These delicious vegan lemon cookies land somewhere between a sugar cookie and shortbread, with a soft and chewy interior and a crisp exterior. Vegan butter creates the perfect texture and provides a rich buttery flavor, and fresh lemon juice and lemon zest give them so much tangy citrus flavor. These easy vegan cookies are so amazing that your non-vegan friends will want the recipe!
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When I set out to create a vegan lemon cookie recipe, I knew they had to be super lemony and just the right chewy-crisp texture. Little did I know that it would take trying 5 different recipes to finally create the perfect cookie.
Although there was frustration along the way, the elation I felt when I landed on this final recipe using vegan butter and ground flax seed made it all worth it. Happy baking!
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⭐ Why These Vegan Lemon Cookies Shine
- Both fresh lemon juice and lemon zest are used for the most lemony citrus flavor
- Easy cookie recipe that uses just 7 ingredients
- Soft and chewy vegan cookies with a crisp exterior that are egg-less and no butter, like these vegan oatmeal raisin cookies
- Instructions provided on how to freeze cookie dough to bake later
🍋 Cookie Ingredient Notes
- Vegan butter: Any brand of vegan butter should work, but I used Earth Balance.
- Ground flax seed: This is your egg substitute, which adds chewiness and additional structure to the cookies. Use them to make my flax pudding! You can also use chia seeds as an egg replacement.
- Fresh lemon juice and lemon zest (about 1 lemon): I strongly recommend using fresh lemon juice and zest for the best citrus flavor.
- Salt: Don't skip the salt! All sweets need salt to enhance their flavor.
📝 Variations & Substitutions
- Ground chia seeds: you can substitute chia seeds for the flax seeds to get a similar cookie texture
- Gluten-free lemon cookies: you should be able to substitute all-purpose gluten free flour with excellent results, but I have not recipe tested this
- Glazed cookies: although I find these cookies to be sweet enough, you can add a lemon glaze on top for extra sweetness. To make the glaze, whisk together ½ cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon softened vegan butter, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt, until no lumps remain. Drizzle over cooled cookies and enjoy!
🔪 How to Make Vegan Lemon Cookies
*See recipe card below for printable instructions
Using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, or using an electric hand mixer, cream together vegan butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes), stopping once to scrape down the bowl.
Add in the ground flax seed, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract, and mix until well combined.
Next, remove mixing bowl from the stand mixer and add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to mix by hand, mixing just until combined. Do not overmix or you will end up with tough cookies.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and place 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar into a small bowl.
Using a small cookie scoop, place 1 tablespoon-sized scoops of cookie dough onto baking sheet. Then, using the palms of your hands, roll cookie dough into balls, roll in the bowl of sugar to coat each ball, and return to cookie sheet. There should be 12 cookies per baking sheet.
Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly golden and the cookies are cooked through but still slightly soft. The cookies will continue baking after they're removed from the oven, so don't worry about under-baking them.
After removing cookies from the oven, give the baking sheets a few taps on the counter to help create the perfect crinkly texture. Let the cookies cool for 7-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
- Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- How to freeze: After completely cooled, place in a freezer-safe container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Use both lemon juice and zest for the best flavor. Zest carries the essential oils that gives these cookies their bright, natural lemon aroma, while the juice adds just enough tartness. Skipping the zest can make your cookies taste flat, so don't skimp on it!
- Chill cookie dough. Although it might be tempting, don't skip this step. Chilling the dough for at least 30 minutes will help to solidify the fats and allows them to be absorbed into the flour, resulting in cookies with a thicker and chewier texture. Without chilling, they will spread into flat discs during baking.
- Roll in sugar before baking. This not only adds an extra sweet crunch, but rolling the dough in sugar before going into the oven helps to keep the cookies soft and moist inside.
- Don't overbake. When in doubt, it's better to underbake vegan cookies, as they can go from perfectly soft to overbaked quickly. Take them out of the oven when the edges are just set and the centers still look a touch underdone -- they'll continue to firm up as they cool.
