Buttery gluten free lemon poppy seed cookies are a wonderful treat! These cookies are light, delicious, and gluten free, too!
There’s something about lemon desserts that just say springtime! These lemon poppy seed cookies have a wonderful citrus flavor due to plenty of lemon zest in the cookie dough.
These are very light, and a dusting of powdered sugar is all that they really need on top. If you would rather do a sandwich cookie, kind of like these cookies, you can do that! Just make up a batch of dairy free buttercream frosting, and make these into sandwiches.
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Top Tip
When you zest the lemon, make sure to only get the yellow zest, not the white part. The white part is bitter, and you don’t want that flavor to get into your cookies!
Ingredient Notes
- Gluten Free Flour Blend – I used Namaste Perfect Flour Blend for these cookies (as usual!), and it worked really well. I don’t recommend using coconut flour or almond flour for this recipe. The result will be too heavy and dense – not the light texture that you’d expect in a lemon cookie.
- Vegan Buttery Spread – Earth Balance Soy Free Vegan Buttery Spread works well for cookie recipes. You could also use the baking sticks if you prefer.
- Poppy Seeds – If you have a seed allergy and have to leave the poppy seeds out, that’s okay. These are still very tasty even without poppy seeds.
- Powdered Sugar – Wholesome Brand Sweeteners Powdered Sugar is vegan and corn free, and that’s what we use. Feel free to use any brand that works for your particular dietary needs.
Step by Step Instructions
- Mix the vegan buttery spread, sugars, and lemon juice on medium speed. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed to combine.
- Pat the dough into two discs, and wrap in waxed paper. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for one hour.
- Roll the dough out, and cut into round cookies, or any other shape that you like. Place on cookie sheets that have been lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-14 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheets.
- Dust the cookies with powdered sugar. Enjoy!
Storage
Store these cookies in an airtight container. They should stay fresh for about 5 days.
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Recipe
Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies (Gluten Free, Vegan).
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- ⅔ cup vegan buttery spread
- ½ cup organic cane sugar
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 ¾ cups gluten free flour blend I used Namaste Perfect Flour Blend
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
For the topping:
- ½ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Make the cookies:
- In a large bowl, beat the buttery spread, organic cane sugar, powdered sugar, and lemon juice on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Add the gluten free flour blend, lemon zest, and poppy seeds and mix on low speed to combine. (If the dough seems too wet, add a bit more flour. Texture can vary with different gluten free flour blends).
- Divide the dough into two parts, and shape into discs. Wrap the discs with plastic wrap or waxed paper and refrigerate for one hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Lightly flour a rolling pin and rolling surface with gluten free flour. Place the dough on the surface and roll to about a ¼ inch thickness. (If the dough is too cold and stiff, you may have to let it warm up just a little bit before rolling.
- Using a round cookie cutter, (or a different shape if you prefer) cut out cookies, and quickly transfer them to the cookie sheets.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-14 minutes.
- Cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Repeat steps 5-8 with the remaining dough.
- Once the cookies are cool, place the ½ cup of powdered sugar in a fine mesh sieve and dust it over the cookies.
Diane
Made these cookies last April for a coworker’s birthday and everyone loved them. I’m making them again for Christmas. They’re so good!
Kelly Roenicke
I’m so glad they were a hit! Thanks for letting me know! :)
Celia
I just made this recipe but I used regular flour instead and used the Earth balance sticks for baking. I have to say that the cookies have this unpleasant aftertaste from the vegan buttery spread. Otherwise the lemon poppy is yummy. Is there a particular brand you recommend for buttery spread? I don’t think I like the way my cookies came out and I blame the buttery spread on it. I had to bake mine a bit longer than recommended because at 14 minutes they seemed undercooked and greasy. Baking longer dried them up a bit which was better for texture. Any tips please let me know.