Soft Lemon Cookies (Gluten-Free + Vegan)

This cookie is one of my all-time favorite recipes. I love how well the lemon comes through, and I love the reaction I get from people when they try these cookies: they can't believe they are gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free. This cookie is soft and delicious, and I recommend adding the lemon glaze for even more lemon flavor.

Important Ingredients

• Coconut Oil — Coconut oil is our butter replacer in this recipe, and it does a great job of holding the dough together and giving moisture and softness to these cookies. I like this coconut oil.

• Granulated Sugar – Granulated sugar works best in this recipe to preserve the bright color of these cookies, so I don't recommend brown sugar for this recipe.

• Almond milk – I use almond milk or coconut milk interchangeably in this recipe. Either works great.

• Fresh lemon juice and lemon zest – There really is no replacing the bright flavor from a fresh lemon. For these cookies to be their best, I recommend only using fresh lemon juice and zest. These two ingredients really make the flavors in these cookies shine. I like using this lemon zester.

• Almond flour – Almond flour is the trick behind successful gluten-free baking. Almond flour provides a lighter crumb, a better flavor profile, and is also more nutrient dense than other gluten-free flours. It can't stand on its own, however, because it doesn't bind well enough to keep dough together. That's where the combination of almond flour and gluten-free blends comes in. I like this almond flour.

• Gluten-free flour blend. – King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour works great in this recipe to bind the ingredients together. If you use a different blend, make sure it has xanthan gum in it, or else add 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum to the recipe.

How to Make this Recipe

Melt coconut oil. In a medium-sized, microwave-safe bowl, microwave coconut oil on a low power until fully melted, about 2 minutes at 20 percent power.

Add sugar and more. To the bowl with the melted coconut oil, add the sugar, almond milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Stir till combined.

Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir till combined.

Combine wet and dry ingredients. Pour the wet mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Be sure to use a spatula to scrape everything out of the wet ingredients bowl. Mix gently till fully combined and no flour clumps remain.

Chill. Cover the dough and chill for at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes. Chill time helps the dough set and prevents the dough from sinking into flat pancake cookies when baked.

Preheat oven. When your dough is done chilling, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Roll dough into balls. Form your dough into cookie balls by rolling the dough between your hands until the surface of the dough is smooth. Place the cookie balls on a cookie sheet (I prefer to use parchment paper on my cookie sheets) and press down gently to form a disc shape.

Bake. Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes. For lower elevation, aim for closer to 12 minutes. For higher elevation (above 3000 feet), aim for 14 minutes. A slight crust will form on the outside of the cookies but the inside will remain soft. Don't be tempted to overbake as they harden when cooled, however, if you prefer a bit more crunch to your cookies, bake them for a minute longer.

Cool. Allow about 30 minutes for the cookies to cool completely before frosting or eating.

Frost. While these cookies are great without frosting, I recommend adding my dairy-free lemon glaze to these cookies for extra lemony deliciousness!

Enjoy. These cookies last for 3 days on the counter or up to a week in the fridge. This recipe makes approximately 18 cookies, depending on size. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Cookie Softness. These cookies are meant to be soft, but if you prefer a slightly crispier, chewier cookie, I recommend decreasing the chill time to 15 minutes maximum and increasing the bake time by 1-2 minutes.

Substitutions

Vegan butter. You can optionally use vegan butter in place of coconut oil, if preferred.

Non-dairy milk. You can use almond milk, coconut milk, or a combination in this recipe.

Gluten-free flour blend. Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour works similarly to the King Arthur blend in this recipe and can be used interchangeably. If you use a different blend that does not include xanthan gum, be sure to add 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum to the recipe. It helps to hold the flours together.