Vegan Lemon Cookies

Easy vegan lemon cookies that are soft, chewy, sweet, tangy, filled with fresh lemon flavour, and irresistible!

The best part about these easy vegan cookies is that you can have them ready in under 30 minutes and they can also be made gluten-free if needed.

Maybe you're like me when it comes to your favourite cookies. My top five all include chocolate in some form, because to me, chocolate chips, or chocolate chunks in cookies are perfection.

However, after perfecting this chocolate-free cookie recipe, one of those cookies from my faves list had to be bumped from the top five to make room for these vegan lemon cookies!

What I love about them, and what I hope you'll love, too, is that they're so different from most cookies. They have a satisfying, bright, fresh flavour (thanks to fresh lemon juice and lemon zest), and they're lighter-tasting and not too sweet.

They're also soft, chewy, and crisp, all at the same time. They come together quickly (no chilling!) and they're so simple to make.

As always, this cookie recipe is eggless, and dairy-free and I've also perfected a vegan gluten-free version for you, too, so no one has to miss out when the cookies are being passed around.

Before you go through the details, have a look through all of my vegan cookie recipes, to choose the next one to make (after this one!), there's something for everyone.

Ingredients You'll Need

Before you gather your ingredients, I've listed info about each one along with substitution info.

Ingredient and Substitution Notes

Flour - When developing this recipe, I tested and perfected two versions: one vegan and the other vegan AND gluten-free, so you have two flour choices.

For vegan lemon cookies: Use all-purpose white flour.

For gluten-free vegan lemon cookies: Use Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour in the BLUE bag. Oat flour, almond flour, coconut flour or any other gluten-free flour on its own will not work, it must be this specific gluten-free flour blend to get the results I do.

I haven't tested this recipe with any type of flour other than the two listed above.

NOTE: Measuring flour accurately for baking is essential to a recipe turning out as it should, no matter what type of flour you're using. Read this article: "How to Measure Flour Correctly" before you start.

Baking Soda - This is essential in helping the cookies get a little rise, and spread, and to make them have the proper texture. There is no baking powder in this recipe and it cannot be used instead of baking soda.

Salt - A little is needed to provide balance in flavour and sweetness.

Sugar – You'll need granulated cane sugar or white granulated sugar. A liquid sweetener like pure maple syrup or agave will not work. I have not tested with any granulated sugar alternatives.

Lemon Zest - Three ingredients provide the bright lemon flavour in these cookies, the zest from fresh lemons is the first. Make sure to zest your lemon before juicing it, it's so much easier that way!

Vegan Butter - You’ll need to use a firm stick of vegan butter that has been brought to room temperature, not the spreadable type that you get in containers / tubs, they’ll make your cookie dough spread too much while baking.

IMPORTANT TIP: Always make sure that your vegan butter is slightly softened before starting, NOT melted or TOO soft. To know if your butter is at the ideal softness, lightly press your finger into it. If it leaves a shallow indent, it's the perfect temperature. If your finger sinks into the butter with barely any effort, it's too soft. Refrigerate it until it has firmed up and then test it again.

Lemon Juice - Lemon juice contributes to the bold lemon flavour, don't leave it out and only use freshly squeezed lemon juice, don't use bottled juice, it won't give your cookies the best flavour.

Flax Eggs – This recipe is made without eggs, so ground flax seeds and water are used to make a flax egg. A chia egg can be used instead of flax if you prefer.

Lemon Extract and Vanilla Extract – The lemon extract is important because it also contributes to the lemon flavour, the vanilla extract adds another subtle layer of flavour, so don't leave either of them out.

How to Make Them

(Note: I’ve outlined the step-by-step on how to make this recipe here, but find the full recipe, ingredients, and directions in the recipe card at the end of this post.)

Start by making vegan lemon sugar. Instead of just adding the sugar and the lemon zest to the recipe, you'll mix them separately to release lemon oil from the zest so it sticks to the sugar granules. This will bring out even more lemon flavour.

Mix the two until the mixture looks like wet sand.

1. Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and cream the butter and sugar together in another bowl. Add the rest of the wet ingredients to the butter mixture and mix well (it may look a little curdled at this point, but that's okay!), and then combine the wet and dry ingredients.

2. Using a medium-sized cookie scoop (or a tablespoon) scoop the dough onto your cookie sheet. If you are using a tablespoon, roll each scoop into a ball.

Repeat until the cookie sheet is filled, leave some space around each cookie and don't flatten them, they will spread on their own as they bake.

3. Bake, and when done, remove the cookie sheet from the oven. They will seem very soft and under-baked, that's how they're supposed to be. Don't move or handle them, allow them to rest on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, they will continue to cook as they rest and will firm up.

