Lemon Brownies
If you love bright citrus desserts, these Lemon Brownies are a must-make. They're soft, chewy, and packed with fresh lemon flavor, then finished with a sweet lemon glaze for the perfect bakery-style treat. These easy lemon dessert bars are perfect for spring, summer gatherings, bake sales, or anytime you want something fresh and sunny.
If you enjoy easy bar desserts, you may also like Cake Mix Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars or Lemon Russian Tea Cakes.
Quick Look: Lemon Brownies
- 🍋 Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🔥 Bake Time: 23-25 minutes
- ⏱ Total Time: about 40 minutes, plus cooling
- 🍽 Servings: 9 brownies
- ⚡ Calories: 247 calories per brownie
- 💛 Flavor Profile: bright, sweet, buttery, and lemony
- 👌 Difficulty: easy
Jump to:
Why You'll Love These Lemon Brownies
- They feel like a fun twist on classic brownies for lemon lovers
- They have a soft, chewy texture with lots of fresh lemon flavor
- The sweet lemon glaze makes them extra pretty and delicious
- They're easy to make with simple pantry ingredients
- They're perfect for spring brunches, showers, holidays, and potlucks
Key Ingredients
Some of the ingredients you will need for Lemon Brownies:
- All-purpose flour - gives the brownies structure
- Granulated sugar - sweetens the bars and helps create a tender texture
- Butter, softened - adds richness and helps create that soft, dense brownie texture
- Eggs - bind the batter and keep the brownies moist
- Fresh lemon juice - adds bright citrus flavor
- Lemon zest - gives the brownies their best fresh lemon taste
How to Make Lemon Brownies
Preheat the oven. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease or line an 8x8-inch baking dish with parchment paper for easy removal.
Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt.
Add the butter. Add the softened butter to the flour mixture. Using a hand mixer on low speed, or a sturdy spoon, mix until no large pieces of butter remain and the mixture looks evenly combined.
Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, fresh lemon juice, and lemon zest until smooth.
Combine the batter. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until smooth and fully combined. Do not overmix.
Spread into the pan. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.
Bake. Bake for 23 to 25 minutes, or until the edges are set and the center no longer looks wet. Be careful not to overbake.
Cool completely. Let the brownies cool fully in the pan before adding the glaze.
How to Make the Lemon Glaze
In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, and lemon zest until smooth. If the glaze is too thick, add a little more lemon juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it reaches a thick but spreadable consistency.
Spread the glaze over the completely cooled brownies. Let the glaze set before slicing and serving.
Expert Tips
- Use softened butter, not melted butter, for the best dense brownie texture.
- Don't overmix the batter or the brownies can turn out tougher than you want.
- For the best lemon flavor, use fresh zest and juice.
- Let the brownies cool completely before glazing so the glaze stays on top instead of melting into the bars.
- For clean slices, chill the brownies for a little while after the glaze sets.
FAQs
They should be soft, dense, and moist, but not underbaked. The center should be set before you remove them from the oven.
Fresh lemon juice is best for this recipe. It gives the brownies a brighter, fresher flavor.
A hand mixer helps combine the softened butter into the flour mixture easily, but you can also use a spoon if your butter is softened well.
Yes. These lemon brownies are a great make-ahead dessert since the glaze sets nicely and the flavor holds up well.
Storage
Store lemon brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If you like a firmer texture, store them in the fridge. If you prefer them softer, let them come to room temperature before serving.
If you tried these Lemon Brownies or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments! Thanks for visiting, and come back again!
Lemon Brownies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter softened
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- zest of 1 lemon
For the Glaze
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease or line an 8x8-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt.
- Add the softened butter to the flour mixture. Using a hand mixer on low speed, or a sturdy spoon, mix until no large pieces of butter remain and the mixture looks evenly combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
- Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until smooth and fully combined.
- Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 23 to 25 minutes, or until the edges are set and the center no longer looks wet. Do not overbake.
- Let the brownies cool completely in the pan.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and lemon zest until smooth. Add more lemon juice, a little at a time, until the glaze is thick but spreadable.
- Spread the glaze over the cooled brownies. Let the glaze set before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Use fresh lemon juice for the best flavor.
- Softened butter works best in this recipe. Do not melt it.
- Let the brownies cool completely before adding glaze.
- For clean slices, chill briefly after glazing.
I just made this recipe after finding it on Pinterest. I followed it to a T, but it only filled half of my 8 x 8 pan and it's sticky and greasy, it also stuck to the parchment paper. Is there something missing?
Important: You have to grease the parchment paper first so the food does not stick.
These look amazing! Pardon my ignorance, however, I live in France and I'm not entirely sure how much a stick of butter is? Is it simply a block of butter - ie. approx 250g? Thanks! Gillian
Hi, Gillian! A stick of butter is 1/2 cup. I hope that helps! 🙂
Amazing.....whey where amazing and will make them again.....
Just made them and they are amazing........They where so easy to make and will do them again for sure....
In the site has been discussed about the lemon brownies and all dishes so that we can know that. When we will connect in this blogger then we can find different type recipe we can able to know that regarding site.
I baked these today ( I have been baking for over 40 years ) and though the flavor is very good ;the height of the brownie was half the size of the pictures - barely 1 inch and denser not as cakey looking as the photos . There is no leavening so I'm wondering about the accuracy of the photos ?
I have had some people have that problem, I'm not really sure why. You can click on the "source" above and see where I got the recipe and it doesn't call for any leavening. The pictures I took are VERY close up, but I would say they were about 1 1/2 inches thick. I would be happy to make them again and and see how them come out.
I just made these for our Summer Solstice celebration tonight. I sprinkled fresh blueberries in the batter and they came out perfect!
Do you use any baking soda or baking powder? Mine weren't near as thick as yours and I noticed in the recipe that it didn't list either of those. Thanks for sharing!!!
No they did not call for baking powder. Sorry!
I'm not much of a lemon fan...my Mother would love these though...I'm wondering if I could use pineapple extract & make a pineapple glaze for it...*wheels spinning* going to def give these a try!!
Yum, these look so delicious! I love lemons too 🙂 I found this recipe on Pinterest and would love to invite you to share this, and any other posts, at my Creative Thursday Link Party (open through Monday each week) at http://www.michellestastycreations.blogspot.com. Have a great week.
Michelle
I added strawberries to both the batter and the glaze - also poked holes in the brownies and added glaze when they were still warm so they were extra gooey. Yum!! And lovely pale pink shade!
could you substitute flour for almond flour to make it gluten free?
These look super yummy. I love lemon. And brownies. Perfect combo.