These fudgy lemon brownies are a refreshing twist on classic brownies! They combine the tangy, bright flavor of fresh lemons with the rich, buttery texture of traditional brownies. The lemon brownie base is also topped with a simple lemon glaze to add an extra zesty finish – so so good!
What are Lemon Brownies?
Lemon brownies are a citrusy twist on the classic brownie! Unlike traditional chocolate-based brownies, lemon brownies are made with lemon juice and zest to give them a bright, tangy flavor (similar to lemon bars). They have a dense, slightly chewy, fudgy texture (similar to my fudgy brownie recipe) but with a refreshing lemon taste. They are a lemon lovers perfect dessert!
Many lemon brownie recipes also opt to use a lemon glaze (which I have chosen to do as well – they really take the brownies to another level!) to further enhance their lemon flavor and add a bit of extra sweetness.
Why You’ll Love These Brownies
Flavor: These lemon brownies are one of my favorite lemon desserts because they’re packed with SO MUCH lemon flavor.
Texture: I had to do a bit of experimenting with this recipe to get the perfect fudgy texture. I found that using warm melted butter and only cooking the brownies until they were almost done made for the best texture. I also found that using no baking powder or baking soda (and only relying on eggs to provide a little leavening) made for dense lemon brownies that didn’t just taste like a thin lemon cake.
Ease: These lemon brownies are SO SO easy to make! They come together quickly and don’t require an electric mixer.
How to make Lemon Brownies
Preheat oven to 180 °C (350°F) conventional and grease a square 8×8 inch cake tin (I use my homemade cake release). Once greased, line with a piece of parchment paper that is long enough so there is some overhang on two opposite edges of the tin. This will make it easier to pull the brownies out once done.
Sift together flour, cornstarch and salt. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined and set aside for now.
In a large mixing bowl add in white sugar and fresh lemon zest. Using your fingers, rub the lemon zest into the sugar until the sugar has a light yellow tinge to it (about 30 seconds).
Add in warm melted butter, unflavored vegetable oil, eggs, fresh lemon juice and vanilla. Using a whisk, mix until combined and smooth, but avoid overmixing (you don’t want to incorporate too many air bubbles into the batter).
Add in the dry ingredients from earlier to the wet mixture and using a rubber spatula, gently fold until just combined. Do not overmix.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan (the batter should be thin). Give the tin a little shake to evenly distribute the batter and then drop it lightly on the counter twice. Bake for 22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out almost clean (you want to have a very small amount of uncooked batter or moist crumbs on the toothpick – this will ensure the brownies don’t overbake).
Allow to completely cool in the cake tin (1-2 hours).
Once cooled, run a thin knife (or spatula) around the edges of the pan that have no parchment paper and then carefully use the excess parchment paper hanging over the edges to carefully lift the brownie out of the cake pan.
Prepare the lemon glaze by combining the powdered sugar and lemon juice. Mix with a spoon until combined and smooth. You want the glaze to be thick, but spreadable.
Spread the glaze evenly over the top of the brownie (I use my offset spatula, but the back of a spoon will do the trick too). Allow it to set for 30 mins to an hour (you should be able to touch the top without any of the frosting sticking to your finger) and then slice and serve!
How to Store Lemon Brownies
Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Easy Fudgy Lemon Brownies
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Lemon Brownie Base
- 1¼ cups (150 g) all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp (14 g) cornstarch
- ½ tsp salt
- 1¼ cups (250 g) white granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon zest - See note 1
- ¾ cup (170 g) warm melted unsalted butter - make sure the butter is warm (not hot or cold) when adding it to the batter
- 1 tbsp (13 g) unflavored vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs - room temperature
- 3 tbsp (42 g) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ tsp vanilla extract/essence
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup (125 g) powdered sugar - also known as icing/confectioners sugar
- 1½ tbsp (22 g) freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 °C (350°F) conventional (see note 2 if using a convection oven with a fan) and grease a square 8x8 inch cake tin (I use my homemade cake release). Once greased, line with a piece of parchment paper that is long enough so there is some overhang on two opposite edges of the tin. This will make it easier to pull the brownies out once done.
