These vegan cream cheese cookies have the irresistible tang of lemon in every crumb. They are slightly crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. And all you need to make them are seven ingredients!
If you love lemony desserts like vegan lemon yogurt bundt cake, vegan lemon pound cake and vegan lemon rolls, get ready for what could very well become your favorite cookie --these vegan lemon cream cheese cookies.
The cookies and the soft, creamy glaze that coats them both pack a bright, sunny, lemony punch from oodles of lemon juice and lemon zest. And these cookies couldn't be easier to make!
[feast_advanced_jump_to]Why you'll love this recipe
- Perfect texture and lemony flavor. These cream cheese cookies are soft and chewy with just an edge of crispness on the outside. Every bite is infused with loads of lemony flavor.
- Seven ingredients. That's all you need, and it's a no-fuss recipe, so easy to make.
- Ready in less than 20 minutes. Get the oven going while you prep the batter and you will be eating cookies in no time at all!
Ingredients
Skip over to the recipe card for exact quantities of each ingredient.
- Vegan cream cheese. This needs to be soft and at room temperature.
- Vegan butter. Also soft, at room temperature.
- Granulated sugar. I used white cane sugar. You can also use coconut sugar or turbinado sugar, but it will change the color of the cookies to a darker shade.
- Lemon juice and zest. There's lemon juice and zest baked into the cookies and more lemon juice in the glaze that goes on top of these cookies.
- Unbleached all-purpose flour. You can substitute with whole wheat pastry flour, but you'll get the best flavor from regular all-purpose flour.
- Baking soda. This is the only leavening we'll add to these cookies.
- Powdered sugar. Also called confectioners' sugar. This is for the glaze.
How to make vegan lemon cream cheese cookies
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius. Place the flour in a bowl with baking soda and salt. Whisk to mix.
2. Place the softened cream cheese and butter in another bowl and beat with a whisk or hand held mixer until fluffy.
3. Add the lemon juice and zest and beat in until combined.
4. Beat in the sugar.
5. Add the flour mixture to the bowl and beat it in briefly, then mix with a spatula until well combined.
6. Using a cookie scoop or spoons, scoop out balls of the cookie dough on a parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet. Bake 13-14 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly golden. Let the cookies stand on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then carefully, using a thin spatula, transfer the cookies to the rack to continue cooling.
7. Prepare the cream cheese glaze by placing the vegan cream cheese in a small bowl with the powdered sugar and lemon juice.
8. Mix until a smooth glaze forms. Drizzle the glaze over the cookies after they have cooled completely and let stand for an hour or two for the glaze to set.
Recipe FAQs
Use all purpose gluten-free flour to make these cookies gluten-free.
The glaze makes the cookies very lemony because the lemon in the cookies will dissipate a bit during cooking. That said, the cookies are perfectly delicious by themselves with a hint of lemon and you can certainly skip the glaze. You can also dust the cookies with a bit of powdered sugar instead.
Absolutely! Just substitute the lemon juice and zest with orange juice and zest for a different flavor.
Storage instructions
- Refrigerate: Store the cookies in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.
- Freeze. Freeze the cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to three months.
More vegan lemon recipes
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Vegan Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies
Equipment
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2 Bowls
-
Cookie sheet(s)
Ingredients
- 1½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 oz vegan cream cheese (let the cream cheese stand at room temperature for several hours so it's very soft).
- 6 tablespoons vegan butter
- ¼ cup lemon juice (from approx 2 lemons)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 cup sugar
For lemon glaze
- 2 oz vegan cream cheese (at room temperature)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar (add more sugar if you like the glaze sweeter)
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius.
-
Place the flour in a bowl with baking soda and salt. Whisk.
-
Place the softened cream cheese and butter in a larger bowl and beat with a whisk or hand held mixer until fluffy.
-
Add the lemon juice and zest and beat in until combined.
-
Beat in the sugar.
-
Add the flour mixture to the bowl and beat it in briefly, then mix with a spatula until combined and there's no dry flour in the bowl.
-
Using a cookie scoop or spoons scoop out balls of the cookie dough on a parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet. Make sure you space the cookies about two inches apart. I got 24 cookies total.
-
Bake the cookies 13-14 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly golden.
-
Let the cookies stand on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then carefully, using a thin spatula, transfer the cookies to the rack to continue cooling.
Make glaze
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While the cookies are cooling, prepare the glaze by placing all glaze ingredients in a small bowl. Mix with a small whisk or spoon until smooth.
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Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies and let them stand an hour or two for the glaze to set.
Notes
- Use all purpose gluten-free flour to make these cookies gluten-free.
- The glaze makes the cookies very lemony because the lemon in the cookies will dissipate a bit during cooking. That said, the cookies are perfectly delicious by themselves with a hint of lemon and you can certainly skip the glaze. You can also dust the cookies with a bit of powdered sugar instead.
- To make a differently delicious cookie, substitute the lemon juice and zest with orange juice and zest.
- Refrigerate: Store the cookies in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.
- Freeze. Freeze the cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to three months.
Nutrition
The post Vegan Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies appeared first on Holy Cow Vegan.
The post Vegan Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies appeared first on Holy Cow Vegan.
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