- Use a cookie scoop. This allows you to make uniform cookies that are all the same size.
🤔 How to Freeze Cookie Dough for Later
I like to always have cookie dough in the freezer. This way, I can bake a fresh batch of cookies to bring to a friend, or to serve for dessert if we're having guests over. Storing cookie dough in your freezer takes up less space than baked cookies, so it's a win-win!
To freeze, place cookie dough balls on a baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes. Next, transfer them to a large freezer bag. This can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When you are ready to bake cookies, bake them directly from the freezer, adding an extra 2-3 minutes to the bake time.
💬 Frequently Asked Questions
If your cookies spread more than expected, your dough might be too warm or your vegan butter too soft. Try chilling the dough for 20-30 minutes before baking.
Dry cookies usually mean too much flour or not enough moisture. Spoon and level your flour (don't scoop directly from the bag), and check that you're measuring your lemon juice accurately. A teaspoon or two of non-dairy milk can also help bring the dough together if it feels too dry before baking.
For extra citrus flavor, add more fresh lemon zest - it packs far more flavor than juice alone. You can also stir in a small drop of pure lemon extract if you love a bold, tart flavor. Just avoid overdoing the juice, which can make the dough too wet.
Overbaking is the most common culprit. Vegan cookies often continue to firm up as they cool, so take them out of the oven when the edges are just set and the centers still look underbaked. Also, make sure not to overmix once you add the flour - that can toughen the texture.
Store completely cooled cookies in an airtight container with a small piece of bread or a slice of apple -- it keeps moisture in without making them soggy. They'll stay soft for several days at room temperature, or up to 3 months in the freezer.
🍪 More Vegan Cookie Recipes
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Vegan Lemon Cookies Recipe
Equipment
- Stand mixer or electric hand-mixer
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegan butter, room temperature
- ½ cup + 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground flax seed
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, or using an electric hand mixer, cream together vegan butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes), stopping once to scrape down the bowl.
- Add in the ground flax seed, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract, and mix until well combined.
- Next, remove mixing bowl from the stand mixer and add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to mix by hand, mixing just until combined. Do not overmix or you will end up with tough cookies.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and place 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar into a small bowl.
- Using a small cookie scoop, place 1 tablespoon-sized scoops of cookie dough onto baking sheet. Then, using the palms of your hands, roll cookie dough into balls, roll in the bowl of sugar to coat each ball, and return to cookie sheet. There should be 12 cookies per baking sheet.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly golden and the cookies are cooked through but still slightly soft. The cookies will continue baking after they're removed from the oven, so don't worry about under-baking them.
- After removing cookies from the oven, give the baking sheets a few taps on the counter to help create the perfect crinkly texture. Let the cookies cool for 7-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
- Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Chill cookie dough. Although it might be tempting, don't skip this step. Chilling the dough for at least 30 minutes will help to solidify the fats and allows them to be absorbed into the flour, resulting in cookies with a thicker and chewier texture. Without chilling, they will spread into flat discs during baking.
- Roll in sugar before baking. This not only adds an extra sweet crunch, but rolling the dough in sugar before going into the oven helps to keep the cookies soft and moist inside.
- Don't overbake. When in doubt, it's better to underbake cookies. Take them out of the oven after 12-14 minutes, even if they look underbaked. They will continue to cook on the baking sheet after being removed from the oven.
Barb says
I love a lemon cookie! I will be trying these for the holidays! I like the pic of the cookie dough on the sheet before baking. It shows the size to roll them. I always tend to make mine too big. Thank you!
MaryAnne says
I hope you love them as much as I do! And I'm glad you found the instructional pics helpful! 🙂
Anna says
I was beginning to think I would never find a good vegan lemon cookie recipe, but these had so much lemon flavor and the perfect chewy texture!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
MaryAnne says
You are welcome, Anna! Enjoy! 🙂