Vegan Lemon Cookies

🍪 Why We Love This Recipe

• Sweet and tart: Don't get me wrong, I love a classic chocolate chip cookie, but sometimes it's nice to switch things up and opt for something a bit less sweet. Thanks to the lemon juice and zest, these cookies are a great combination of sweet and tart, and are a nice change from your typical all-sweet cookie.
• Soft and buttery: These vegan lemon cookies completely remind me of the Lofthouse frosted sugar cookies we used to buy growing up. If you don't know what I'm talking about, they're an iconic American grocery store sugar cookie – super soft, chewy, buttery and topped with icing and sprinkles. Think of these as the lemon version of those (but also vegan, and a bit healthier!).
• Three types of lemon: With lemon zest, lemon extract, and lemon juice, these cookies are packed with lemon flavor.
• Simple recipe: Just mix the wet and dry ingredients, shape into cookies, chill, bake, and frost. These vegan lemon cookies are super easy and fool-proof.
• Vegan and gluten free: Our vegan lemon cookies are dairy and egg free and also gluten free, although you can easily use regular all purpose flour if preferred. Perfect for just about any dietary needs!

🍋 Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make these vegan lemon cookies:

📋 Ingredient Notes

• Gluten free 1-to-1 flour: Also known as "measure for measure" flour, this is a flour we always use when making gluten free baked goods. Specifically, this one from Bob's Red Mill (it always works!). It contains xanthan gum and other ingredients that help your gluten free baked goods mimic the texture of traditional bakes.
  • If you're not gluten free, you can sub this out for regular all purpose flour.
• Almond flour: We like to use a combination of gluten free flour and almond or oat flour in our baked goods – it tends to add a bit more moisture to the cookies, which can sometimes be lacking in vegan and gluten free baked goods.
  • If you are not gluten free, you can sub the almond flour out for more regular all purpose flour.
• Lemon extract: This is a bit of an uncommon ingredient, but you should be able to find this in your grocery store's baking aisle or near the vanilla extract. If you can't find any, you can use orange extract or vanilla extract in a pinch.
• Agave syrup: Feel free to substitute with maple syrup.
• Lemon juice: You have to go with freshly squeezed lemon juice in these vegan lemon cookies. It's the best way to add flavor, plus you'll need the zest from a fresh lemon, so you might as well use the whole thing! (And no, you can't skip the zest – it's where most of the flavor comes from in these cookies.)
• Butter: Just about any vegan butter should work well in these cookies, but we particularly love using Miyoko's butter. It's made with coconut oil and cashews instead of palm oil (which is what most vegan butters contain), and it's the closest substitute we've found to real butter!

🔪 Step-by-step Instructions

PREP: Preheat the oven to 350˚F / 175˚C.

(1) In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt (the dry ingredients).

(2) In another large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to mix together the melted butter, agave, sugar, lemon extract, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and lemon juice (the wet ingredients).

(3) In 2-3 batches, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until well combined.

(4) Use a cookie scooper to scoop cookie dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Use the bottom of a glass or a round measuring cup to press the cookies down so they are each about ¼ inch (½ cm) thick. (They don't spread much in the oven, so this is an essential step). Place the cookies in the freezer for 15 minutes before baking.

(5) Remove from freezer and bake for 9-10 minutes. The cookies will still be pale, but will continue to cook slightly when you remove from oven. Let cool completely before topping with glaze.

(6) While the cookies are cooling, whisk together all of the lemon glaze ingredients until there are no lumps left.

(7) Once the cookies are cooled, frost each cookie with glaze and sprinkle with some lemon zest.

💭 Expert Tips and FAQs

• Flattening the cookie dough: Use the bottom of a glass or a measuring cup to flatten the cookie dough balls before baking. Make certain not to skip this step, as the cookies do not spread much while baking.
• Be sure to pop the cookies in the freezer before baking. This will give the butter in your cookies a chance to firm up before baking, and the flour a chance to hydrate. This will result in a chewier cookie. You can even opt to freeze these cookies and then bake them when you're ready.
• Don't over bake the cookies! As you can see in photo #5 above, the cookies will be pretty pale in color once they are finished baking. Unlike other cookie recipes, you don't want these vegan lemon cookies to turn golden brown, so don't leave them in for longer than 10-11 minutes max. They will continue to bake slightly and dry out as they cool, so don't worry if they seem under baked. We tried many different bake times and 10 minutes is definitely the sweet spot!
• Wait to add the glaze until the cookies are completely cool. Otherwise, it will all drip off and won't set properly.
• Let the lemon zest (for topping) dry out while you bake the cookies. Zest the lemon and spread it out on a plate or sheet pan, then let it dry out while the cookies bake and cool. This will make it easier to top the cookies after glazing them – it's hard to do when the zest is still wet.
• Storage: store leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to one week. You can store at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
• Freezer storage: place the cookies in an airtight container and freeze for up to 6 months. Defrost to room temperature before enjoying.

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