Gluten-free lemon cookies that are also vegan, paleo, easy to make and have a delicious frosting!
In January and February, I’m always in the mood for lemon. Winters are so grey here and citrus cheers me up.
Unlike some of my other cookie recipes, you can tell that these aren’t made with all-purpose flour (but don’t run away just yet!).
Those other cookies (especially these vegan peanut butter cookies, paleo vegan coconut flour cookies and paleo oatmeal cookies) have nut butters in them doing all kinds of magical things to the texture but I didn’t want to add anything to detract from the lemon flavor in these cookies.
But that doesn’t mean that these paleo lemon cookies aren’t delicious! They’re totally maple sweetened and surprisingly (and thankfully!) don’t taste a thing like maple syrup. I absolutely love the taste of maple – but not in my lemon goodies.
I want that lemon taste to shine through everything else. I used the lightest Grade A maple syrup in these cookies and recommend you do the same if you don’t want any maple flavor. Maple also worked great in this paleo lemon fudge!
With no eggs or gluten, I have no idea how these lemon cookies hold together so well but I’m not complaining!
This healthy lemon cookies recipe only calls for 2 tablespoons of coconut flour but you can’t just omit it and there’s no substitute for it. Just saying since someone always asks!
Some people have said in other posts of mine that oat flour works as a coconut flour sub (for a non-paleo version), but I’ve never tried it myself. If you try it out, please let us know in the comments!
I first posted this vegan lemon cookies recipe 4 years ago and am reposting them because I wanted to reshare them with the frosting recipe. It makes them so much more delicious!
They’re still great without but… make them with the frosting! :D
If you try these gluten-free lemon cookies, I’d love to hear what you think! And should you want to try another citrusy treat, try this tangerine posset.
Substitution questions about these gluten-free lemon cookies?
- Can I use something instead of coconut oil in the cookie dough?
I think butter or ghee would work (for a dairy-containing version ) as well as vegan butter (for a non-paleo version).
- Can I use something instead of maple syrup?
Honey would probably work if you don’t mind a bit of honey taste (for a non-vegan version). Honey + lemon is delicious together! If you want to use honey, bake them at 325 degrees F (162 degree C) instead of 350. Honey bakes quicker than maple syrup. But if you want just lemon taste, go with maple. Agave syrup would probably work, too.
If anyone tries a keto version, I’d love to hear how you did it and how they came out! - Does it have to be blanched almond flour?
You can use almond meal if you don’t mind the little bits of almond skin in your cookies. Hazelnut meal would also probably work but I think that’s a weird flavor combination with the lemon.
- Can I use something instead of coconut flour?
Unfortunately not. There’s not a good sub for coconut flour as it absorbs so much more liquid than other flours. I’ve heard of people using oat flour (if you can have grains) but I have absolutely no idea how much you’d need to use or if it’d be as tasty.
- Can I use something instead of coconut butter in the frosting?
Nope! Like I said in my post on how to make coconut butter, there’s no sub for it.
Gluten-free Lemon Cookies (paleo, vegan)
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 9 cookies
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (56 grams) refined coconut oil, melted1
- 1/3 cup (80 milliliters) maple syrup (I used the lightest Grade A syrup, which results in no maple taste in the cookies)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 1 1/3 cups (133 grams) blanched almond flour
- 2 tablespoons (17 grams) coconut flour, sifted if lumpy
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup (63 grams) coconut butter (NOT coconut oil!), softened but not melted
- 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon (14 grams) refined coconut oil, softened but not melted
- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon (or more) lemon zest
- 1/8 - 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract (the amount will depend on your brand of extract and how lemony you want them)
- pinch of salt
For the cookies:
For the frosting:
Directions
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the coconut oil, maple syrup, lemon zest and lemon extract. Add the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and salt. The mixture might be thin and wet and much more like batter than dough. It might not be. Do not add any additional flour! Chilling will firm it up. Let the dough sit for 5 minutes and then place the bowl in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until the dough is firm.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C) and line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- Roll into nine 35-gram balls. Place 3" apart on the prepared baking sheet and press the balls down slightly with your palm.
- Bake the smaller cookies for 10-12 minutes and the larger cookies for 12-15 minutes or until the cookies have lightly browned (not just the edges but also the middle of the cookies). The cookies may crackle a little.
