These easy lemon almond flour cookies are so zesty, chewy and soft, they basically melt in your mouth! Made from scratch with almond flour and no butter, eggs or refined sugar, these vegan lemon cookies are the perfect sweet treat for lemon lovers! {Vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo, & low carb}
Table of Contents
Almond Flour Lemon Cookies
It’s hard to resist a cookie, especially when they’re this zesty and delicious! Slightly golden on the outside and soft, chewy, and buttery on the inside, these lemon almond flour cookies have a fresh and tangy lemon flavor in every bite.
The perfect cookie recipe for those who love all things lemon!
My favorite thing about these vegan lemon cookies is that they aren’t like your typical homemade cookie.
They only contain a handful of simple ingredients so they’re low fuss and super easy to prepare. You won’t have to spend hours baking since they come together in a matter of minutes.
Plus, they taste like shortbread cookies, but are packed with healthier ingredients. Such a tasty and healthy alternative!
Decorate them with some fun sprinkles, top them with a lemon glaze and some extra lemon zest, or eat them as is along with a cup of tea — I guarantee they won’t last long!
For more eggless cookies, be sure to try these Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies and Oat Thumbprint Cookies too!
Why We Love this Vegan Lemon Cookie Recipe
- Soft and chewy: The texture of these lemon almond cookies are so soft and fluffy. They basically melt in your mouth!
- Zesty: Flavoured with lemon zest, there’s nothing shy about these cookies. They are bright, zingy and so tasty!
- Easy: These cookies require only a few simple ingredients and take a short time to prepare. It’s a great recipe that the kids can help you make too!
- Nutritious: These are no ordinary cookies! Because they’re made with almond flour, they’re a low carb, naturally gluten-free option that’s packed with healthy fats and fibre. Only a bit of maple syrup is added, so they’re low sugar too.
- Easily customizable: These gluten-free lemon cookies are so fun to decorate and you can adapt them depending on what you’re feeling. So many ways to spruce them up!
Ingredient Notes
- Almond Flour: These vegan lemon shortbread cookies are made with almond flour to give them a slight nutty flavour, fluffy texture, and dose of nutrients too. Use blanched almond flour for best results. I used Bob’s Red Mill.
- Salt: Just a little salt helps to enhance the lemon flavor of the cookies.
- Maple syrup: To sweeten the cookies. Use 100% pure maple syrup. Honey can also be used if you don’t require these cookies to be vegan.
- Coconut oil: This replaces the need for butter and eggs in the cookies and incorporates a nice flavor that complements the almond and lemon flavors. Use coconut oil at room temperature so that it’s not too difficult to combine. You can also try a vegan butter or earth balance if you prefer.
- Lemon zest: For that unmistakeable fresh and bright lemon flavor. Use the zest of fresh lemons.
- Vanilla and almond extract: To flavor the shortbread. For a more lemony taste, you can use lemon extract instead of the almond extract or vanilla extract.
How to Make Soft Lemon Cookies – Step-by-Step Instructions
- Add the almond flour and salt to a large mixing bowl and mix to combine, breaking up any clumps of almond flour.
- In a separate bowl, mix the maple syrup, coconut oil, lemon zest, warm water, vanilla and almond extract in a small bowl until combined, smoothing out any large clumps of coconut oil with the back of the spoon.
- Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until combined into a thick dough. The mixture will seem crumbly, but it should stick together when you press it together with two fingers.
- Chill dough in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a small cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop up some dough and form it into balls of cookie dough. Flatten the cookie dough balls slightly with your fingers, fixing some of the cracks along the edges. You can leave some cracks — they’ll just be like lemon crinkle cookies!
- Repeat with the remaining dough, placing each cookie on the cookie sheet about an inch apart.
- Decorate with toppings, if desired. I used sliced almonds to form flowers and a few edible pearls.
- Bake cookies for 12-14 minutes until the bottom edges are slightly golden. Allow to cool on the baking tray for 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.
