Lemon Brownies are my new favorite dessert. Topped with a delicious lemon glaze, they are just the right mix of fresh lemon and sweetness. Here is not one, but two ways to make this delicious treat.
We’ve made some other great lemon recipes like Lemon Blueberry Donuts, Mini Lemon Bundt Cakes and Lemon Sweet Rolls. Go check those out next!
As much as I am crazy for chocolate, I do love finding new ways to bake without that classic ingredient. It’s fun to spice it up and try something new! Lemon is a fun way to do that.
Why Call These Lemon Brownies?
These lemon bars have more of a brownie texture: they’re moist and dense. This recipe is going to look a lot like your usual brownie recipe, but of course no cocoa or chocolate chips. We. They’re both delicious! We also included an easier version using a cake mix for when you are in a hurry. Both are delicious!
Ingredients for Homemade Brownies
Butter – unsalted and softened.
Sugar – every good dessert needs it.
Lemon Zest – see about for notes on zesting.
Fresh Lemon Juice – straight from a lemon has the best flavor.
Flour – all purpose.
Baking Soda– to make the mixture rise.
Eggs– this will bind the ingredients together.
Lemon Zest
If you’re new to lemon zesting, it is easiest to use the tool made for this job: a lemon zester. (Genius name, right?) But if you don’t have one and are in a pinch a veggie peeler will work. Make sure you wash your lemon before.
Lemon Brownies Glaze
This is the most yummy part of all – the glaze! All you need is three ingredients: lemon zest, lemon juice and powdered sugar. It’s very sweet and a bit tangy at the same time.
How To Make Homemade Lemon Brownies
- Mix together the dry ingredients and wet ingredients (minus the egg) separately.
- Combine the two mixtures then add one egg at a time.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes and let it cool.
- Make the glaze and pour over the cooled brownies.
Ingredients for Lemon Cake Mix Brownies
- Yellow Cake Mix
- Lemon Instant Pudding
- Eggs
- Lemon Juice
- Lemon Zest
How To Make Lemon Cake Mix Brownies
- Mix all five ingredients together in a bowl.
- Pour into an 8×8 baking dish and bake for 22-24 minutes.
- Make the glaze and pour over the cooled brownies.
You’re going to adore these lemon brownies recipes, and all your friends will be begging for the recipe!
Other Lemon Desserts You Will Love
Pink Lemonade Cheesecake Bites
Lemon Brownies
Ingredients
Brownie Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Lemon Glaze Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons lemon zest
Cake Mix Version
Ingredients
- 15.25 ounces box yellow cake mix
- 1 box lemon pudding
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
Directions for Homemade
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper.
- Using a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.
- Using a standing mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest until light and fluffy.
- Beat in eggs, one at a time until combined.
- Gradually beat in the dry ingredients until combined.
- Pour batter into the baking pan and bake in the oven for 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. Make sure to not over bake.
- Allow to completely cool on the counter.
Lemon Glaze
- Using a large mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest until combined.
- Pour the glaze over the lemon bars and spread evenly.
- Allow to harden overnight before enjoying!
Directions for Cake Mix
- Line an 8” square baking dish with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray so that the brownies lift out easily.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- With a hand mixer, combine the cake mix, pudding, lemon juice, eggs, and lemon zest in a medium sized mixing bowl. Pour batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
- Bake for 22-24 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted in the center and come out clean or with only crumbs (no wet batter). Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Proceed as directed above for glaze.
Last Step:
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265 comments on “Lemon Brownies”
I wanted to try the cake mix version but couldn’t find how much of each ingredient to use. I made the other version, and came out cakey. Haven’t tried it yet, but hoping it’s yummy because I’m a huge lemon lover!
Wow, these brownies look amazing. I would love to try this. Thanks a lot for sharing.
Omg the whole family flipped over these. Taste like a lemon bar but so much easier and doesn’t take as many lemons. We love the texture, they’re my new go to for dessert!
i just love lemon anything gonna try this soon like tomorrow my family will love this thanks for sharing it with all of us
Just put them in the oven. Can’t wait to see how they come out. It would take five pounds of lemons to get 6 tablespoons of zest! So needless to say I didn’t not put quite that much into the recipe.
Mine came out more like a sponge. What did I do wrong? ♂️
Mine came out like a sponge as well. Still tastes pretty good though!
Would it be better to use Meyer lemons or any lemons?
Any lemons will work.
I will be making these today can’t wait. X
I baked these! They were absolutely fabulous! I still have people asking me to bake them again. I wouldn’t change anything about the recipe. Just be sure to take them out of the oven soon enough. Set your timer for less than the allotted time and keep checking. You don’t want them to be over baked. They should be under cooked slightly. And I mean slightly! So so lemony delicious. Thank you so much for this recipe.
My friend posted this recipe on her facebook page and I immediately saved it since my lemon tree has thousands of lemons on it. This recipe was AMAZING!!! The whole house smelled delicious while it was baking. We could hardly wait for it to cool enough to put the icing on, then wait EVEN MORE for the icing to harden. My family (4 of us at home today) aet the whole thing by the end of the day. We are not even ashamed!!! So delicious!
Vickie wish I could be there to taste
.them
Will send rrcipe to my little brother. He is a good cook
Forgot to mention that I misread the number of eggs as 2 instead of 4. This made me have to bake about an extra 20 minutes, but the result is phenomenal… chewy, not cakey. Crunchy at the edges. Perfection!
Mine looks like a cake
Just made these for the first time, and I have only one question: How do you wait until the next day to eat them??? They’re so good right out of the oven… I’m not sure they’ll last another hour….
These are delicious. I followed the recipe exactly as written. I prefer the texture of these brownies over a traditional lemon bar. Great lemon flavor! Thanks
I make this wonderful Lemon Brownie recipe this morning. Absolutely heavenly. It came out tasting very much like lemon meringue pie. I think I beat the eggs to much as it was more like a cake consistency, but tasted like it came from heaven. My wife couldn’t wait to give her mother some. I am retired and live with my wife at her home place in the Philippines.
Best brownie recipe ever! My family couldn’t get enough of them
I made this tonight, and used Vegan butter and Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour. Everything else was exactly the same. It turned out tasting excellent, but it was pretty much a dense lemon cake instead of brownies haha. I read that others have had this issue as well, even with regular flour. And then I saw that some people’s turned out perfect even with gluten free flour, so I don’t know what happened lol! Either way, it’s delicious!
Thanks for sharing such informative post. You’re always giving your readers something new. Therefore, I’ve bookmark it and I’ll definitely recommend my friends to read this information post.
I am going to make these as soon as I can get some fresh lemons. They look delicious. I wonder if they can be frozen for a couple of months. I did not see an answer in the comments below, or perhaps I missed it. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Just the kind of recipe I was looking for.
Love lemon anything and I found this recipe does not disappoint. Like you, chocolate is my thing but these brownies taste wonderful and are a good mix of sweet and tart. Will be using this recipe again, for sure.