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These easy Lemon Blondies are made in one bowl and are bright with lemon flavor! They have the texture of your favorite blondies recipe and the simplicity of our one-bowl brownies!
Go open your fridge and pantry and check to see if you have the five ingredients for these blondies. They are even easier than lemon bars! These were born in my bakery, Les Filles, because I wanted a sugar cookie bar that had a bright lemon flavor and the chewy texture of a blondie. Et voilà! Lemon blondies!
I’ve iced these using an easy, two ingredient glaze, but you could also use my favorite fresh strawberry glaze from this strawberry lemon pound cake or even a Lemon Buttercream Frosting. These Lemon Blondies are the perfect start to a bright, Summer dessert spread. Lean into the citrus vibe with some lemon bars, a berry trifle, lemon olive oil cake, or an elegant lemon meringue cheesecake.
Why you will love this tart lemon brownie recipe:
- The perfect texture. Using eggs for a tiny bit of leavening lets the lemon blondies be perfectly dense. The melted butter makes them chewy and seem to melt in your mouth. And there’s even a slight crisp on the bottom, like your favorite soft sugar cookie.
- One bowl! They are made in one bowl! Fast to make, even faster to clean up!
- As large a batch as you want! These blondies have been made in an 80-quart mixer! You can scale this recipe up and down without worrying. Just remember different sized pans have different bake times.
Professional Tips for Lemon Desserts:
- Keep your sweetness ratio in mind. Just as I mention in my perfect lemon curd recipe, the key to unlocking the perfect lemon flavor is the ideal ratio between tart lemons, sugar and a hint of butter.
- Zest only the bright parts of the lemon. Avoid the bitter white pith when zesting a lemon. Aiming for the bright yellow parts of the lemon peel will give you the most concentrated flavor. It is also helpful to zest before you juice!
- Use fresh lemon juice. Lemon juice is the zing in the glaze here! My motto for citrus juices is that fresh is always best. If you must use store-bought, try to find a frozen option that is frozen fresh juice, or sometimes it can be found in the refrigerator section. If it looks dark in color, then it is no longer going to taste fresh.
- Give the lemon time to infuse the sugar. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingertips to start releasing the oils. The longer it sits, the more pronounced the lemon flavor will be.
Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter
- Sugar: I use extra-fine sugar in baking because it dissolves faster and incorporates easier than even standard granulated sugar. Regular granulated sugar will be just fine though!
- Whole Eggs: Eggs are mission critical for emulsifying all that butter and sugar together. They also create a tiny bit of leavening. I like to weigh my eggs, because there can be a large difference between large eggs and other sizes.
- Lemons: The zest flavors the lemon blondies and the 4 tablespoons of lemon juice flavor the glaze!
- Kosher Salt: The ¾ teaspoon salt is specifically kosher salt, which is essential in this recipe. It plays a supporting role balancing the flavors and all that sugar!
- All-Purpose Flour: I use all-purpose flour but you could also use bread flour with minimal impact.
- Confectioner’s Sugar
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations on lemon brownies and lemon glaze:
- Orange Blondies: Substitute orange zest for the lemon zest in the brownies and orange juice for 3/4 of the lemon juice in the glaze!
- Go Nuts: Add up to 2 cups of nuts like toasted walnuts, pistachios, almonds or hazelnuts after adding the flour.
- Strawberry Lemon Blondies: Fold 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries or 1 cup dehydrated strawberries into the batter after the flour. Then, ice with my fresh strawberry icing from this lemon pound cake! You can also make the glaze with easy strawberry jam! Just add lemon juice to thin it out.
- Switch up the icing: My royal icing with meringue powder has just the right amount of lemon to be phenom with these blondies. You could go in a vanilla extract direction, with some classic donut glaze, or even just use a tablespoon of brandy for an adaptation of the lemon-brandy sauce from my lemon raspberry bread pudding!
How to Make Lemon Blondies
Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below!
