These Vegan Lemon Cookies are infused with fresh lemon juice, vanilla and super moist thanks to almond flour. They are also oil-free and gluten-free. Soft and puffy and deliciously, fragrant cookies. All you need is just 8 ingredients and 1 bowl and bake in just 10 minutes!
VEGAN LEMON COOKIES
These little puffy vegan lemon cookies are so easy and fast to make….like 10 minutes prep! They are super soft and like clouds, yet have a nice chewy texture thanks to the almond flour. As I’ve mentioned before, my hubby loves lemon. He especially loves this Vegan Lemon Cake! He asked me to make him some lemon vanilla cookies and this is what I came up with. They are little cookies that are cakey and soft, but not dry, they are perfectly moist because of using almond flour to replace the oil. He actually hushed me as I was asking him if he approved….he said I was disturbing his bliss of eating them! Haha. In other words, he loved them.
If you love citrus in general, then be sure to check out these Vegan Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies, too! The recipe base is very similar to these lemon cookies.
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN LEMON COOKIES
First, you will need to gather these 8 ingredients (+salt):
- superfine blanched almond flour
- fine oat flour
- tapioca starch (or cornstarch)
- coconut sugar
- baking powder
- maple syrup
- fresh lemon juice and zest
- vanilla extract
To a large bowl, add the oat flour, almond flour, tapioca starch, salt, baking powder and coconut sugar. Whisk very well to ensure there are no lumps.
Add the syrup, lemon juice and vanilla and stir well for 1-2 minutes until it becomes thick and sticky.
Place the batter in the fridge to chill for about an hour. This is necessary so that the batter fluffs up and creates soft, cloud-like cookies, as you see in the photos.
After the batter has chilled, preheat an oven to 350°F (177°C) and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Using a 1 1/2 inch cookie scooper, drop 12 cookie scoops onto the pan. They should hold their shape as shown above. Do not flatten the cookies.
Bake for about 10-12 minutes until the edges are just beginning to turn a warm golden brown and puffy clouds form. See how gorgeous they spread and poof up on their own?
These Vegan Lemon Cookies may be healthier than the ones made with butter, white sugar and eggs, but they taste every bit as delicious! I served these with homemade lemonade and my daughter was ecstatic!
I’m telling you, these are SO soft and LIGHT like clouds. They are a lemon lovers dream and won’t leave you feeling heavy!
OTHER VEGAN COOKIE RECIPES
- Vegan Snickerdoodles
- Best Vegan Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 5 Ingredient Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
- Vegan Grain-free Chocolate Coconut Cookies
- Vegan Breakfast Cookies
Easy Vegan Lemon Cookies (Gluten-free, ONLY 8 Ingredients!)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (64g) superfine oat flour (I use Bob's Red Mill gluten-free)
- 1 cup (112g) superfine blanched almond flour (I used Bob's Red Mill labeled "superfine") SEE NOTES at bottom
- 2 tablespoons (16g) tapioca starch
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons (24g) coconut sugar (or white sugar)
- 1/4 cup (80g) pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon (35g) fresh lemon juice and the zest of 1 lemon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (7g) vanilla extract
NOTE
- Always use a scale for accuracy when baking, following MY gram weights listed. You never need cups, just the scale and bowl and make sure to zero out in between each ingredient.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- I really recommend a cookie scoop for these, so they bake up perfectly round and puffy. Using a regular spoon they won't work quite the same and the batter is too sticky to roll into balls.
- To a large bowl, add the oat flour, almond flour, tapioca starch, salt, baking powder and coconut sugar. Whisk very well to ensure there are no lumps.
- To the same bowl, add the lemon zest and stir it in. I just zested the lemon right over the bowl.
- Add the syrup, lemon juice and vanilla and stir well for 1-2 minutes until it becomes thick and sticky.
- If your batter is already thick and holding shape with a cookie scoop, no need to chill the dough. But if it's kind of soft and loose, place the batter in the fridge to chill for about an hour. This is necessary so that the batter fluffs up and creates soft, cloud-like cookies, as you see in the photos.
