Gluten-free Lemon Cookies (vegan, paleo)
These gluten-free lemon cookies with frosting are soft, easy to make and are also vegan and paleo.
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 syrup – 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 mentioned in other posts of mine that oat flour can be used as a substitute for coconut flour (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 it because I wanted to share 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 degrees C) instead of 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). 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.
If you don’t have any on hand, I recommend finding a more traditional recipe that uses all-purpose flour or a gluten-free baking blend, like these lemon cookies.
Can I use something instead of coconut flour?
Unfortunately not. There’s no good substitute for coconut flour, as it absorbs significantly 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.
For another gluten-free lemon dessert that doesn’t use coconut flour, try this Lemon Tiramisu! These Gluten-free Lemon Poppyseed Muffins would also be a great choice.
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 (vegan, paleo)
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1/4 cup (56 grams) refined coconut oil melted, see notes
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) 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) almond flour finely ground, blanched
- 2 tablespoons (17 grams) coconut flour sifted if lumpy
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
For the frosting:
- 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 lemon zest add more to taste
- 1/8 – 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract the amount will depend on your brand of extract and how lemony you want them
- pinch salt
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the coconut oil, maple syrup, lemon zest and lemon extract.1/4 cup (56 grams) refined coconut oil, 1/3 cup (80 ml) maple syrup, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, 1 1/2 teaspoons 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.1 1/3 cups (133 grams) almond flour, 2 tablespoons (17 grams) coconut flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 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.1/4 cup (63 grams) coconut butter, 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup, 1 tablespoon (14 grams) refined coconut oil, 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, 1/8 – 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract, pinch salt
- Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Using unrefined coconut oil would yield cookies with some coconut flavor.
- The nutrition information provided is calculated as a courtesy and is only an estimate. I am not a licensed nutritionist or dietitian. For the most accurate nutritional data, consult a professional or use your preferred calculator.
Nutrition
Categories:
Cookies, Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Grain-free, Paleo, Spring Recipes, Vegan, Winter Recipes,
HI Erin,
Do you think unrefined coconut oil would work for these cookies? I have that on hand instead of refined oil. Thanks! They do look very yummy!!
Hi Anda! That’ll work fine. :) The only difference is that the cookies will have some coconut taste to them. Enjoy!
hi. is the coconut flour absolutely necessary? i know you use a small amount in a few of your recipes but would it work if i just used all almond flour?
Unfortunately you just can’t omit it. You could try adding more almond flour in the recipes that just call for a small amount (like a tablespoon or two), but it’d take quite a bit of experimenting and I’d hate for you to waste ingredients and / or not have the cookies come out exactly as they should. Coconut flour’s expensive but one bag should last you a long time so I recommend just getting a bag if you often do GF baking. :)
I love the cookies they turned out so good, I used fresh honey instead the maple, and coconut butter instead coconut oil. And the info nutritional that I found is 22 calories per cookie, 2 get of carbs, 1,1 of sugar 0.1 of protein. I hope this helps
I’m surprised (but happy!) that they came out well using coconut butter instead of coconut oil. They have such a different texture! Thanks a bunch for your feedback. :)
I made these awhile back, followed the recipe exactly and they turned out perfect! My friends loved them.
Excellent! I’m happy to hear that. Thanks for your feedback! :)
These are absolutely my fav lemon cookies ever! So glad I have something that is healthy and tastes ridiculously awesome. Can’t say that very often, eh?
Woohoo! So happy to hear that. :) And I’m with you – healthy treats are hard to come by. Thanks for your feedback!
Hi, I’m allergic to nuts. Is oat flour ok?
Hi there! I’m sorry but the two aren’t interchangeable. Almond flour is only interchangeable with other nut flours. Sorry about that!
Hi,
Cant wait to try them, but wondering about carb content. How many carbs per cookie?
Thanks,
Vonnie
Hi there! I don’t have that info but you can copy and paste the recipe here for the nutritional profile, if you’d like. :) I hope you’ll enjoy the cookies if you try them!
Mine didn’t turn out so well. They tasted good, but they didn’t look very good: very pale and dense on top and brown on the bottom. Could it be because I used extra fine almond flour? The dough didn’t look runny at all after I’d combined everything. I was able to roll balls after 5 minutes (no fridge). I did use the gram indications, not the cups and stuff…
Hello! Did you by any chance use a dark colored pan? Like a black pan instead of a grey one? I live in Germany where black pans are standard and every cookie I’ve made on one of those pans comes out like you described! And when you say extra fine almond flour, do you mean finely ground almonds or defatted almond flour, which is powdery? If you used that, that could also explain your problem. I’m sorry they didn’t come out well! I hope the next batch will come out better if you try again. :)
I had the same case as yours. Used weight measurements, halved the recipe, and followed someone else’s modification, adding almond extract and chocolate chips. (I wish I had a lemon and lemon extract on hand!) The half-batch of batter was neither runny nor chilled, looked more like Russian tea cakes/snowball cookies/Mexican wedding cookies, and were 1 tbsp (~ 25 g) balls that finished in 10ish minutes on parchment paper on a metal sheet pan. They were lightly browned on the bottom, and the tops were pale. My almond flour is pretty fine.