Expert Tip: You’ll know these cookies are done when they are very lightly golden on the top and bottom edges, but not overly browned or crisp. When you take the cookies out of the oven, they’ll still be slightly soft when you touch them on the surface. DON’T be tempted to put them back in the oven as they can burn very quickly. They’ll firm up as they cool for nice soft and chewy cookies!
Recipe Tips
- Be sure to measure out the ingredients VERY carefully and follow the measurements exactly, as any small adjustments to the ingredients could result in a change in the consistency of the dough and taste and texture of the cookies. I recommend using the scoop and level method to measure your flour to prevent using too much flour which can result in a crumbly dough.
- Use coconut oil at room temperature as it will combine more easily with the other ingredients. When mixing together the wet ingredients, break down any clumps of coconut oil with the back of your spoon, so that there aren’t large clumps of it throughout the dough.
- Don’t skip the step where you chill the cookie dough. Chilling it helps the fat in the dough to solidify and ensures that the cookies won’t be too soft or spread too much while baking.
- I recommend keeping a really close eye on these cookies when baking since they brown and burn easily. Since the cookies are on the smaller side and are designed to be soft and chewy, they bake up fairly fast.
- You’ll know these cookies are done when they are VERY lightly golden around the bottom edges, but not overly browned. When you take the cookies out of the oven, they will still feel slightly soft to the touch, but DON’T be tempted to bake them longer, as they can burn very quickly. They will firm up as they cool on the baking sheet.
- I used sliced almonds to form flowers on top of the cookies and placed an edible pearl in the center of each flower and on the remaining cookies for a fun twist (they turned out super cute)! Feel free to leave the cookies plain, add your own desired toppings or even top with a bright lemon glaze.
Scroll to the recipe card for the full vegan lemon almond cookies recipe!
Storage Guidelines
Room temperature: These almond lemon cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
Refrigerator: The cookies can also be stored in a closed container in the fridge and will keep up to 2 weeks. If stored in the fridge, they may be slightly less chewy.
Freezer: They can also be frozen for up to 1 month in a freezer-safe container or bag. Leave the cookies at room temperature to defrost before eating.
Recipe FAQs
Definitely! You can keep the dough in the fridge for up to 3 days before scooping out the dough and baking up the cookies. Wrap it well in plastic wrap so that it doesn’t dry out.
In this case, I wouldn’t recommend it. This recipe has been created specifically to be made with almond flour. Regular flour has a totally different consistency so the recipe would have to be modified accordingly.
No, I don’t recommend it. Coconut flour is highly absorbent and requires more liquid than almond flour, so it wouldn’t work as a good substitute in these cookies.
Chances are you left them in the oven for too long and overcooked them. When you take them out of the oven, they should be very lightly golden around the edges, but still fairly soft to the touch. They will firm up slightly as they sit.
Definitely! Add some fresh lemon juice to some powdered sugar to make a glaze to drizzle over the cookies – scroll down for a quick and easy recipe for glaze! If making a glaze, let the cookies cool fully before adding it.
Not all lemon cookies are made the same! Most will contain quite a bit of added sugar, in addition to butter and refined flour, so they aren’t always the most nutritious choice. These vegan lemon cookies are made with almond flour, which makes them a good source of healthy fats and fiber, in addition to other vitamins and minerals. Additionally, they only contain 4 grams of sugar per cookie making them a low sugar option.
How to Decorate Lemon Shortbread Cookies
These lemon almond flour cookies are a delicious treat on their own, but you can jazz them up with some additional toppings for a fun twist!
Try out the following:
- Sliced almonds
- Edible pearls (I went with pastel colours for a Spring theme. Feel free to choose different colours for a fun effect or customize it depending on the season)
- Crystallized sugar sprinkles
- Sprinkle of coconut flakes
- Dried cranberries
- Lemon glaze
- Additional lemon zest
To Make Simple Lemon Glaze
If you want to top these cookies with a tangy lemon glaze, try mixing together:
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Mix until smooth. You may need to add a bit of extra lemon juice if the glaze is too thick. Add one teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.
