Vegan lemon cookies with a deliciously tangy and fresh lemon flavor and a soft and buttery texture. Super easy recipe with perfect results.
I absolutely love all things lemon! So these vegan lemon cookies are right up my street.
There’s something about the tanginess and light and refreshing taste of lemon that just goes so well with sweet desserts (like our vegan lemon cupcakes, vegan lemon cake and vegan lemon pound cake, ooooh yes!).
And these cookies are soft and buttery with just enough lemon flavor to really pop.
How To Make Vegan Lemon Cookies
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
This is a simple 8-ingredient recipe for the cookies and an even simpler 3-ingredient recipe for the glaze.
The glaze is totally optional, but recommended, it really makes that lemon flavor shine!
You start off by adding vegan butter and sugar to your stand mixer and creaming them together. Then you add lemon extract and mix it in.
Add all purpose flour, baking soda and salt to a separate bowl and mix together.
Then add the dry ingredients in with the wet and mix in until very crumbly. Add the lemon zest.
Now add the non-dairy milk and mix again.
TIP: We used soy milk but you can use any non-dairy milk.
At this point it will feel like this will never make a cookie dough, it will feel way too dry. But get in there with your hands and the next thing you know you have a nice big ball of dough.
The dough is dry, but don’t worry the cookies are definitely not!
Break off pieces of the dough and roll them into balls.
And then flatten the balls. You can flatten them with a fork, or by placing a square of parchment paper on top of the balls and then pressing down on it with the base of a glass.
I tried it both ways and the end result after baking looked identical.
Bake them at 350°F for 12 minutes.
When they come out of the oven they will be very lightly browned on top but still very soft in the middle. Let them cool on the tray and as they cool they will firm up.
The Lemon Glaze
When they’re completely cool, then drizzle on the delicious lemon glaze. It’s a simple mix of powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon extract.
And there you have it, delicious vegan lemon cookies with glaze!
Storing and Freezing
Keep them stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
They are also freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
More Vegan Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Cookies
- Vegan Snickerdoodles
- Vegan Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
- Vegan Thumbprint Cookies
- Vegan Sugar Cookies
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Lemon Cookies
Ingredients
For the Lemon Cookies:
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
- ¾ cups White Granulated Sugar (150g)
- 2 tsp Lemon Extract
- 2 cups All purpose Flour (250g)
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Zest
- 2 Tbsp Soy Milk or other non-dairy milk
For the Lemon Glaze:
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar (120g)
- 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice scant*
- ⅛ tsp Lemon Extract
Instructions
- Add the vegan butter and white sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer and cream them together. Add in the lemon extract and mix in well.
- Add the flour, baking soda and salt to a bowl and mix together. Then add the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients and mix in by hand (don’t use the electric mixer for this part). Mix until crumbly.
- Add in the lemon zest and mix in.
- Then add in the soy milk and mix in very well. It will seem like it is too dry to form a dough, but get in there with your hands until it does. Only add more soy milk if you absolutely have to.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Break off pieces of the big ball of dough and roll them into balls and place onto a parchment lined baking tray. Aim to get 20 balls.
- Then flatten the balls either with a fork or by placing a square of parchment paper over a ball and flattening with the base of a glass.
- Place into the oven to bake for 12 minutes.
- When they are done they will be lightly browned on top but still very soft in the middle. Allow to cool on the tray and they will firm up as they cool.
- Prepare your lemon glaze by adding the ingredients to a bowl and mixing in with a spoon.
- When the cookies are completely cool, use a teaspoon to drizzle the glaze over the cookies.
Notes
- Lemon zest. 1 Tbsp of lemon zest is roughly what you’d get from 1 small to medium lemon.
- Lemon glaze. When you’re making the glaze the tablespoons should be filled to just before the top, not all the way to the top. If you glaze your first cookie and realize that the glaze is just running off the cookie completely, then your glaze is too thin. Add a bit more powdered sugar.
- Storing. Keep your cookies stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
These are my favorite cookies ever! So easy and delicious!
Thanks Kirsten!
These are so good and came out perfectly. You defintely have more glaze than you need though, you could make half of that and it’d be plenty.
