The Best Glazed Citrus Shortbread Bars

recipe updated as of 2/2026

These Glazed Citrus Shortbread Bars are the ultimate bright and buttery dessert, made with a melt-in-your-mouth shortbread crust and loaded with fresh lemon, lime, and orange juice and zest. If you love citrus desserts, lemon bars, or easy spring and summer dessert recipes, this one checks every box. The sweet-tart citrus flavor, is perfectly balanced by the buttery tender shortbread, finished with a simple citrus glaze that adds even more zing. Whether you’re baking for a holiday season, brunch with friends, a summer gathering, or just need a little sunshine in the middle of winter, these homemade citrus bars are an easy, crowd-pleasing treat you’ll make again and again.

Why I love this buttery shortbread recipe

Some days just call for a bit of sunshine; and if getting it from the great outdoors is out of the question then baking up a batch of these bars will certainly cast a ray or two of sunshine on your kitchen and put sunshiney smiles on faces. Usually if I make anything but chocolate chip cookies I get a little push back from my kids.  They will eat other goodies, but they prefer chocolate chip cookies to all other forms of sweet finger foods.  Except for now.  They literally went bonkers for these dessert bars!  My pickiest eater ate four of them before I told him to stop because they were for Kens staff luncheon. I developed this great recipe out of a need to not spend time baking more drop cookies for a staff luncheon for Kens office. I found a few different citrus cookie recipes and modified them adhering to the simple 3:2:1 shortbread recipe method and voila a delicious cookie bar was born. (see notes for how I have adapted and changed this recipe over time in the recipe card below.) Let me just say if you have a lemon lover in your life this is the perfect substitute for Lemon Bars.

The hardest thing about these cookie bars is zesting and juicing the citrus fruit.  (Which isn’t really that hard unless you don’t have a zester. Well then can I ask you? Do you have a cheese grater?  There might be a zester side on it.  If not, you’re hosed.  You then need to buy one.  I’m sure they sell them at your grocery store.  Invest.  Invest in the sunshine of your people.  I have one similar to this.  This is not an affiliate thingamabobber, I’m just trying to help you understand what you need.  You will need to zest citrus in order to make this recipe. I used lemons, limes, and oranges.  There will be some juice left over, just drink it!

Gather these ingredients

How to make Glazed Citrus Shortbread Bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees f . Baking time will be 20 minutes.

Beat sugar and butter together in a large bowl, taking time to scrape down sides of the bowl. Add egg and beat until whipped consistency this will take about 5 minutes if you using a hand mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.

Measure and combined dry ingredients: flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add all but 1 teaspoon of zest to the flour and toss together. (This helps the zest to disperse throughout the batter and not stick and clump to the mixer paddle.)

Gradually add the dry ingredients to wet, and mix until combined.

Drizzle in 3 tablespoons of the citrus juice while mixing, scrape down sides of bowl making sure that everything is combined.

Dough will be thick and stick, make sure that you have scraped down the sides and bottom of the bowl and everything is incorporated completely before spreading into a 9×13 inch baking pan.

Without using non-stick cooking spray (I repeat, no need to grease the pan.) place shortbread dough into a 9×13 baking pan, and using a off set spatula spread dough to the edges of the pan, making sure that the dough is evenly distributed, so there are not thicker areas of dough, insuring even baking or your shortbread dough.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes in pan on a wire rack. While bars are cooling whisk together the ingredients for the glaze.

Whisk confectioners sugar with enough citrus juice to get a good drizzle consistency about 1/4 cup, add 1 tsp zest, whisk to combine.

Drizzle glaze over top of bars and spread to coat entire pan evenly. You may feel you don’t need to use all the glaze, thats fine. With a sharp knife cut into 24 squares, store in an airtight container.

Tips and FAQs

• Butter, you can start this recipe with cold butter if you cut it into small chunks, otherwise bring your butter to room temperature for easier mixing. Also, salted or unsalted butter is interchangeable in this recipe. I’ve made it with both and cannot tell the difference.
• Citrus: What if I only have oranges and lemons, can I still make these bars? Yes of course. You need to use the same amount of zest and juice regardless of what citrus you use. I have even used grapefruit juice. I don’t love the zest of grapefruit, I think it can tend to be bitter so I did not use the zest of the grapefruit just the juice. Using varying citrus gives this amazing recipe a fuller more vibrant flavor, in my opinion, than if you just used lemons. Then it would basically be similar to all the lemon bar recipes out there.
• Can I freeze these glazed citrus shortbread bars? Yes! They freeze beautifully. I wrap them in parchment paper and then slide them into a zip-loc freezer bag and freeze them flat. I wrap in parchment paper first so that the glaze doesn’t stick to the plastic, you can also layer them this way, as well.
• Can I use bottled juice and jarred zest in this recipe? I am going to say no. I have not tried it, so maybe it would taste alright. However, we want the fresh, bright citrus flavor and I don’t believe you will get that with bottled and jarred ingredients. This is really such a simple recipe, just grab yourself a few citrus (and a zester if you don’t have one) from the grocery store and start baking.

Is the sun shining for you today?  It is not shining here. I’m thankful the ground is white with snow, it makes everything seem clean an bright. This time of year making these bars is one of my favorite things to do. I could literally eat the whole batch! With coffee in the morning or a cup of tea at night these glazed citrus shortbread bars are gonna change your life.  Wherever you are, whatever the weather, you need to make these bars soon! From my table to yours with love, Sheila