Frost each cookie with a thin layer of glaze and top with additional lemon zest if desired.
To Make Lemon Flower Cookies
I made the flower cookies by arranging five sliced almonds in the centre of the cookies so that it resembled a flower and then stuck an edible pearl in the centre.
Just be sure to press both the nuts and sprinkles into the dough well so that they adhere and don’t fall off during or after baking.
You could also leave the sprinkles off if desired or place something else in the centre of each flower.
So simple, yet has such a cute effect. Perfect for Spring, Easter, parties or showers!
Recipe Variations
- To make them even more lemony: Sub lemon extract for the almond extract. You could also add some extra lemon zest if desired.
- To make lemon thumbprint cookies: After flattening the dough balls with your fingers, create a slight indent in the centre of the cookies with your thumb. Add a teaspoon of jam or lemon curd for some refreshing lemon jam cookies! Try this strawberry chia jam or sub in your favourite jam.
- Change up the flavor: Try subbing the lemon zest for lime or orange zest for a different citrusy flavor.
- For lemon poppyseed cookies: Add a sprinkle of poppy seeds to the dough before baking.
- To make non-vegan: Try using regular butter instead of coconut oil. Honey may also be subbed in for maple syrup.
- To make sugar-free/keto-friendly: Use a sugar-free maple syrup instead of regular maple syrup.
More Tasty Treats
- Heart Thumbprint Cookies
- Protein Cookie Dough Balls
- Chickpea Cookie Dough Bites
- Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Healthy Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies
- Lemon Coconut Bread
- Lemon Larabar Recipe
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a star rating and review!
Soft Lemon Almond Flour Cookies {Vegan, Gluten-free}
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour blanched
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil softened at room temperature
- 1 1/2 tablespoons grated lemon zest packed
- 1 teaspoon warm water
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (or sub in lemon extract)
Instructions
- Add the almond flour and salt to a large bowl and mix to combine, breaking up any clumps of almond flour.
- Next, mix the maple syrup, coconut oil, lemon zest, warm water, vanilla and almond extract in a small bowl until combined, smoothing out any large clumps of coconut oil with the back of the spoon.
- Add wet ingredients to the almond flour mixture and mix until combined. The mixture will seem crumbly, but it should stick together when you press it together with two fingers.
- Chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a small cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop up some dough and form it into balls of cookie dough. Flatten it slightly with your fingers, fixing some of the cracks along the edges.
- Repeat with the remaining dough, placing each cookie about an inch apart.
- Decorate with toppings, if desired. I used sliced almonds to form flowers and a few edible pearls.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes until the bottom edges are slightly golden. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to continue cooling.
Notes
- Be sure to measure out the ingredients VERY carefully and follow the measurements exactly, as any small adjustments to the ingredients could result in a change in the consistency of the dough and taste and texture of the cookies. I recommend using the scoop and level method to measure your flour to prevent crumbly dough.
- Use coconut oil at room temperature as it will combine more easily with the other ingredients. When mixing together the wet ingredients, break down any clumps of coconut oil with the back of your spoon, so that there aren’t large clumps of it throughout the dough.
- Don’t skip the step where you chill the cookie dough. Chilling it helps the fat in the dough to solidify and ensures that the cookies won’t be too soft or spread too much while baking.
- I recommend keeping a really close eye on these cookies when baking since they brown and burn easily. Since the cookies are on the smaller side, they bake up fairly fast.
- You’ll know these cookies are done when they are VERY lightly golden around the bottom edges, but not overly browned. When you take the cookies out of the oven, they will still feel slightly soft to the touch, but DON’T be tempted to bake them longer, as they can burn very quickly. They will firm up as they cool on the baking sheet.
- I used sliced almonds to form flowers on the cookies and placed an edible pearl in the centre of each flower and on the remaining cookies for a fun twist. Feel free to leave the cookies plain, add your own desired toppings or even top with a lemon glaze.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted in March 2022 and was updated in February 2024 to include more helpful tips and photos.
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