Lemon Lemonies are 🍋😊🎉 essentially lemon brownies made with lemon and white chocolate! Dense with a soft and chewy texture. Never cakey and packed with big, bold lemon flavor! Calling all lemon lovers, these EASY lemon brownies are PERFECT and have been a fan favorite for more than a decade!
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Best Ever Lemon Brownie Recipe
If you like lemon, you’re going to love these bars. They’re packed with bold lemon flavor and are not for the faint of heart.
I’ve seen recipes on Pinterest for similar bars that are called lemon blondies, lemon brownies, or lemon lemonies.
My fast, easy, no-mixer version is heavy on the lemon zing, which is why I called them lemon lemonies to start.
- They’re the lemon equivalent of moist, fudgy brownies with zero traces of cakiness.
- They’re tooth-sinkingly dense with subtle buttery undertones like blondies have.
- And the texture is exactly what I want in bars. Fudgy texture, rich, moist, chewy, and thick enough to be so satisfying.
- After pouring the lemon-infused glaze over the warm bars as they emerge from the oven, it sets up, seeps into the brownies, and makes them even moister, softer, and more lemony.
With each bite of a lemonie, I wanted another. It’s the type of food that the more you have, the more you want. The boldly tart-yet-sweet element really kept me going back to straighten the rows. Between my row straightening and my family’s love for lemon things, the lemonies disappeared fast!
Tip: If you’re looking for more lemon desserts like traditional lemon bars, a dense lemon olive oil cake, or a fluffy lemon cake, I have those recipes, too.
What Readers Are Saying:
This recipe turned out awesome! I followed recipe exactly and they were delicious! Thank you!
Jennifer
So lemony and so delicious. The PERFECT heavy fudgy moist texture. I wish I could make normal brownies with this texture.
Rachelle
Ingredients for Lemon Brownies
To make the addicting lemony lemon brownies, you’ll need:
- White chocolate chips
- Unsalted butter
- Eggs – Room temperature
- Granulated sugar
- Fresh lemon juice – Fresh squeezed lemon juice is the way to go here. I haven’t experimented with using lemon extract in these but if you’re curious, I have an amazing Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf that uses lemon extract.
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Confectioners’ sugar – If your powdered sugar is lumpy, you can sift it.
- Lemon zest
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Lemon Brownies
This lemon lemonies recipe is incredibly easy to prepare. Instead of milk or dark chocolate, the lemon lemonies are made with melted white chocolate.
Here’s an overview of how the lemon brownie recipe is made:
- Melt the white chocolate and butter together in the microwave.
- Wait a minute or two before adding the eggs, then add the eggs, granulated sugar, and lemon juice. Whisk the melted butter mixture until combined.
- Stir in the dry ingredients and then turn into a prepared baking pan that’s 8×8-inches. You can line it with parchment paper for easy removal if you’d like.
- These lemon brownies need to bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
- Once the lemon brownies are finished baking, set them aside and whisk together the lemon glaze. Pour the glaze over the brownies, allow them to cool properly, and than use an offset spatula to dig in. You may even like these better than a regular brownie!
Recipe FAQs
Yes! I’ve actually made these lemon brownies as Orange Orangies as well. You may be able to make a lime version, too, but I haven’t tried it out yet.
You most likely can double this recipe and bake the lemon brownies in a 9×13-inch pan. You may need to bump up the baking time, though.
The lemon lemonie abrs themselves are not super lemony, thanks to melted white chocolate that’s stirred into the batter, but the glaze is pretty zippy. If you want to dial back the overall lemon intensity of the dessert, halve the recipe for the glaze, and drizzle it on top rather than flooding the entire surface.
Leftover lemon lemonies will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5-7 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Thaw in the fridge or at room temperature when you’re ready to serve.
Lemon Lemonies
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Bars
- ¾ cup white chocolate chips
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
For the Glaze
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- ⅓ cup lemon juice, or as necessary for consistency
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest, or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
For the Bars:
- In a large, microwave-safe bowl add the white chocolate, butter, and heat to melt, about 2 minutes on high power. Stop to check and stir after 1 minute, and then heat in 20-second bursts, stopping to stir after each burst, until mixture can be stirred smooth. White chocolate is very prone to scorching and seizing up, so watch it carefully and don’t overheat.
