I have a crazy love for lemons and anything lemon-scented. It began when I was pregnant with my daughter. The only thing to keep back my nausea was to breathe in the fresh scent of lemons!
Since then, I’ve had an undeniable fondness of lemons, to the point I douse myself in them –literally. My soaps are all naturally lemon-scented and I've even been known to use lemon juice as a deodorant.
As you can see, my love for lemons is serious! And it, fortunately, brought about these vegan lemon cookies.
Anyways...
Back to these addicting, soft, lemon poppy seed cookies.
I say addicting because in the last week I’ve made 3 batches and not one batch survived more than 36 hours.
So, if you're fond of lemons you'll LOVE these cookies as well!
How to make vegan lemon cookies with poppy seeds
They're a quick and easy treat to prepare. Only a few simple steps between you and the most irresistible lemon cookie!
- Combine your dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
- In a large bowl cream the coconut sugar and oil, then whisk in the remaining wet ingredients.
- With a wooden spoon, mix the dry ingredients into the wet until fully incorporated.
- Roll the cookie dough into balls, and gently flatten on your pan, then bake.
So, let’s get baking!
The trick to achieving melt-in-your-mouth lemon poppy seed cookies is to only bake them for 8 minutes. The shorter bake time allows the cookies to remain soft and tender.
They will stay soft and fresh for up to 7 days in an airtight container.
If you enjoyed this recipe you may also enjoy one of these:
Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies
We'd love to hear from you!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card and share your thoughts in the comments below. Also, if you snap a photo be sure to share it with us! We love to see your creations! You can find us on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram.
Vegan Lemon Cookies
Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies are soft cookies bursting with fresh lemon flavor!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 and ¾ cup organic unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
- A pinch of salt
Wet Ingredients
- ⅓ cup refined coconut oil, softened/melted
- ½ cup coconut sugar*
- ¼ cup organic lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- zest of 1 lemon, or 1 teaspoon lemon extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl: flour, baking soda, baking powder, poppy seeds and salt.
- In a separate, larger bowl, cream together the sugar and oil. Then mix in the remaining wet ingredients.
- Pour half of the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet and mix in.
- Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until fully combined. The dough should be slightly sticky after mixing.
- Gather the cookie dough using a cookie scoop and place on the baking sheet. (OR Scoop out 1 Tablespoon of dough and roll it into a ball. If it's too sticky to handle, lightly dust your hands with flour.)
- Gently flatten the dough with the palm of your hand, or the bottom of a cup. Cookies should still be slightly thick (a little over ¼ inch). They will spread a bit and you want to keep a soft center.
- Bake at 350ºF for 8-10 min.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 min, then transfer to a wire rack to completely cool.
- Cookies will stay fresh in an airtight container for up to a week.
Notes
Coconut Sugar Note: Some coconut sugars leave dark sugar spots in the cookies. To avoid this, blend the coconut sugar in a blender until it becomes a fine powder. The powdered coconut sugar will even out the color of the cookies. Measure the sugar after blending.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 cookies Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 95Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 119mgCarbohydrates: 13gSugar: 8gProtein: 1g
**Nutritional info is provided as an estimate based on the ingredients I used and for convenience and as a courtesy only.**
Claudia
Made 5 batches in 2 days! These are really good. I save few cookie balls unbaked in the freezer for next time
Daniella Jones
Super yummy! My mom and I love anything lemon poppy seed and these were delicious and super easy to make. I'll definitely be making them again.
Where you get your protein
That's great to hear! I'm glad you both loved the cookies, Daniella! :)
Lanie
Will these work well with almond flour?
Where you get your protein!
I have not tried them with almond flour, so I cannot say for sure. However, I have made them with a 1:1 ratio gluten-free flour blend without any problems. So, I would suggest using a blend. :)
Anna
Hi! Can I use brown or just regular white sugar? And thank you for the recipe :)
Where you get your protein!
Yes, you can replace with equal amounts of either brown or white sugar. Enjoy Anna! :)
Andrea
I just made these as instructed (minus the poppy seeds, which I was out of). I served them to my family with tea and they are all gone! Very soft and lemony, perfect with green tea. However, my dough was crumbly and I added a few tablespoons cashew milk (ran out of lemon juice) so the dough was workable. Also I baked for 11 minutes. Maybe it's my mile-high altitude and dry climate. I would make them again, and probably will tomorrow.
Where you get your protein!
I'm so glad everyone enjoyed them, Andrea! Yes, depending on altitude and weather the dough can get crumbly. I do exactly what you did and add a bit more liquid (lemon juice or non-dairy milk). :)
Ivy
Yum! These were easy and came out delicious.! My batch isn't going to last 36 hours either. You mention salt in the body of the recipe, but I didn't see an amount in the ingredient list. I guessed and added 1/2 a teaspoon and it worked fine :) Found your site from Sam Turnbull's (It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken) posting about Easter recipes. Excited to try some of your other recipes!
Where you get your protein!
Thank you for pointing that out, Ivy. It’s actually an error in the instructions. I normally make the cookies without the salt, but next time I’ll have to try them with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Who knows, maybe the recipe needs an update! Either way I’m glad you enjoyed them! :) PS I love Sam’s blog! One of my new favorite recipes of hers are the baked apple fritters. YUM!