- Due to different brands of almond flour being more fine or not, this can affect how they spread. Also, in addition, I live in a warm, humid climate, which also helps them spread well. If you are in a drier climate or want yours spread out more, slightly flatten the cookies before baking, not too much, just a bit.
- After the batter has chilled, preheat an oven to 350°F (177°C) and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Using a 1 1/2 inch cookie scooper, drop 12 cookie scoops onto the pan. They should hold their shape as in the photos. If you weighed correctly, they should hold. If your cookie scoops are not holding their shape (too runny), either your measurements are off or you didn't use a superfine almond flour, which will cause the batter to be too wet. This will make your cookies bake up flatter. If yours seems too wet, to where it is a bit runny, then add 2 more tablespoons of almond flour if your first cookie scoop is not holding it's shape. I did not flatten them at all and mine spread and puffed up as you see in the photos.
- Bake for about 10-12 minutes until the edges are just beginning to turn a warm golden brown. Mine were done at 12 minutes. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes and use a thin spatula to carefully transfer to cool completely on a rack. These cookies are best the first day. They are still good by the 2nd day, but they do become almost too soft and crumble some.
Notes
- ALMOND FLOUR: Each brand can greatly vary in how fine the almond flour is, therefore it will result in different shapes of cookies for people. Some may end up with fluffier balls and some will spread like mine did and some may be flatter if you use a non-fine almond flour. They will still taste great, but this is something to keep in mind. Also, climate will affect how fluffy your cookies bake up. If you are in a hot humid climate, they tend to spread more since there is more moisture in the air.
- OAT FLOUR: Use certified gluten-free oat flour if needed. I use Bob's Red Mill.
Nutrition
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Any nut-free sub for the almond flour ?
Hi Dee! The almond flour is super important because it is what gives the moisture to the cookies. You could try tiger nut flour…I’ve heard some people use that as a sub for almond flour, but I’ve never tried it personally, so no clue as to the results. Another option would be to finely grind up some raw sunflower kernels, but they will NOT be nearly as fluffy as almond flour and they will leave a sunflower taste.
Thanks very much Brandi for another awesome recipe!
They are very much a hit down here in Aus, even for the non-vegan crowd 😊
So happy to hear that Dee, thank you so much for the feedback!!
Loved these! Made them using potato starch instead of tapioca starch and they turned out exactly as in the pictures! Thanks for another great recipe
Yay! So glad to hear that Elisabeth! Thank you for the feedback!
Just made these and they are amazing! They came out as light and fluffy little morsels. Yum!
Wonderful! I’m so glad to hear that, thank you so much for the feedback!
I made these tonight and LOVED them, as did my 9 year old and even my husband! Easy to make and so tasty. Will definitely make again. Thanks for a great recipe!
Thank you so much Erin for that feedback! I really appreciate it and am so glad everybody loved them!
These are adorable! Cookies can be adorable right? The texture looks spot on and I know I’d love the lemon-vanilla flavour.
On the to-do list!
Heck yeah, they can be adorable…haha! And tasty! Easy, adorable and tasty 🙂
These look delicious AND easy! I don’t have tapioca starch…is there a common pantry substitute for it? Thanks!
Hi Mansi! Yes, you could try subbing arrowroot. Tapioca is the best to use as it acts as the binder and gives moisture and also rise to the cookies, but arrowroot would be your next best sub. Arrowroot may make them a tad drier. You could also TRY cornstarch or potato starch, but it may make them on the dry side and a little more delicate. Just make sure to take them out at 10 minutes so they don’t overbake and let them completely cool before removing them from the pan with a spatula. Let me know how they turn out if you sub!
These turned out just perfect.. I love lemon and was so happy to see them gluten-free. I love that you used almond flour as well, it has a much nicer flavor I think:) xx
Oh my goodness! These look really perfect! They sound great! 🙂
Thank so much! 🙂
These are gorgeous cookies, Brandi! I love that they’re gluten free and healthy. I have all of these ingredients except for the tapioca starch. I should see if I have a viable substitute because if I do, I’m making these asap. My husband loves lemon flavoured desserts too – I can see him stuffing his face with these!
