade icing recipe! Use on baked goods like cake, cookies, shortbread, scones, and more. Strong lemon citrus flavor great for spring and summer.
5 from 8 votes
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Course: Condiment, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: 30 Min or Less, Gluten Free, Vegetarian
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 2 cups
Calories: 416kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Add all of the ingredients together in a small bowl. Mix.
  • Adjust thickness as needed with more sugar or lemon juice so that it is the thickness of a warm honey. Drizzle, pour, or dunk with cooled baked goods.

Notes

If the glaze is too thick, add a little more lemon juice or water. You want it to be similar to honey in consistency and not too thin either.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 416kcal | Carbohydrates: 107g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 22mg | Potassium: 35mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 104g | Vitamin A: 2IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 1mg
By on June 14th, 2021

About Kim

Kim has grown up with a passion for cooking good food! You can find her in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes, making dog treats, and eating Italian food!

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5 from 8 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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