These lemon brownies are sweet and tangy with a soft, moist texture topped with a delicious glaze. This lemon blondie is the best with lemon zest and juice in every bite!
If you love lemon desserts try this lemon meringue pie recipe, these lemon bars and this lemon sugar cookies recipe, too!
Table of Contents
Favorite Lemon Dessert
These lemon brownies may be one of my favorite desserts ever! I love fudgy chocolate caramel brownies or rich brown butter blondies, but there’s something about a lemon brownie that’s light and fresh.
They are moist and buttery, like a soft sugar cookies recipe, with just a hint of light lemon taste like my lemon crinkle cookies. The powdered sugar glaze on top is tart and sweet and makes a perfect compliment to the brownies without being overpowering.
Lemon Brownie Recipe Ingredients
These easy lemon brownies are simple to make with flavors that are light and sweet with a gooey texture. Perfect for lemon lovers!
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Salted butter: Butter adds richness and a savory taste to brownies.
- Sugar: Sweetness is needed to balance the lemon flavors.
- Lemon: Both lemon zest and fresh lemon juice will be used in these brownies for that fresh lemon flavor.
- Eggs: This will help combine the lemon brownie batter and give it the color and flavoring.
- All-purpose flour: Thickens the batter and gives it a nice thickness when baking.
- Baking powder: Helps raise the brownies and thickens them while baking in the oven.
Substitutions and Variations
Mix it up with these lemon brownie variations!
- Other citrus. Try orange zest with orange juice or lemon zest with lime juice.
- White chocolate. If you missing the chocolate normally in brownies, add some white chocolate chips.
- Extract. Add up to a teaspoon of vanilla extract or 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract or coconut extract for a little flavor.
- Topping. Try a cream cheese glaze or even just a dusting of powdered sugar. Add a drizzle of white chocolate or top with coconut like these lemon coconut bars.
- Gluten-free. A few followers have had success substituting gluten-free flour cup-for-cup for all-purpose flour to make gluten-free.
How to Make Lemon Brownies
Lemon brownies are easy to make! Simply, mix ingredients together, bake, then make a glaze to frost the brownies.
- Mix. Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, and zest with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. One at a time, mix in the eggs. Then add in the lemon juice. Mix in the flour and baking powder until just combined.
- Prepare. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8″ baking pan with parchment or foil and spray with nonstick spray. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth it out evenly.
- Combine. Whisk together the ingredients in a medium bowl. Pour on top of the brownies and spread evenly to coat.
- Bake. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for about 10-15 minutes.
Lemon Glaze
The glaze is sweet with a tart lemon flavor and takes these brownies over the top! Add a little more (or less) juice or zest depending on how much citrus flavor you’d like.
- Powdered sugar: This is a sweet and powdery texture sugar that helps build up frostings and glazes.
- Fresh lemon juice: Squeeze the sliced lemon right into the glaze.
- Zest from half a lemon: The zest will add a tart but sweet texture to the glaze. This is an added touch to the top of the homemade lemon brownies.
Tips for the Best Lemon Brownies
Follow these easy tips and modifications to make the best lemon brownies.
- Prepare. Line your pan with parchment or foil for easy cleanup.
- Fresh lemon. If you’re a big lemon lover like me, you can add more zest and juice to the batter and glaze. Learn how to zest a lemon the easy way.
- Double it! Feel free to double the recipe and bake in a 9×13″ pan.
- Cool brownies. Make sure the brownies have cooled completely before slicing them.
Do you love brownie recipes? Try copycat cosmic brownies, marshmallow brownies, or cheesecake brownies next time you are baking!
More Lemon Desserts
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Lemon Brownie Recipe
Video
Ingredients
For the brownies:
- ½ cup salted butter , softened (1 stick)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 lemon , zested
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
For the glaze:
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½ Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- zest of 1/2 lemon
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare an 8×8" pan by spraying with cooking spray or lining with parchment paper, and set aside.
- Make batter. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together 1/2 cup salted butter, 3/4 cup sugar, and zest of one lemon until light and fluffy. Add 2 eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then add 1 Tablespoon lemon juice. Add 3/4 cup flour and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, and mix until just combined.
- Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the brownies comes out clean. Let cool for 10-15 minutes.
- Glaze. For the glaze, whisk together 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice and 1/2 lemon zest, then pour over the brownies, spreading evenly to coat.
- Cool and slice. Let cool completely before slicing. Then slice into 16 squares.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Recipe FAQs
Here are the difference between the three and how these came to be lemon brownies (lemonies). For these to be true blondies, they would need brown sugar!
Lemon bars are made with a shortbread crust and a filling that consists of mainly of eggs, sugar and lemon juice. While usually brownies are fudgy from chocolate and butter, they can be different flavors, just like these with lemon or my strawberry brownies!