Love it, it’s very delicious ????????
Thank you!????
Thanks Karina!
These are fantastic! I didn’t have lemon extract so just added ~2 tbsp of lemon juice, didn’t need to add soy milk and they came out lovely. The lemon flavour was just right intensity but still quite subtle, they were soft, perfect with cup of tea or coffee in the afternoon
Thanks Misty!
These look terrific! What would happen if I used fresh lime juice instead? Good idea or no?
It should work fine but of course would have a different flavor (less tart).
Is there a way to substitute the lemon extract for lemon juice/zest? If so what quantities could I use?
Yes you can use lemon juice instead of extract, the quantity should be the same though so it doesn’t throw out the recipe. There is already zest added so I wouldn’t change anything there. The flavor will be more subtle but still delicious.
Thank you very much! also I really appreciate that you include the weight of the ingredients in your recipes, especially for flour and brown sugar. 🙂
Yeowza! These are next level! I didn’t have lemon zest so I used a little extra extract. And for the frosting, I used 1 cup powder sugar, 2 tbsp milk and a few drops of lemon extract for a sweeter flavor. These are totally amazing and they have really satisfied my need for a tangy lemon treat! Thank you for another great recipe!!!
Awesome, so glad you enjoyed them!
Yowza is correct!! This is the very first time I made lemon cookies and they turned out perfectly! I didn’t have any lemon zest so I used 1 tsp of lemon extract. The flavor was perfect for me but only slightly detectable to my almost 10 year old baby so I made the glaze. I wasn’t planning to because I thought they were perfect as they were. Anyway the glaze was totally yummy and I still have half of it here. I’m planning to make more of these cookies as I was testing these for our outdoor church service on Sunday. Thank you so much, Alison! ❤️
Awesome! Thanks so much for the great review Michelle!
Another gorgeous recipe! I’d been craving something lemony the past few days and this totally hit the spot – took all of 5 mins to put together and so soooo delicious! I had no lemon extract so subbed fresh lemon juice and glazed with more lemon juice mixed with a bit of icing sugar – perfection!
Awesome! Thanks for the wonderful review Huda!
This is the BEST lemon cookie recipe (vegan or nonvegan) ever! My boyfriend doesn’t even like desserts and he loves these. Every single person who has tried these has loved them – and I’ve made them A LOT and shared with many many people. I cannot recommend this recipe enough!
Thanks so much Rachel! So happy to hear that!
This is my second batch in a few days. My hubby, friends and family love them. They are so easy to make and you get so many delicious cookies out of the batch. Incredible! I am so happy I found this recipe. Thank you!
That is wonderful Maureen! Thanks so much for the great review!
ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!!! Thank you Alison for yet another wonderful recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much Barbara!
Do you have to use milk in the recipe?
If you don’t seem to need it, then no.
Your lemon cookie recipe is AMAZING!! I made the cookies yesterday, and I was a bit skeptical because I recently tried two other vegan lemon cookie receipes that were a bust. 🙁 This is the absolute BEST vegan lemon cookie recipe, and I am a picky eater!! Even my husband who does not necessarily like lemon goods enjoyed the cookies to the fullest! Thanks for sharing this recipe, Alison – God bless you!!
Yay! Thanks so much Sass! 🙂
Easy tasty recipe. Only my second time making biscuits of any kind and this was foolproof. Didn’t have lemon extract so just used lemon juice in place and it worked out fine. Another great recipe thanks
Awesome! Thanks so much Emma!
Hi, may I ask if I can substitute vegan butter with coconut oil and if I can, how much coconut oil should I use? Thanks
You can try that, it would be in the same quantity as the vegan butter. Alternatively you can make your own vegan butter.
I’ve made this recipe once before and want to make it again but what would I need to change to add some poppyseed? Will it stay the same or do I need to add extra butter ? Thank you!
Hi Morgan, I don’t think you would need to change anything, just add in a couple of tablespoons to your cookie dough before rolling them into balls. All the best! 🙂
Hi! Can you sub the all purpose flour for almond/oat etc.? Thank you!
Hi Emily, I don’t think so! If you want it to be gluten-free, then a gluten-free all purpose blend will be the best bet!