- Sift together flour, cornstarch and salt. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined and set aside for now.
- In a large mixing bowl add in white sugar and fresh lemon zest. Using your fingers, rub the lemon zest into the sugar until the sugar has a light yellow tinge to it (about 30 seconds).
- Add in warm melted butter, unflavored vegetable oil, eggs, lemon juice and vanilla. Using a whisk, mix until combined and smooth, but avoid overmixing (you don't want to incorporate too many air bubbles into the batter).
- Add in the dry ingredients from earlier and using a spatula, gently fold until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan (the batter should be thin). Give the tin a little shake to evenly distribute the batter and then drop it lightly on the counter twice. Bake for 22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out almost clean (you want to have a very small amount of uncooked batter or moist crumbs on the toothpick - this will ensure the brownies don't overbake).
- Allow to completely cool in the cake tin (1-2 hours).
- Once cooled, run a thin knife (or spatula) around the edges of the pan that have no parchment paper and then carefully use the excess parchment paper hanging over the edges to carefully lift the brownie out of the cake pan.
- Prepare the lemon glaze by combining the powdered sugar and lemon juice. Mix with a spoon until combined and smooth. You want the glaze to be thick, but spreadable (see note 3).
- Spread the glaze evenly over the top of the brownie. Allow it to set for 30 mins to an hour (you should be able to touch the top without any of the frosting sticking to your finger) and then slice and serve!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
41 Comments
My daughter and I were looking for a recipe with that fudgy brownie texture, but lemon, instead of chocolate. This was the 2nd recipe we tried & is exactly what we were looking for; they are perfect, especially the chewy-crisp edges! 😉 Thank you.
My family & friends love these! Easier than my old lemon bar recipe and way better tasting! I’ve also made the fudgy brownies & the snickerdoodles recipes (both outstanding & easy to follow)!
These are great! They are now a staple in my family
Yay! So happy to hear that Lydia 😀
Thank you for sharing this fabulous recipe! I doubled the recipe and baked for 32 minutes. I love your Lemon Brownies!
Aww thanks so much Sheryl! So glad you loved the recipe 🙂
Can you use gluten free flour?
Hi Ellen! I haven’t tried that myself so I’m not too sure how it would turn out sorry! Would love to hear how it goes if you decide to give it a go with gluten free flour 🙂
OMG!! Keep the great work .. u’r recipes r smthn beautiful . Thnk u so much for sharing with such beautiful way of explaining . May Allah protect u and bless u sister .
So glad you’re loving the recipes Fehd! And thank you for the wondderful feedback and duas, I wish the same for you 🙂
Hi Maryam! I’ve just discovered your content and so grateful for how much I’m learning! Looking forward to trying these lemon brownies tomorrow 🤩 just wondering about the size of the tin. Will a 8×8 tin work? Thanks a lot!
So happy to hear that Emilie! 😀
Yes, the tin size I use for this recipe is 8×8 inches 🙂
You can find the full instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of the blog post (or hit the ‘jump to recipe’ button at the top of the page) 🙂
Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the recipe!
These are amazingly delicious!!!
Easy to make, and everyone loves these.
Aww yay! So glad you loved them Karen 😀
Made these today, and omg! Got donated 12 lemons , so on a lemon baking quest lol
This is baking day 1!!
10/10
Yay! So glad you loved them Caroline 😀
I made the lemonies first 10/10! Today I’ve made chocolate orange brownies by using orange instead of lemon and 75g each of flour & cocoa powder
So glad you enjoyed the lemon brownies Voirrey! 😀 Oohh orange chocolate brownies sounds sooo good! I’ll have to try that sometime 🙂
My first Brownie was your Lemon Brownie – and we loved it!! I hope you don’t mind because we call it “Lemon Blondie”. We love the texture and adore the taste of summer :-). Thanks a lot for all your beautiful recipes!
Thanks so much for the wonderful feedback Ute! 🙂 Don’t mind at all – as long as you love it I’m happy 😀