With a light, pillow-y texture and a burst of lemon flavor, these gluten-free Lemon Cookies are a fun and simple Spring dessert!
Have you ever had a lemon cookie before?
Some are chewy, some are more muffin-like.. my favorite is something in between. A fluffier cookie, with less crunch, but still a little chew, and a melt-in-your mouth texture. That’s exactly how these gluten-free Lemon Cookies are.
What’s the secret to getting enough lemon flavor in these cookies? Zest like you’ve never zested before, baby! 😉
I make it a point to say that in every citrus recipe I make because it makes THAT big of a difference. Trust me when I say from experience, you’ll hardly get any flavor if you simply use the lemon juice. Lemon zest is a MUST HAVE.
Don’t own a tool to zest with?
The way I see it, you have two options:
- Don’t make this recipe! Probably an odd thing to say, but I would rather you make something else that doesn’t require zest and love it, rather than trying to make these and not getting the lovely lemon cookies you were dreaming of 🙁
- Buy one already, sheesh! I thought I would never use mine and now I use it frequently. I highly recommend this one, that I own and love. For only $10 you can’t beat it.
Now that you have a tool to zest with, what’s the best way to zest?
Lightly, but with pressure, rub your lemon along the surface of the zesting tool, only zesting each section of the lemon once. Continue around the entire lemon until the whole surface of the lemon has been zested.
I know I said to zest like you’ve never zested before, but you don’t want to zest your fruit so hard that you get down to the rind of the lemon (the white part under the yellow coating). The rind of the lemon will be bitter, and I don’t think bitter cookies sound particularly appetizing!
Now we’ve talked about the importance of using the zest, you have a tool to zest with, and you’ve properly zested your lemons. What’s next? Making these delicious Lemon Cookies!
These gluten-free Lemon Cookies are an easy recipe, that are really a spin on my classic white chocolate dipped cookie recipe.
Quick to whip up, and always a crowd pleaser, these cookies never fail me.
To begin, preheat your oven to 350 and line two pans with parchment paper.
Next, in a large mixing bowl, cream together your softened butter and sugars. Beat them together with a mixer for a few minutes, till the mixture is nice and creamy and your mouth is watering. Add in your lemon juice (I like this squeezer), lemon zest, egg and vanilla and mix together again briefly.
Now, to the same bowl, sprinkle in your flour, baking soda, salt and cornstarch. Using a spatula, stir the ingredients together till they form a nice, smooth batter. Due to the added lemon juice, you may need to add more flour to the dough if it doesn’t quite seem thick enough. I added an extra 2 tablespoons to mine.
Now, scoop the dough using a small cookie scoop onto your pans, about 12 cookies per sheet. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or till the edges are just set.
You see that bite taken out… I couldn’t resist! 😉
With an easy, fast recipe, these gluten-free Lemon Cookies are light, full of citrus flavor, and sure to fulfill those lemon cravings!
Want more lemon in your life? Check out my gluten-free Lemon Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies, gluten-free Lemon Cupcakes or gluten-free Lemon Pancakes.
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 cup gluten-free all purpose flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 all purpose baking flour)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cornstarch
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Preheat your oven to 350 and line two pans with parchment paper.
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In a large mixing bowl, add your white sugar, brown sugar and butter and beat with a mixer till creamy. Add your lemon juice, lemon zest, egg and vanilla and mix together again briefly.
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To the same bowl, sprinkle in your flour, baking soda, salt and cornstarch. Mix until the dough forms completely (it should be thick and smooth). If your dough isn’t thick enough, add another 1-2 tbsp’s of flour to your batter.
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Using a small cookie scoop, scoop your dough onto your pans, spreading them apart evenly. About 12 cookies per each pan.
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Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or till the edges of the cookies are done. The tops may look slightly underdone but will continue to cook through as they cool.
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Let your cookies cool on your pan for at least 15 minutes, and then remove them onto your cooling rack.
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Devour!
Store your cookies in an airtight container, and they taste best within the first 4 days.
