Lemon lovers, I have a delicious vegan cookie recipe for you to try! These Italian Inspired Vegan Lemon Cookies are going to melt in your mouth! They're made with just a few simple ingredients, can be made gluten-free, and come together in minutes. No egg or dairy needed. Everyone in your home will love them and they lemony sweet flavor will brighten up everyone's day!
Vegan Italian Lemon Cookie Ingredients
- Butter: To keep these Italian Lemon Cookies vegan-friendly, we use melted vegan butter. If you are not vegan or dairy-free, regular butter will also work. You can also use melted coconut oil in these vegan lemon cookies.
- Sugar: We recommend using either organic cane sugar or purecane sugar-free substitute in these vegan lemon cookies. Thank you to our sponsor, purecane, for helping us create this delicious batch of lemon flavored treats.
- Lemon Extract: For added lemony flavor!
- Lemon Juice: For added lemony flavor! Feel free to use freshly squeezed or bottled.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract compliments the lemon flavor of these cookies.
- Baking Powder: Gives our cookies a little lift!
- Salt: Salt balances the sweetness and brights out the bright lemon flavor in these vegan Italian inspired lemon cookies.
- Flour: You can use either regular or gluten-free all purpose flour in this cookie recipe. We used King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour.
- Milk: To keep these Italian lemon cookies vegan, we used unsweetened almond milk. Oat milk will work as well. If you are not vegan or dairy-free, feel free to use regular 1% milk, 2% milk, or whole milk.
- Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar is essential for any lemon cookie! You may also use purecane's powdered sugar substitute to dust on your cookies.
For The Lemon Cookie Frosting
- Powdered sugar or purecane powdered sugar substitute
- Vegan cream cheese (ok to use regular if not vegan or dairy-free)
- Vegan butter (ok to use regular butter if not vegan or dairy-free)
How to Make Vegan Italian Lemon Cookies
Step 1: Preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, mix the melted vegan butter, lemon juice, lemon extract, vanilla extract, and sugar together. Add the baking soda and baking powder and mix.
Step 2: Add the flour to the bowl and mix until a thick lemon cookie dough is formed. Use a tablespoon to scoop about 2 tablespoon of cookie dough per cookie out and place it onto a lined baking sheet. Use your hands to carefully form the cookie dough into balls. Repeat until all of the lemon cookie dough is used. You may need to bake in 2 batches.
Step 3: Bake in the oven until golden and browned on the bottoms. While the lemon cookies bake, either prepare the powdered sugar or the vegan cream cheese frosting. If you prefer a lemon or vanilla frosting, scroll to the FAQ section of this article for a quick vanilla or lemon icing recipe!
Step 4: Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet and then toss them in powdered sugar or drizzle them with the frosting. Serve these vegan Italian lemon cookies warm with a glass of cold oat milk.
Frequently Asked Questions
These lemon drop cookies have a golden outside and a soft and moist inside. They might remind you of mini lemon scones.
Yes! You can make a simple lemon or vanilla frosting by mixing 1 cup of powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon of almond milk, 1 tablespoon of melted vegan butter, and either 1 teaspoon of vanilla or 1 teaspoon of lemon extract. Frost the cookies while they are still warm.
I recommend storing these Italian lemon cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. I love to reheat them in the microwave for 15 seconds before serving.
Vegan Italian Lemon Cookies
Equipment
- baking sheet
- parchment paper
- mixing bowl
- fork or whisk for mixing
- spoon
- wire cooling rack
Ingredients
Vegan Italian Lemon Cookie Ingredients
- ½ cup melted vegan butter
- ½ cup lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup organic cane sugar or ⅓ cup of purecane sugar substitute
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon almond or oat milk
- 2 cups regular or gluten-free all purpose flour
Powdered Sugar Topping
Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoon melted vegan butter
- 2 oz vegan cream cheese
Instructions
Vegan Italian Lemon Cookies Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium mixing bowl, using a fork or whisk, mix the melted vegan butter, lemon juice, lemon extract, vanilla extract, baking powder, sugar or purecane, salt, and almond milk until a smooth consistency forms. Add the flour and mix until a thick cookie dough forms.
- Use a spoon to scoop out about 1 ½ tablespoon of cookie dough per cookie and then place each ball onto the baking sheet about 1 ½ inches apart. Continue until the baking sheet is full. You may need to bake in 2-3 batches.
- Bake the cookies in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until they are golden on the bottoms and lift easily off of the baking sheet with a spatula. While the cookies bake, either prepare the vegan cream cheese icing by mixing the powdered sugar, vegan cream cheese, and melted vegan butter together OR prepare the powdered sugar for dusting.
- Set the cookies onto a wire rack to cool and then while they are still warm, either dust the tops with powdered sugar or drizzle them with vegan cream cheese icing. Serve warm with an ice cold glass of oat milk!
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