- Wait momentarily before adding the eggs so you don’t scramble them. Add the eggs, granulated sugar, lemon juice, and whisk until combined.
- Add the flour, optional salt, and stir until just combined; don’t overmix.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
- Bake for about 27 to 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter; set aside and make the glaze.
For the Glaze:
- In a medium bowl, add 2 cup confectioners’ sugar, 1/3 cup lemon juice, and whisk until smooth. As necessary, add additional lemon juice (or sugar) to reach desired glaze consistency. I used slightly over 1/3 cup lemon juice. Glaze should be fairly thin and easily pourable.
- Evenly pour glaze over bars, smoothing it lightly with a spatula if necessary, but glaze will likely just slide into place.
Evenly sprinkle with lemon zest. - Allow bars to cool in pan uncovered for at least 2 to 3 hours, (or overnight and cover with a sheet of foil) before slicing and serving so glaze can set up.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Lemon Desserts:
Softbatch Glazed Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies – Big, bold lemon flavor packed into super soft cookies thanks to the cream cheese! Tangy-sweet perfection! Lemon lovers are going to adore these easy cookies!
Soft and Chewy Lemon Cookies – They pack a powerful lemon punch, they’re soft and dense rather than cakey, and they’re thick enough to sink your teeth into!
Lemon Buttermilk Cake with Lemon Glaze — If you’re a lemon lover, you’ll love the perfectly tart yet just sweet enough big pop of lemon flavor this soft and fluffy cake has.
Blueberry Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze — The cake is packed with sweet, juicy blueberries, and while there’s lemon in the batter, it’s the lemon glaze that really brings out the tartly-sweet lemon flavor that complements the blueberries so well.
The Best Lemon Loaf (Better-Than-Starbucks Copycat) – Took years but I finally recreated it! Easy, no mixer, no cake mix, dangerously good, and SPOT ON!
Lemon Olive Oil Cake – My new FAVORITE lemon dessert of all time! Lemon zest, juice, extract, and Limoncello add so much AMAZING lemon flavor to this EASY, ridiculously moist no-mixer cake that’s unique and INCREDIBLE!
Lemon Coconut White Chocolate Gooey Bars — The lemon base is soft and chewy. Then, there’s coconut and white chocolate chips for extra texture, and sweetened condensed milk peeks through the top.
Strawberry Lemon Crescent Ring — This fast and easy ring that’s ready in 30 minutes has strawberries with lemon and cream cheese incorporated for a tangy pop.
Glazed Lemon Pie Bars — The crust is buttery, soft, and tender while the filling is juicy and luscious with the perfect amount of sweet-yet-tart flavor and a lemon glaze boosts the lemon flavor even more.
Originally published June 14, 2014 and reposted February 28, 2020 with updated text.
These are absolutely delicious!! I do highly recommend skipping the tin foil and just greasing the pan directly. Also, make sure you wait at least 45 minutes to put the first layer of icing, it sits better since the bars rise during cooking. I did a second layer of icing about 30-40 minutes after the first. I also substituted all-purpose flour for oat flour, 1:1 ratio.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Rachelle, and I’m glad to hear that these are perfect for you! That’s great news that they turn ok great with oat flour, too!
I haven’t tried it yet but I can’t wait to make it,it looks so good and yummy. Thanks so much for the recipe and keep them coming 😁.🙏🧁🥮🍭Connie B
These are so good and I know when you get a chance to try them, you’re going to love them!
Do you think that I could use white candy melts instead of the white chocolate in this recipe?
Hi Rachel, good question. I never have but you probably will be fine. Don’t try it if you need this dessert for a special event or something and it’s a big deal if it doesn’t turn out – but I do think you will be fine. LMK how it goes!
I love your recipes and can’t wait to try these lemon lemonies.
