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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Easy yummy and all pure ingredients. Thanks for sharing
These look delicious. I love that they don’t need any oil. I’m not particularly looking to make them glutenfree, so can I just use wheat flour instead of the oat and almond flours and leave out the tapioca starch?
Hi! Unfortunately not, the almond flour is what makes them moist and gives them a specific texture since they are oil-free. Wheat flour would completely change the recipe and make them dry and tough. The recipe is written based off the almond and tapioca so if you don’t want to use those, it would be best to find one that isn’t gluten-free.
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This is one of my go to dessert recipes and always a hit with everyone!! I often add a coconut butter glaze & some pistachios or almonds on top but they’re still great without. The only change I make is using about half of the lemon juice that it calls for, otherwise it’s way overpowering. This might be due to the fact I live in Hawaii and use fresher “stronger” lemons. If you love lemon, you’ll love these cookies!
I made these for my dad who loves lemon flavored desserts and they came out perfect! I used the gram weights and it was super easy! Will definitely be adding these to me dessert rotation!!
Ok this is THE perfect lemon cookie recipe. I have tried to make a cookie just bursting with lemon flavor for years and this is IT. These had the best texture I have ever had from a cookie, tender on the outside with a faint gentle caramelly crunch on the outside, and they rivaled any non gluten free non vegan cookie I have ever eaten- all with like 1/4 a cup of maple syrup and no added oil! I am absolutely blown away by this kitchen wizardry. Just wanted to say THANK YOU for blessing the world with these amazing cookies!
These are amazing! Thank you so much!
Excellent recipe!
Omg deeelish! Thank you for this amazing recipe!! Used a scale to measure out ingredients, as you recommended. Also, I didn’t have tapioca starch, so I used potato starch instead, and it turned out great!!
Do these cookies freeze well? I need to make some vegan desserts for an event I’m catering, and your recipe looks so delicious! I need to bake ahead of time, which is why I ask. Thank you!
They freeze ok, but can dry out! I’d try a small test batch first.
I made a double batch of these today and they are very tasty! My daughter and son-in-law loved them, too.
Yay!!
I LOVE these cookies.
Wondering if you could switch the amounts of almond flour and oat flour to cut down on the amount of fat and still have them turn out well?
What can you use in place of Almond flour, I am allergic to almonds?
The almond flour provides the moisture, richness and texture because of the fat, so it can’t be replaced here unfortunately.
Hello! Novice vegan baker here, wanting to make a vegan/gluten free cookie for a wedding cookie table. Since I’ll only be using the ingredients in this small quantity, I wonder if using Bob’s Red Mill 1 for 1 flour substitute would work? Could I use it for both the oat and almond flour measurements in the same weight for each? Do I still need tapioca powder (the 1 for 1 contains xanthum gum)? If so, does arrowroot substitute at the same weight or an adjusted amount? Thank you for your help! I really want to have these to offer to our guests are gluten-free and/or vegan.
Hi! No, you really need to follow the written recipe with the flours listed. They each play a role in both taste and texture. If you used a flour blend substitute, they would end up very dry and dense. The almond flour makes them moist, as it’s high fat. The oat and tapioca help its structure and give the lovely texture.
These really are delicious little cookies! I love the soft and slightly chewy texture, and the fact that they are healthier than cookies made with a ton of sugar and oil. I used 1 tablespoon of cornstarch instead of the 2 tablespoons of tapioca starch, and it worked just fine. I can’t wait to make these again!
This is my third time making these cookies, so obviously we like them! This time I added a little drizzle of icing made with confectioners sugar and lemon juice. Such a great treat. We only make dessert about once a month and Vegan 8 is my go-to for dessert recipes (and many other recipes).
Aww thank you so much Laurel!
My husband and I have made these several times. They are the best lemon cookies we’ve ever had!
Yay that’s awesome!
SO thrilled to hear this Jessica!
It is a great tasting recipe. I doubled it today because everyone like it.
These cookies have such an amazing texture!
Would it be possible to sub soy milk for the lemon juice and add almond extract for an amaretti-type cookie? (Leaving out the zest as well). Or does the dough need an acid to fluff up so much?
Thank you for the amazing recipes!
Thank you! So glad you loved them! Yes, that should work. They may spread a bit less, but the baking powder doesn’t require acidity like baking soda does, so I think they should still be fluffy, just slightly less.
Success! I followed the recipe using weights provided. Doubled the recipe and was surprised at how refrigerating the dough led to fluffy cookies. I am experimenting with storage and have some in freezer (since I used tapioca and not potato starch). The rest I stored in tupperware and noticed next day they felt a little “damp”, though still tasty. I rewrapped them, and put a few in the refrigerator to see if that changes texture. I also bumped the lemon juice, yum yum yum!
So glad you loved them! Yes, storing anything in plastic will conceal the moisture and make them more wet. Use glass.
These are so good!! The husband loved them too! I had some lemons to use up so I made some today — gotta make them again! Do you know if I can bake part of the dough one day and keep the rest chilled and bake it the next day?
I’m so happy to hear this Lisa! That should work fine, just know that they will probably not spread as much after chilling since the almond flour will absorb some of the liquid.
This was unequivocally THE best lemon (vegan) cookie I’ve ever eaten. The only adjustment I made was to add additional lemon zest for more lemon flavor. D-LICIOUS cookie!! Everyone I share them with says the same thing. No funny ‘after taste’ like some lemon cookie. Simply a great lemony cookie
Just made these and they are sooo delicious. Ground my own almond flour from raw almonds and my own oat flour. Subbed the tapioca starch for arrowroot and the coconut sugar for date sugar. And cut the salt in half. These are now my official, go-to cookie. What to eat them all, but I have to bring some to my mother.
My kitchen smells amaaaaazing! These are so light and absolutely delicious.
The only substitutions I made were corn starch instead of tapioca, and honey instead of maple. Both same gram amount. I could. I was still able to scoop them very well. I was able to make 16 cookies. I didn’t flaten them. The cookies did spread a bit, and were not puffy like in the picture, but I’m assuming because i didn’t leave the mix in the fridge long enough.
Also a tip for people who mill their almond flour at home, I mill the almonds with the oats, that way I can get the finest almond flour possible without it clumping up and turning into almond butter. Even if you don’t have oats in the recipe, you can add the corn/tapioca starch!
Idk why it delete the sentence, but I wrote that I couldn’t leave the mix in the fridge for one hour as I have to leave
I’m so thrilled to hear you loved these Layan!! Thanks for sharing your tips!
Good tip. My almond flour was a bit clumpy, and I was wondering if I could reduce that with the oat flour, I’ll do that next time.
I’m all things cookies! Not a big lemon dessert fan though. Gave these a shot and yep they see good! Worth the time. They taste like those lemon cookies you get from the store, but 100% better and it’s real lemons lol, not artificial. But the taste is legit! Another Vegan8 Brandi recipe well done! So amazing how you create these recipes facing the challenges of no wheat and no eggs or dairy. It’s a real talent. Thanks for sharing them with everyone!
Thank you so much for the kind words! So glad you enjoyed these!