These vegan lemon crinkle cookies are one of my favorite vegan desserts to make. These cookies are sweet (but not too sweet) and lemony (but not too lemony). They are a little crisp on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. They're perfect for snack time or dessert!
These are our favorite cookies in spring and summer. The bright, lemon flavor makes these cookies a sweet treat that everyone loves. Plus, they're super easy to make!
If you liked my vegan lemon baked donuts, this recipe is for you! For more lemon recipes, try out my vegan strawberry lemon muffins and vegan lemon blueberry cake.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Lemony flavor: These cookies have both lemon zest and lemon extract for delicious flavor.
- No flax egg: This recipe doesn't use a flax egg or an other egg replacer. I find that flax eggs (made by combining flax meal and water) make baked goods dense and gummy. I always avoid them in my baking.
- Sugary coating: I love the effect of rolling dough balls in sugar. It gives them the pretty crinkled look. For more crinkle cookies, try my ginger molasses cookies.
Ingredient Notes
- Vegan butter - My favorite vegan butter to use is Country Crock Plant Butter which comes in butter sticks. It's much easier to measure using butter sticks so if you can find them, I highly recommend them.
- Lemon zest and extract: The lemon zest gives it a fresh lemon flavor while the extract makes sure you can really taste the lemon.
- Non-dairy milk: I use unsweetened soy milk for all my cooking and baking but almost any non-dairy milk will work. Unsweetened almond milk works great as it doesn't have much flavor. I just don't use coconut milk because it gives everything a coconut flavor.
Please see the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and amounts needed.
Variations
I love that these vegan cookies are rolled in sugar before baking. It gives the cookies a little crackle and a little more sweetness. Another option would be to leave out rolling the dough balls in sugar and instead use a lemon glaze.
Once the cookies are cooled, drizzle or spoon some lemon glaze on top of them. Check out 3 Ingredient Lemon Glaze from Plantbased on a Budget which uses only powdered sugar, lemon zest and fresh lemon juice.
These cookies are perfect for Easter. For a decadent vegan Easter dessert, try my vegan carrot cake cheesecake!
How To Make Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Step 1: To begin, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
Step 2: In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the softened vegan butter and the sugar. You can also use a hand mixer and a large mixing bowl.
Step 3: Next, zest the lemon.
Step 4: Add the non-dairy milk, lemon extract and lemon zest to the butter/sugar mixture and mix thoroughly.
Step 5: Next, the dry ingredients. Add the cornstarch, baking powder and flour to the wet ingredients and mix to combine. Do not overmix your dough.
It will be a thick dough with a similar consistency to playdoh.
Step 6: Using your hands, roll the dough into about 24 balls. Try to make them close to the same size but don't stress over having them perfectly equal.
Step 7: Put the granulated sugar that you'll use for rolling in a small bowl. One at a time, take each of the cookie dough balls and roll them in the sugar. Place them on the lined baking tray.
Step 8: Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 13 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies sit for 2 minutes. Then, use a spatula to put the cookies on a cooling rack to cool completely.
These are a great cookie for spring and summer. If you're looking for other summery cookies, try my banana chocolate chip cookies and vegan ube cookies. Looking for other types of treats for summer, try my mango cobbler, strawberry chocolate chip cupcakes and no bake coconut bars.
Storage Tips
Room Temperature
For best results, store these vegan lemon cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Eat within 3 days for best texture.
Freezer
You can freeze the cookies for up to 3 months. Once cool, place cookies in a freezer safe bag or container. Thaw overnight in the fridge when you are ready to eat them.
Recipe FAQs
Simply leave the vegan butter out at room temperature for 15-20 minutes. If you're in a hurry, you can microwave it for 15 seconds.
That's not necessary. This dough doesn't spread much at all when baking.
Vegan Cookie Recipes
If you tried this Vegan Lemon Crinkle Cookie Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Recipe
Chewy Vegan Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Equipment
- Cookie sheet
- cooling rack
Ingredients
- ¾ cup vegan butter, softened
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoon non-dairy milk (I use unsweetened soy)
- 2 teaspoon lemon extract
- 2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- white sugar for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare the baking pans by lining them with parchment paper.
- Using a stand mixer (or a hand mixer and a large bowl), cream together the softened butter and sugar.
- Add the non-dairy milk, lemon extract and lemon zest and mix thoroughly.
- Add the cornstarch, baking powder, and flour and mix until combined. Do not over mix.
- Use your hands to roll the cookie dough into balls and place on a plate. You should be able to get about 24 cookies from the dough.
- Put the white sugar for rolling into a small bowl. One at a time, roll the dough ball in the sugar and place on the prepared baking pan.
- Place in the oven and bake for 13 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies sit for 2 minutes.
- Use a spatula to move the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. For best texture, eat cookies within 3 days.
Notes
- I use Earth Balance vegan butter. It comes in sticks so it's easy to use and measure.
- I use unsweetened soy milk but you can use any non-dairy milk.
- The cookies are soft when they are first taken out of the often. Make sure you let them rest before transferring to a wire rack.
Jen says
We love these cookies!! And especially the sugar crackle on the outside.