4. Carefully transfer the cookies to a cooling rack.

Variations

These eggless lemon cookies are perfect as-is but you can change the recipe slightly to create other delicious versions.

• Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies - Add two tablespoons of poppy seeds to the cookie dough after the wet and dry ingredients have been combined.
• Lemon Cookies with White Chocolate Chips - Fold ½ cup of vegan white chocolate chips into the mixed cookie dough. For a list of brands that make vegan white chocolate chips, read my article "Are Chocolate Chips Vegan?"
• Try a Different Citrus - Replace the zest, extract, and juice with lime or orange.
• Make Them Brighter Yellow - The cookies made with the recipe as written are a very pale yellow. If you want the colour to be more vibrant, add a small pinch of ground turmeric (you won't taste it!) when mixing the dry ingredients or add a drop or two of yellow food colour gel to the mixed dough.
• Make Them Sparkly - Roll the cookie dough balls in granulated sugar before baking. Another fun idea (maybe for Easter?) is to roll them in pink, purple or yellow sugar before baking.
• Add a Simple Lemon Glaze - Make a quick glaze to drizzle over the cookies by adding ½ cup (60g) powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon (30ml) lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon lemon zest (optional) to a bowl and mix very well. After the cookies have fully cooled, drizzle the glaze over each cookie and allow them to sit until the glaze dries.

A Note About the Vegan Gluten-Free Version

When making two versions of a recipe, I test each one several times to make sure everything is correct before I share it with you. I also try to keep each version as close to each other as possible so the recipe will be easy to follow but that's not always possible.

In this case, the vegan gluten-free cookies kept turning out too dry and too crisp when I baked them for the same amount of time as the vegan version.

After a few tests, I concluded that the vegan gluten-free lemon cookies need to be baked for 2 minutes less to get the same ideal texture. So please take note of the baking time for each type when making this recipe.

This is another example of recipes not always being interchangeable by just changing the flour type, why it's always wise to follow a baking recipe as it's written, and why you should always use recipes that have been well-tested. Please read all of my helpful vegan gluten-free baking tips.

Storing and Freezing

Store fully cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to seven days. They will soften slightly after they have been stored.

Freezing Baked Cookies

Freeze your cookies in single layers in a freezer bag or airtight container, with parchment paper separating each layer, for up to 2 months.

Freezing Cookie Dough

You can prepare the cookie dough, scoop it and then freeze for up to two months. All the details on how to do this can be found in the recipe notes below.

Tips for Success

• Measure and have all your ingredients ready to go before starting. This will make the process run smoothly, quickly, and easily. Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature.
• Measure your flour correctly. Too much flour will result in cookies that are dry, puffy, domed, and cakey, too little will give you oily cookies that spread too much while baking. Please read my article about how to measure flour correctly. This tip also applies to all other ingredients, make sure to measure them accurately to get the best results. I highly recommend using a scale (this is the one I have) and my weight measurements.
• Make sure your butter is softened but still cool to the touch before starting. Softened butter will blend better and easier with the sugar. Make sure that it's not TOO soft (or melted!) or your cookies will spread too much while baking. See the tip in the Ingredients and Substitution Notes section above for info on how to know if your butter is good to go.
• If your butter was too soft when you started OR if you are making this recipe on a very warm day, after you've made the cookie dough, before scooping it onto the cookie sheet, place the bowl of dough in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes to cool it down so they don't overspread when baking.
• Zest your lemon before juicing it. This will save you a lot of frustration, zesting a juiced lemon is not easy!
• Use a cookie scoop. This will result in uniform-sized cookies so they all bake evenly. Using a scoop also makes this step quicker, cleaner, and easier.
• Don't skip the resting time after you've removed them from the oven. You must let them rest for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack since they're very soft right after baking. They continue to cook as they rest and will firm up as they cool.
• Read this post from top to bottom before you start. I’ve included many tips and tricks so you get things right. Also, read through the actual recipe before getting started.
• Follow the recipe exactly as it’s written for the very best results.

Recipe FAQ

If You Make This Recipe...

Please tell me all about it! Did you make the vegan version or the vegan gf version? Let me know by leaving a comment and star rating below and you can also post a picture to Instagram and tag me so I can see your remake! (I’m @delightfuladventures on Instagram)

If You Like This Recipe...

You may like these other vegan cookie recipes or these vegan lemon recipes:

• Easy Vegan Lemon Curd
• Vegan Lemon Buttercream Frosting
• Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
• Vegan Lemon Cheesecake
• Vegan Lemon Doughnuts