Simply cover the room temperature lemon brownies pan in an airtight container or using plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for four to five days depending on how long they still stay moist and chewy.
Yes! You can easily freeze if desired. Just wrap it in plastic wrap and then again with foil. To thaw, set out at room temperature.
Categorized as: American, Bars, Brownies, Desserts, Fruit Desserts
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
I made these last weekend and I’m going to make them again this weekend! I made them exactly as directed and was pleasantly surprised. They are so lemony without having an overwhelming bite and the sweetness is great. I may try using this recipe and use limes instead, just for a change.
I bet limes would be just as delicious. I’m glad you enjoyed these! :)
I absolutely never use white sugar. Usually substitute with coconut sugar, brown sugar or would try stevia. How much stevia should I use?
Hi Stacy! I don’t have very much experience with cooking with stevia so I’m not sure it would work in this recipe. It would definitely change the texture and taste.
Loved the lemon brownies!
I’m so glad! Such a delicious treat!
Hi alicia, i’m planning to make this lemon brownies right now but im confused with the recipe & the video. The video says flour & salt but on the recipe it day lemon & baking powder. Which one is correct? Would really appreciate your reply. Thank you
Hi Sheena! The recipe is correct…1/2 tsp baking powder, no salt! The words on the video were a typo. Sorry about the confusion!
the recipe text shows ‘add flour and baking powder’, but the video never mentions baking powder and instead shows ‘add flour and SALT’.
which is the correct recipe?
Hi Alan! The recipe is correct, not the video. The words on the video were supposed to say “baking powder” not salt. So the recipe has no salt and 1/2 tsp of baking powder!
I made these delish lemon brownies for first time and brought them to our friends’ house other evening–Dad and the son saw lemon and said they were not fans of “lemon” but decided to try them and they ate more then others that did like lemon! these are easy to make, soft and tasty–plus lemony which I love! I will make them again soon! they were a hit!
I’m so glad these were a hit! Lemon desserts are the BEST!
Looking forward to future baking recipes!
Hope you enjoy these as much as we do!
No reason not to use other fruits.
Cherry, orange, lemon, lime, blueberry, grape (or boysenberry)…
Taste the rainbow!
So true, so many possibilities! Thanks for the ideas!
DELICIOUS Lemon Brownies
Loved the lemon brownies!
2 things: salt is not listed in the ingredients, and the baking powder is listed in the ingredients, but not mentioned in the method. Cooking time could be a bit longer, say 30 – 35 minutes. Loved them!
Hi Susan! There was a mistake in the video. The word salt was supposed to say baking powder. There is no salt in the recipe, just 1/2 tsp baking powder! :) I’m glad you loved them!
How I wish we could enjoy these Gluten Free.
LOVE!
Can someone tell me if they’ve tried this with gluten free flour?? I really wanna make these for my mother in law (and myself it’s a pregnancy craving lol) but she can’t have gluten!!
While I haven’t tried these with Domata flour (my favorite gluten free blend that already has xanthan gum added and you substitute amount for amount of plain flour), I have used it in all my cookie, brownie, and cake recipes with excellent results. The only fail is with angel food cake. I’m going to make these gf for my daughter.
Thanks for your comment June! It is so helpful for those that need to make baking recipes gluten free. :)
I made these and the recipe came out quite tasty! Only thing is, I used a fairly large pan and so it was a little thin. I only had one size pan, I wanna say it’s like a 10 by 18. Anyway, I ran a little short on glaze (it was almost the right amount, so close!) using the amount recommended, so I’d recommend to anyone using a larger pan to make a little extra glaze.
I put them in for 20 minutes and put a toothpick all over it, nothing came up. But then when I let them cool they were almost juicy/soggy, so I had to throw them back in the oven with the glaze on in order to try to get them harder. They were good for a first attempt (I don’t bake too much), really just making an office Friday snack so I think it’ll still work out. And it gave me an excuse to eat all the chunks that fell off while I was trying to transfer them at first :) quite delicious, just won’t win me any awards at baking competitions.
I’m glad you enjoyed these! Making lemon brownies or blondies are a little tricky at first to get the baking time right. Sounds like you did great!
These are INCREDIBLE! Perfect for potlucks and just great for summer snacking. Will definitely be putting this into my recipe box. :)
I’m so glad you enjoyed these! :)
Would I be able to substitute the butter with oil?
Hi! I haven’t tried substituting oil in this recipe but I think it would change the texture quite a bit. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
I love lemon, and these sound great, but since I have lines, im going to try the recipe with limes. I’ll let you know how they turn out! :)
I would love to know how you like these with limes! Please let us know. :)