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.
Very light very good
Everybody loved this. I always add a couple of extra lemons to increase the zingyness. It’s so easy and tastes yummmm. Thank you so much.
I’m so glad they were a hit! :)
I must have done something wrong on the glaze….it made little balls not a glaze…I thought maybe it would melt but it didn’t so I scraped it off, added a little milk, microwaved it and pored it over it again…please tell me what I did wrong
Hi Karen! I would recommend adding more lemon juice next time until you get that glaze consistency. There is no need to microwave it or add milk.
I really love this recipe but could you share this in grams as each conversion chart I have looked at all say different amounts
Thank you look forward to your reply
115 grams butter
150 grams sugar
zest of half lemon
2 eggs
14.3 grams lemon juice
96 grams flour
2 grams baking powder
85 grams powdered sugar
21.5 grams lemon juice
zest of 1/2 a lemon
These are a firm favourite! Not only do I make them often since discovering the recipe but I always double recipe! One batch is simply not enough!! I maybe a little more generous with the lemon juice and zest as I love the tang! Great recipe! Thanks! Next one on my list is your lemon, blueberry and zucchini bread!
So glad to hear you love the lemon bars. They are a favorite!
Very delicious and so easy! Light and cakey. I lined my pan with foil which makes clean up a breeze!
These lemon brownies are delicious and very lemony. I have to eat gluten free, so I used gluten free all purpose flour. I let the batter sit for 30 min., which helps the GF flour soften and become less grainy. I was pleased with how the blondies tasted. I even requested them for my birthday treat!
So glad to hear they came out great with gluten free flour.
Easy to make and was a huge hit I think the only thing I would change is make sure I slightly puncture the bars before pouring the glaze on top so it stinks in farther or maybe use more lemon juice so it’s thinner and absorbed faster.
Hello could someone tell me the recipe in grams as I don’t work in cups
many thanks
I am trying this out tonight…I converted cups to grams…just not sure if I should’ve done that or stay with just measuring by cups…it just seems to much for the glaze when 3/4 cups was converted to grams…3/4 cup measured compared to grams is a whole lot less…
I came across this today and tried it with the specified instructions Wooooooow the Lemon Brownie is out of this world…. I Looooooooove the taste and texture, the best I have tried so far
I’m so glad you enjoyed these! Thank you so much for your comment! :)
How do you cut an 8×8 pan of cake into 18 servings?
It’s actually 16 servings. If you cut it 4×4 it will give you 16. :)
Made these for some friends at church and they loved them! They are cake-like rather than chewy like a traditional brownie. Light with a bright lemon zing–perfect for summer. Thank you!
I’m so glad they were a hit! Thank you for your comment and review Nancy! :)
Wow!!! Yum Yum Yummy!!!!These are incredible, followed the recipe exactly, turned out perfect.Going right in my recipe box today.Thank you Jamielyn?
I’m so glad they turned out well for you! Thank you for your comment Brenda. :)
I just pulled these from the oven and my middle sank!? what did I do wrong??
I’m not sure why your brownies sank, but generally the sink/dip happens because the outer edges were fully cooked but the center was not. That could have been a reason. I’ve also heard that a hot oven can cause baked goods to rise too rapidly…do you know if your oven runs hot?
Made this recipe on Sunday, my BF is a huge lemon fan. I was doubtful about the alleged “brownie ” texture when I saw 2 eggs and was correct.In no way is this recipe a brownie recipe. I also almost doubled the glaze , which in the pics looks like a frosting. I added organic lemon extract to both glaze and cake. It’s a nice lemon cake, but I have much better recipes. Will not repeat or keep.
These brownies look and sound so good!
I made these lemon brownies because they sounded and looked so yummy. But mine turned out more like a cake texture and dry. I followed the receipe to a tee. In the pictures and video they looked more dense. I live in high altitude should I have adjusted something or add something? Thanks
These do have a bit more of a cake texture than brownie texture when they are done. They have always turned out moist for me, so it may have been the high altitude. There are lots of tips online for adjusting recipes for high altitudes.
Made these yesterday. They are absolutely scrumptious. I wonder if it would also work with orange zest and juice. Should be just as delicious.
I’ve never tried it, but it sounds delicious! :)