Vegan Lemon Cookies Recipe
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!
Servings: 16 cookies
Calories: 122kcal
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.
Nutrition
Calories: 122kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 114mg | Potassium: 19mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 0.2IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 0.5mg