I thought they tasted pretty awesome and that this is a fantastic base recipe that I’d definitely use again for chocolate chip ball things or (especially) the lemon ones when I can get the extract! Maybe I’m easier to please, but they were still tasty cookies. :P
The tops should be pale (like in the pictures) but the bottoms shouldn’t be browned, although I guess a little browned isn’t that bad. :) What kind of almond flour did you use? I’m happy you still enjoyed them! Thanks for your comment. :)
Should the lemon zest be dried or fresh?
Fresh. Enjoy! :)
Do you think these could be frozen? My granddaughter is visiting in a month and she has a dairy and egg allergy. Would like to make them ahead of time if possible.
I think they would but I haven’t tried it so I can’t guarantee it. You could also freeze the dough in balls and bake them when she’s there. :)
Wow, first cookie I have ever made for the first time and they actually look exactly like your photo!! Can’t wait to eat them, they smell beautiful! Got stuck on a couple of things I was low on but a couple of substitutes and all good, so that makes them even more appealing. I LOVE your website, you actually reply to your readers!
Thanks! I’m so happy you like the website and the cookies. :) I hate it when I make something that doesn’t come out looking like the pictures so I totally understand how frustrating that can be. Thanks for your comment!
These sound so yummy, I love lemon cookies! Do you think it would work with buckwheat flour instead of almond flour? Only because thats what I have in my cupboard right now lol.
Thanks! Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure that sub won’t work. Almond flour is only interchangeable with other nut flours and buckwheat has such a strong flavor that I don’t think you’d taste the lemon flavor at all. I honestly think they’d be pretty gross. ;) Sorry about that! Do you have almonds? You could make your own almond flour!
Good to know! I have to get groceries today so I’m gonna pick up some almond flour :) can’t wait to make them later!
Yay! I hope you’ll enjoy them. :)
HI Erin–We love anything with Almonds–How do I make Almond Flour?? I have a bag full from the store–I add ground walnuts when I am breading Chicken etc–Sally
Hello! Here’s a nice tutorial. :) I hope that helps!
Can i substitute the lemon extract with lemon juice?
I think it’d work but I don’t think you’d taste it at all (it’s such a small amount of juice). I’d probably use vanilla instead and add more zest. :) I hope you’ll enjoy them!
I actually used fresh lemon juice & just added twice what was called for. You can definitely taste it! These are the BEST cookies EVER!!! :)
So instead of 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract, you used 1 tablespoon of lemon juice? I’ll have to try that! Thanks for the tip and for your comments. :)
Yep, I used about a TBSP of lemon juice — they were definitely lemony, which is why I love these so much!
Awesome! I’ll try that next time. Thanks again for your comments! :)
Most paleo baking recipes leave me cold…either too complicated or just don’t taste very good. This one works! Great with lemon…though I added some chopped strawberries. Another batch I made with almond extract instead of lemon and added chocolate chips. Fabulous!
I’m surprised (but happy!) that these came out well with chopped strawberries. I just figured they’d make the batter too wet and the result would be soggy cookies. I’ll have to try that next time! And I’ve made these with almond extract, too, but haven’t tried chocolate chips. Sounds delicious! Thanks a bunch for sharing your tips. :)
These have saved us during our month long paleo challenge! Most paleo desserts are loaded with eggs. These are amazing!! I substituted honey for maple syrup and it works perfectly.
Here’s the best part!! I LOVE chocolate so tried these without the lemon and did cocoa powder and ground fresh raspberries instead. OMG talk about yummy fudgey real brownie like cookies. You must try it!!
Oh, yum! How much cocoa powder did you use? And did you make any other changes other than omitting the lemon and using honey? I can’t wait to try! I’m so happy that you liked the lemon version, too. :) Thanks a bunch for your comment and tips!
Absolutely amazing cookies! Well done!
Thanks so much! I’m happy you liked them. :)
I’ve already made a batch of these cookies and they are o delicious! but also look stunning. I was wondering if I could sub honey for the maple syrup next time?
I’m pretty sure that’d work fine but I haven’t tried it! If you give it a try, let me know how it goes. :) Thanks a bunch for your feedback!
I can’t wait to try these! Do you think they would freeze okay?
I think they would but I haven’t tried it so I can’t guarantee it. You could also freeze the dough and have freshly baked cookies when the mood strikes. :) I hope you’ll enjoy them!
I just made these and they’re SO GOOD! I sprinkled some French lavender buds on top to make them look pretty and add some more flavor. I think next time I’ll put some lavender into the dough before I bake them :)
Yummy! I love the lavender idea. Sounds wonderful. :) Thanks so much for your feedback!
Such delicious lemony goodness!
Thank you! :)