- The cookies will still be very soft when you remove them from the oven. Let them cool on the pan completely.
- Prepare the frosting. Combine all of the ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend for about 20 seconds at medium or until totally smooth. Don't blend too long or it'll melt. You can also mix this by hand if your coconut butter and oil are soft enough. Spread a heaping tablespoon over each cookie.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
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345 comments on “Gluten-free Lemon Cookies (vegan, paleo)” — Add one!
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Hi. I’d like to make these cookies, but I can’t have coconut flour. Can I substitute with something else that’s gluten-free?
Hello! Some people have mentioned using oat flour as a coconut flour sub in a few of my recipes but it’s not an exact sub (there aren’t any exact subs) and I haven’t tried it for myself. So I can’t really say for sure if it’d work! Sorry I can’t be more helpful.
These are fabulous. My husband,daughter and I love them! I am going to use this base for all my cookies from now on. Thank you so much for your generosity as these are worth money!!! Love from France
You’re welcome! I’m so glad to hear that you and your family liked them so much. :) Thanks for your feedback!
Hi, I used to make these ALL the time before I switched to a no sugar diet this year. Any suggestions? I so desperately want to make this. I used to start my day with this cookie & tea before I took my dog out for a walk at 5am!!! So I always had stock!
I am wondering if I can use erythritol and then sub the liquid. Hmmmmmm.
Hello! I have to admit that I really don’t know anything about low-carb sweeteners (they give me gut issues). If you try it out, please let me know how it goes! I’m sure other readers are wondering the same thing.
I am going to try using the sweetleaf stevia maple syrup. I use it in recipes that call for maple syrup as an alternative.
Thanks for the tip! I’d love to hear how it comes out.
Xylatol! That will save you! I use it all the time I buy it on Amazon.
Awesome! Thanks a bunch for the tip! :)
Thank you for this recipe. These lemon cookies are my absolute favorite!! I have to delay the time between making them, because I don’t trust myself to not devour them in no time. I am convinced my taste buds can be satisfied on a Vegan diet. Food can be flavorful and I look forward to exploring more recipes. Thanks again!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy that you enjoyed them. :) Thanks for your feedback and sorry for my very slow reply! Good luck with the vegan diet. :)
Hi there, thanks for the recipe! Do you have nutritional information per cookie? Thanks.
I don’t have that info but you could use this recipe analyzer for the nutritional profile. :)
These look delish! Could you use actual lemons as opposed to lemon extract in this recipe? If so what would that look like? Can’t wait to try these.
Thanks! You could definitely use more lemon zest. Some of the commenters have used lemon juice but I haven’t tried it (I’ve only made them as written). Sorry I can’t be more helpful!
Could we use all coconut flour instead of almond flour?
Unfortunately not as they’re not interchangeable.
I looked through all the comments but can’t find an answer to this question. Is the Bob’s Red Mill almond flour a de-fatted flour (powdery) or is it finely ground almonds, more like a fine almond meal? I used the first and weighed all the ingredients, but the dough was far too firm and crumbly in the end, and I had to add 1 or 2 Tb water plus a whole flax egg! And they still weren’t light and didn’t rise at all because they were too dense. I’m guessing it’s the difference in flour vs. meal, but could you please confirm or deny that? Thanks!
Hello! So sorry for just now seeing your question. Do you happen to live outside of the US? In the US, almond flour is always ground almonds. We don’t even have the defatted kind in the US. It can be confusing because in some countries, almond flour = the defatted stuff and what we’d call ground, blanched almonds is what others might call almond flour. Almond meal is like almond flour, except it hasn’t been blanched. I’m sorry that they didn’t come out! I hope the next time goes better. :)
I do live in Europe. Thank you for the explanation! For some reason, in all the recipes and explanations I’ve seen about almond “flour”, that difference never came across. People always say to use almond flour and not almond meal. And I always took almond meal to mean ground almonds. Therefore, almond flour couldn’t be just plain ground almonds. Thank you so much for being the first person who could actually clarify the difference! I can’t wait to try the recipe again, but with the right ingredient. ;)
Oh, gosh. That’s really confusing! I can see the problem. I think that I’ll start adding a note to my recipes to help a few of the European readers. Thanks again for your feedback!