Can you clarify if you used the 1-1 flour or the AP baking flour – Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 all purpose baking flour? The 1-1 is in a blue bag and the AP baking is in a red/rust coloured bag.
This is the third time I have made them. The second time I used all 1-1 flour, a vegan butter and monkfruiti/erythritol mix instead of white sugar. My brown sugar was rather hard but I used it anyway. They didn’t spread well but they puffed up a bit and were very hard. This third time I ran out of the 1-1 so I used a mix of the 1-1 and the AP – probably about half of each. I used the vegan butter again and used the sugar per the recipe. That seemed to have worked. The dough was thick and rather soft. I put them in the oven and they spread well and were rather flat so I mixed in a bit more flour. They are a little less flat now. Do you think they didn’t spread because of the sugar substitution?
Hi Josephine. I use the 1-to-1 flour in the blue bag. And yes, I would guess that they didn’t work as well when you made them with the sugar substitutes. If your vegan butter is fairly soft, they may spread a little too much too.
Hi! Can I substitute with coconut sugar and coconut oil instead of butter?
Yes! Both should work well still, just be sure the coconut oil isn’t too melted (just softened) or the cookies will spread too thin.
Cookies were delicious! Also made with regular flour and were really good as well. An easy gluten-free recipe that doesn’t require many speciality ingredients.
Thanks Christa! 🙂
I made these and they were delicious! However, I’m now out of lemons. Could I substitute lime zest and lime juice instead?
Great to hear, grace! You could, but then they would be Lime Cookies instead. Hope you enjoy if you try them like that!
Absolutely delicious! I think as a base, this cookie could be transformed into all types of flavors. I loved the lemon!
Awesome!! Great to hear that Rhonda, thanks for the kind words.
What is the purpose of cornstarch in this recipe? Can I skip it?
Hi there – Yes, you can skip the cornstarch! It just gives the cookies a bit of a softer and fluffier texture, but they are still good without it.
Can I substitute the white sugar with muscovado sugar? Thanks
Hi there – Muscovado sugar should work fine in this recipe (you may need a bit more flour) but the flavor would be different so I wouldn’t recommend it.
Do you think that the cookies will still bake correctly if I were to add blueberries?
Hi there. That sounds a little tricky. I haven’t ever used fresh berries in these cookies, but I’m picturing the blueberries falling out and the batter not staying together as well. I would guess that you would need a softer cookie, that’s more muffin top like, for that to work. I would recommend dried blueberries for these cookies in particular. You’ve got me thinking now though that I might have to make a cookie like that because it sounds delicious! 🙂
My husband LOVED this recipe! What a lovely and light lemon flavor. Well done! We will be using this regularly in our house!
So happy to hear that!! Thanks for the comment.
Thank you for sharing this! I love lemon cookies and using Bob’s 1 to 1 flour mix. These turned out wonderfully. I had slight issues with melty spots, but my butter might have been overly soft.
Awesome to hear, Michelle! That sounds like a good possibility – Either that or maybe you didn’t cream the butter and sugar enough and then you ended up with clumps of butter that melted funny while baking in the oven.
Hi Kathryn, coconut oil should work great too, just be sure that it’s softened and not entirely melted (or your cookies will spread too thin in the oven). Good luck, and I hope you enjoy!
Hi I have a homebased baked goods business and I am trying to offer to GF customers I would love to make these if thay is alright. I never give out the recipe thank you.
Hi there, that is no problem. I hope you enjoy the cookies!
Could I substitute almond flour?
Hi Becca. No, almond flour will not substitute well in these. But, I do have a Paleo Lemon Cookie recipe with almond and coconut flour too if you’re interested: http://www.milehighmitts.com/paleo-lemon-cookies-dairy-free-option/ Hope this helps!
I loved the flavor! I use America’s test kitchen GF flour blend, and had to add an extra ounce of flour, but they rose and spread beautifully! I’m in Denver, CO.
Awesome! Thanks for leaving the review Aviva, I’m glad they worked well for you in a high altitude too! 🙂