Thank you Nancy! Not sure about subbing the tapioca…it serves to thicken the batter and acts as the egg and springiness when baked. You could try arrowroot, but I don’t think it would hold as well. Not sure though. Tapioca is a pretty amazing ingredient! Let me know if you do 🙂
You had me at the first sentence Brandi! These look fantastic. Yet another of your fab recipes that I’ll forward to my gluten-intolerant niece. Love that you actually got hushed by your husband. Nothing better than watching family members quietly enjoying ones creations!
Thank you so much Saskia and thank you for sharing with your neice, that means so much to me!
Brandi, these cookies are looking even better than those gluten ones! Very well done! 🙂
Thank you Danny! I agree, I honestly prefer my gluten-free desserts more than the flour ones. I swear they taste better. I’ve finally gotten down the science of what works and they are MORE moist, healthier and need NO oil! I find flour dries things out quickly in a lot of cases.
You are amazing my friend. You have taken food creation to a whole new level.
You are so sweet Danny and always brighten my day! 🙂
These dainty little bites look so pretty, Brandi! Lemon cloud puffs? Yes, please. 🙂
Yes, they deserved a unique name, haha! Thanks Hannah 🙂
These loook so pillowy soft 🙂
They certainly are 🙂
“… little cloud puffs in your mouth.” Sold! With that description, how could I resist? Thanks for sharing another great recipe, Brandi.
Haha! Thanks John!
Girl, you make me miss almond flour SO much!
I’m so sorry :(. I’d die without almond flour, I use it for EVERYTHING!
Trust me, I MISS IT!! 😉
Lemon…vanilla..cookies. I LOVE all three, so am going to have to try these. I need some of the ingredients, but can’t wait to try them….and “maybe” share! 🙂 Thanks Brandy, you never fail at enticing me to try new things and explore the healthier side of flavor, which I never knew could be so yum-yum!
You are so sweet Charisse! Thank you! Please let me know if you try them, I’d love your feedback. These are light so they won’t leave you feeling groggy or icky like typical buttery cookies 🙂
I love finding all these egg-free recipes! Recently we found out our son can’t eat eggs or cow’s milk, so, I’m constantly in search of baking ideas without these ingredients. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Well, then you arrived at the perfect place! My whole blog is vegan, so no eggs, no dairy and most recipes are gluten-free and oil-free as well! Thank you so much for stopping by 🙂
Brandi, those look absolutely amazing!! So light and puffy. I’ve always been a chocolate person, but am fast coming over to the fruity/vanilla-y/lemon side! You’re killing me–I have all the ingredients to make these except the tapioca starch! 🙁
Thanks so much Erika! I love all the flavors…sometimes I want chocolate but sometimes vanilla totally hits the spot…these are so light, they don’t leave you feeling icky afterwards! 🙂
Delightful! Making these on my next baking journey!
Thank you Cindy…don’t forget the baking powder this time….haha! 🙂
I am a health food nut and a vegetarian now these I could eat and enjoy
We do too!
I want one… One batch more like it 😀
Delicious!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Yes, one batch! 😉
These look amazing ~ I want some now! 🙂
Thank you Kelli!
oh Brandi, these look soooo good! I want a little cloud puff!!! or two!! so your husband loves lemon and you love chocolate! 🙂 I love it!
Haha yes Alice! We couldn’t be more different! 🙂
Well, those sure are pretty little things! Perfect with a cup of tea.
Oooh tea sounds awesome! 🙂
These are BY FAR the BEST lemon cookies I have ever had! I don’t normally like lemon cookies because they are made with a gel-like substance at the top and cookie at the bottom (lemon bars/squares) and/or aren’t lemony enough or are too buttery. THESE are perfectly lemony (I added extra lemon juice!) and perfectly fluffy, like little lemon cakes! Even my 5 year old son loved them. I am never disappointed with Brandi’s recipes and whenever I attempt to stray away I am HIGHLY disappointed and so are my husband and son. These cookies pair quite well with a cup of earl grey tea with honey and oat milk 😋.