Make the blondies:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 325°F (or 350°F for non-convection ovens). Either spray a 9×13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray or line the pan with parchment. Set aside.
I like to leave my parchment paper overhanging on two sides for easy removal.
Step 2: Combine the sugar and lemon zest. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingertips to start releasing the oils. The longer it sits, the more pronounced the lemon flavor will be.
You can even combine the sugar and lemon zest the night before if you are a planner who loves flavor.
Step 3: Melt the butter in the microwave or small saucepot. Set aside to cool slightly.
Step 4: In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugar-zest mixture. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, until smooth and homogenous.
Step 5: Stir in the salt, and whisk or fold in the flour until a smooth batter forms.
Be careful not to overmix! We don’t want to overdevelop the gluten.
Step 6: Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until browned on top and it gives resistance to the touch. Use a cake tester or toothpick to see if it comes out clean. Cool completely before icing.
Prepare the icing & assemble:
Step 7: In a medium bowl whisk together the confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice until the desired consistency is reached. I wanted mine to be spreadable, so I added enough lemon juice to make a paste.
Step 8: Spread glaze on the blondies. Allow to set for at least 30 minutes. Slice and serve!
The thicker the glaze, the longer it will take to set. If you cut it too early, it will fall over the sides of the slices.
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
It’s important to let your butter cool off just a little before adding it to your batter. Hot butter will prematurely cook your eggs!
Frequently Asked Questions
Store in an air-tight container or wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to one week. Freeze for several months! The blondies freeze beautifully iced, just allow the icing ample time to set before wrapping for the refrigerator or freezer. Lemon blondies are also great for shipping.
Lemon blondies should be chewy and dense. Think of this as opposed to the fluffy texture you might want from an angel food cake! The eggs in this recipe offer stability and the right amount of leavening.
Blondies and brownies have the same chewy texture, and similar ingredients like flour, eggs, sugar and butter. They are also often square or rectangular! The biggest difference is that blondies are lighter in color due to butterscotch or lemon flavors, while brownies are brown from cocoa powder or melted chocolate. Another key difference is that blondies often do not have added leavening agents, like baking powder or baking soda, so they are a tad denser than brownies.
If you tried this recipe and loved it please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you; your comments make my day!
Lemon Blondies
Ingredients
For the Blondies:
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 lemons zested
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
For the Glaze:
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar
- ¼ cup lemon juice
Instructions
Make the Blondies:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (or 350°F for non-convection ovens). Either spray a 9×13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray or line the pan with parchment. Set aside.
- Combine the sugar and lemon zest. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingertips to start releasing the oils. The longer it sits, the more pronounced the lemon flavor will be.
- Melt the butter in the microwave or small saucepot. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and sugar-zest mixture. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, until smooth and homogenous.
- Stir in the salt, and whisk or fold in the flour until a smooth batter forms.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until browned on top and it gives resistance to the touch. Use a cake tester or toothpick to see if it comes out clean. Cool completely before icing.
Prepare the icing & assemble
- In a medium bowl whisk together the confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice until the desired consistency is reached. I wanted mine to be spreadable, so I added enough lemon juice to make a paste.
- Spread glaze on the blondies. Allow to set for at least 30 minutes. Slice and serve!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Before You Go
I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our other delicious, chef-developed lemon dessert recipes!
Can you give bake times/bake temperature and recommended pan size (possible half cheet pan?) if doubling recipe? I would like a thicker blondie if possible. Your thoughts?
Hi Cheryl, in the restaurants I used to double this recipe to make a half sheet pan but the results will not be thicker. It does bake to the top of the pan, so I wouldn’t recommending baking any more in a half-sheet without an extender. You can increase the existing recipe by .25 and bake it in the same 9×13 inch pan for a thicker blondie. I would bake them 25 minutes in a half sheet but it really depends on your oven, the pan you choose and where you like blondies on the baked scale. I do not love fully-baked blondies – but that is just me. 🙂 ~Lindsey