I HATE COOKING but I am transitioning to a 98% Gluten-free – Vegeterian diet—- I plan to still enjoy bacon or eggs every once in a while! ;-) and I must say that I LOVE THIS COOKIE!!! And the best part about it is it is EASY, not a lot of ingredients, taste good AND FILLING! I even made a little frosting/glaze using Stevia, coconut oil and lemon extract. It was an experiment but OH MY—- now I can enjoy with or without the frosting and still be satisfied. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS RECIPE. God bless🙏🏾❤️
Hello! I’m so sorry for just now seeing your comment. You’re welcome for the recipe. :) I’m glad that you enjoyed the cookies and I love your glaze idea. It sounds delicious! Thanks a bunch for your comment. :)
These lemon cookies are absolutely delish.
Loved them easy and tasty !!
Thank you for sharing !
Made with ghee .
I bet these are great made with ghee! Sounds delicious. Thanks for your comment (and sorry for my slow reply!). I’m so happy you liked them!
I’ve been browsing your lemon dessert recipes and was wondering, could I use this cookie recipe for your lemon curd thumbprint cookies?? I need to be dairy free and that cookie recipe has butter in it. :) thank you!!
Here’s the base you need! It’s the same as the lemon curd thumbprint cookies but with coconut oil :) – raspberry thumbprint cookies. Enjoy!
I want to try this recipe soon. What if i don’t have a maple syrup, Is it okay for organic stevia?
Hi there! I’m so very sorry for just now seeing your comment. It landed in spam for some weird reason! If you don’t have maple, you could use honey (for a non-vegan version). Is the stevia a liquid version that’s meant as a 1-to-1 sub for honey / maple? If so, that should work. If not, you’d have to add some liquid to the recipe to make up for the lost liquid in the maple but I’m not sure how much. Sorry I can’t be more helpful!
I made these cookies and they turned out great!!! I didn’t have any refined coconut oil, so I used virgin coconut oil. They tasted more like a coconut-lemon macaroon, but I still thought it was great! 10/10 super easy & tastes awesome!
A coconut lemon macaroon sounds yummy! Thanks for the tip. I’m happy that they came out well! Thanks for your comment (and sorry for my slow reply!).
Hi there! I love your recipes and will be trying this one and the chocolate chips for Christmas! Question here – could I substitute coconut sugar for the maple syrup, and if so, about how much would you think?
We try to coconut sugar these days over maple syrup and honey it bc of its lower GI! Thanks so much!
Hi! I’m so happy that you love the recipes. :) I wouldn’t recommend coconut sugar here because the taste would overpower the lemon and I don’t think it’d go together very well. But the real problem is that you’d have to add extra liquid to make up for the loss of liquid in the maple syrup. I unfortunately don’t have a clue how much you’d need to add. :/ Sorry about that! Most of my recipes use coconut sugar so you could look here to see all of them.
No worries, so glad I asked! Thanks for your speedy feedback!
These are so yummy! I’ve changed them up to make sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies, equally as yummy!
Do you have a healthy frosting recipe? I would love to make these with my granddaughter as Christmas cookies. Thanks!
I do! I have these paleo orange cookie, which are the same exact cookies as these lemon cookies, but with orange flavor. And it’s got a frosting recipe! Hope you’ll both enjoy it. :)
Thank you!
Might be an issue of almond flour brand? It’s my understanding there’s a lot of variation in quality, fineness of texture, etc. with almond flour.
Do I have to use baking soda?
Yup!
These are so good! And so easy! I didn’t have lemon extract so I used vanilla instead and turned out great. Straight out of the oven is to die for. Yum!
Yay! I’m happy that you enjoyed them so much. :) Thanks for your comment!
Can you use just coconut flour. Husband can’t have starch.
Unfortunately not. But almond flour isn’t a starch? You could try my coconut flour cookies for a coconut only cookie recipe!
I love these cookies! Today I made almond chocolate chip cookies with the same base. Yum. Instead of lemon (which I love) I used almond extract and some home made choc. chips with baker’s chocolate.
Whole new cookie. The extract is great with the almond and coconut flavors.
That sounds delicious! Thanks for the tip. I love almond extract so I’ll have to try that, too. Thanks for your comment. :)