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.
Line cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper (if needed), set aside.
Prepare your flax egg by whisking together ground flax seeds and water. Set aside to thicken.
Add the sugar and lemon zest to a small bowl, and mix them together, occasionally pressing the back of the spoon against the mixture to help release the oil from the lemon zest. Mix until both ingredients have combined well, set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter, and sugar mixture until blended and creamy, about 2 minutes. Stop to scrape down the sides of your bowl when needed. Add flax egg, lemon juice, lemon extract, and vanilla extract, blend again for 1 minute.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed with your electric mixer or with a wooden spoon until a soft dough has formed.
Using a medium-sized cookie scoop (or a tablespoon) scoop the dough and place on the cookie sheet. If you are using a tablespoon, roll each scoop into a ball. (Don't press the cookie dough balls down, they will flatten as they bake.)
If making the vegan version: Bake for 10 minutes.If making the vegan gluten-free version: Bake for 8 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. They will be puffy and very soft right after they come out of the oven, but that's okay, they will flatten and firm up as they cool.
After the 5 minutes have passed, carefully transfer them to a cooling rack.
Notes
Please read all of the information and FAQ info above, as well as the notes below before making this recipe.
This recipe makes 19 cookies if you use a medium-sized cookie scoop (medium scoops are usually 1.5 tablespoons).
The cup measurements are the same for both types of flour, but their weights are different because they have different properties and densities. If you're weighing your ingredients, make sure to take note of these differences and measure your flour accurately.
If you will be making the vegan gluten-free version, it's important to know that different gluten-free flour blends use different ingredients and ratios, so results will always vary if you substitute. I have never used any other brand of flour to make this recipe (other than Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour (Amazon link) in the blue bag, NOT the red bag), so please know that your results may not be the same as mine if you substitute with another gluten-free flour blend. This recipe will NOT work with coconut flour or any other single gluten-free flour.
Store your cookies for up to seven days in an airtight container at room temperature.
Freezing Baked Cookies: Freeze the cookies in single layers in a freezer bag or airtight container, with parchment paper separating each layer, for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature.
Freeze Cookie Dough for Baking Later: Follow steps 2-8 in the recipe, then place the cookie sheet in the freezer. Once completely frozen, place the cookie dough balls in an airtight, freezer-safe bag or container, with parchment paper separating each layer, and freeze for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to bake them, remove them from the freezer, place them on a prepared baking sheet, and bake for 11-12 minutes (no need to thaw them but if you do thaw them, just bake for 10 minutes).
The nutrition info listed below is based on one cookie with the recipe made as written using all-purpose flour. The recipe made with Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour has a calorie count of 113 per cookie. Nutrition info is only to be used as a rough guide. Click here to learn how nutrition info is calculated on this website.