Super Easy Lemon Glaze

Looking to juice up (ha ha) your favorite batch of oat flour scones? Tart-sweet lemon glaze can be whisked together in less than a minute, and adds a beautiful citrus note to whatever you drizzle it over.

I love this glaze on cookies, like my gluten free molasses cookies or oat flour sugar cookies, and when I just need a little...something...extra and want to switch it up from a sweet maple glaze, I squeeze a lemon, mix it with powdered sugar, and spread it over everything from a gluten free butter cake to a gluten free lemon loaf.

I detail how to make this super easy recipe in this post, plus share some tips on how to adjust consistency, etc.

This is Such a Lovely, Lemony Glaze!

I love two or three-ingredient recipes that are so much more than the sum of their parts! Who would have thought that a bit of lemon juice + powdered sugar would combine to make a versatile and, dare I say, irresistible glaze? Some highlights:

• Simple ingredients. I am all about the basics, and if you have a lemon in the fridge and powdered sugar in the pantry, you can make this in a flash.
• Use the formula for other glazes. Getting the proportions right is imperative! So once you master this basic recipe, you can use it with other flavors and citrus juices.
• Really adds a punch of flavor. Anytime I feel like I want to add a little something to a basic cake, I turn to lemon glaze. Drizzle it over, serve with softly whipped cream, and you've the makings of a special dessert.

Ingredients Needed

Just 2 ingredients go into this little beauty. Make sure to scroll down to my recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full ingredient amounts and instructions!

• Powdered sugar
• Lemon juice - I really prefer a real lemon here, although bottled juice will also work if that's all you have. Plan on squeezing the whole lemon, then measure out how much you need.

Variations to Consider

• Orange - Use orange or tangerine juice instead of lemon juice for an orange glaze.
• Lime - I love using this method for an easy lime glaze. Just swap an equal amount of fresh lime juice for the lemon juice.
• Add the zest - For even more lemony flavor, zest the lemon using a fine grater or zester into the glaze.
• Vanilla - Add ¼ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract to the glaze.
• Honey - Swap 1 tablespoon of lemon juice for honey to make a honey-lemon glaze.

Tips & Recipe Notes

• Consistency matters. You can add more powdered sugar to make a thick, frosting-like glaze or add more lemon juice for more of a drizzly icing. Make sure to have extra sugar and juice on hand so you can adjust as needed.
• Fresh lemon, please! OK, bottled lemon juice totally works, too; it's just that freshly squeezed lemon juice tastes so much better.
• Add to cooled items only. The quickest way to make a glaze disappear is to add it to warm baked goods! Make sure to thoroughly cool cakes, cookies, muffins, etc., before adding the glaze so that it shows up prettily on top.
• Sift the sugar. ALWAYS sift powdered sugar before whisking it into glazes or mixing it into frostings. This will eliminate any lumps and instead create a gorgeously smooth glaze.
• Double up. Easily double or even triple the quantities in the recipe card to make more glaze.

Serving Options

• Cake - Drizzle lemon glaze over a gluten free cranberry cake (above), a gluten free gingbread snacking cake, a gluten free busy day cake, or a gluten free vanilla buttermilk cake.
• Muffins - Gluten free gingerbread muffins love a lemon glaze, as do gf blueberry muffins, oat flour blueberry muffins, or oatmeal raspberry muffins.
• Scones - Try this glaze on gluten free blueberry scones or gluten free cherry scones.
• Cookies - Dress up gluten free shortbread or oat flour shortbread with this delightful glaze!

Proper Storage

Place the glaze in an airtight container such as a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid and store it in the fridge for up to 1 week.