Can you please give us a recipe for great orange cranberry scones
Thank you
https://www.averiecooks.com/the-best-glazed-mixed-berry-scones/ Best scone recipe ever. Swap the mixed berries for dried cranberries and add 1-2 tsp orange zest and mix the powdered sugar with orange juice for the glaze.
This recipe is the best, Averie
Thanks, Mabel! I appreciate hearing this! I love these lemon lemonies, too!
So lemony and so delicious. The PERFECT heavy fudgy moist texture. I wish I could make normal brownies with this texture.
I used white chocolate bars instead of chips, chopped up they were a bit larger than chocolate chips so I used about 1 cup. I also added lemon zest to the batter, and vanilla.
Also I made a condensed milk glaze with no added icing sugar and it was phenomenal!
They were done in 24 minutes for me (elevation is about 100m where I live)
Thanks for the 5 star review, Rachelle, and I am glad to hear this was perfect with chopped white chocolate from a bar and that you made a condensed milk glaze.
If you’re looking for really dense, fudgy brownies, try this base recipe. It’s been made into various versions but the base is the same and so good, rich, dense, fudgy!
https://www.averiecooks.com/fudgy-peanut-butter-cup-brownies/
https://www.averiecooks.com/the-best-turtle-brownies/
https://www.averiecooks.com/best-german-chocolate-brownies/
Hi Averie,
you always make the most fantastic cookies and cakes — thanks a million for sharing! But as always, those of us who live in Europe almost always have to take a little more time to convert your measurements into metric, which is what’s widely used in these parts. Is that possible for you to include a metric equivalent as well? This is in fact highly recommended by many pastry chefs for being more accurate than, say, cup measurement. Thanks very much for considering this request.
I use cups and teaspoons and for the past 13 years I’ve had my sitem all 3000 recipes++ on my site are written that way and I just can’t imagine trying to convert everything over to metric. Sorry for the inconvenience it causes!
THE recipe looks delicuous . THE calories ,carbs. an sugar are a killer for us stuck on a diet . so sad. AS a lemon lover you have a winner CONGRATS
Just to keep the LOVE alive: I love all of you sweet (& sincere) ladies! And I followed this recipe to a “T” AND LOVE these lemonie brownies! Thanks Averie! Great job! Love & Happiness to All! It’s 2021 and it’s time to express your (sincere) LOVE to (and for) this damaged world! The world needs MORE LOVE and we need it NOW and let the Lord back in! (And we need more dedicated food bloggers (like Averie) sharing dynamite recipes for more calorie-filled happiness in the world! Love to ALL!
This recipe turned out awesome! I followed recipe exactly and they were delicious! Thank you!
This recipe turned out awesome! I followed recipe exactly and they were delicious! Thank you!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this turned out awesome for you!
Averie, can I pick your brain for a moment? I have two questions. One, I am out of lemons, but I do have either Fireball Whiskey or Grand Marnier. Do you think that will work? Also, when I do get lemons (or make your orange version), would this bar work for ice cream sandwiches? I could I bake one half of this batter for half the time (or so), then the other, and then sandwich ice cream. Thank you in advance for any thoughts and of course, the recipe!
Out of lemons so you’d use the Fireball or GM in what format? I am thinking you almost mean this cake regarding this question https://www.averiecooks.com/lemon-olive-oil-cake/ I would use the GM, it is PERFECT. This cake is one of my fave lemon desserts of all time. Neither the FBW or the GM really would belong in the Lemon Lemonies other than maybe 1-2 tbsp and I would use GM.
Regarding using these as ice cream sandwiches…they are a really soft bar so I worry they wouldn’t be hearty enough to really support the ice cream, then again when frozen and eaten quickly when you have them out of the freezer, probably would be fine.
LMK how things go.
Perfect!!!! Thank you for the response – that could have been disastrous (except I would have eaten them ALL because, booze.) Off to look at your lemon olive oil cake! (The problem is, I find more and more recipes I want make on your site when I click around… I have like 15 tabs open. LOL.)
LOL. There is also an Orange version of that olive oil cake https://www.averiecooks.com/olive-oil-orange-cake/ Same essential recipe, different citrus. Both excellent. And glad you have it narrowed down to just 15 :)