Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Blueberry Cookies

These Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Blueberry Cookies are soft and chewy, fluffy and studded with juicy blueberries. They're covered in a creamy, tangy lemon frosting, are refined sugar free, and taste like Blueberry Muffins! They're also super easy to make as they come together in one bowl and the dough doesn't require chilling.

How to make the cookies

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.

• Mix together the ingredients for the cookie dough in a glass mixing bowl.

Tip: If the dough looks too wet: place it in the fridge for an hour to help it firm up. If it looks too dry: add a splash of any type of plant-based milk.

• Use your hands to shape the cookie dough into patties - you should be able to make 7 large cookies.

Tip: To make super fluffy cookies, I like to make sure the centre part of the cookie is slightly thicker than the rest, like in a dome shape. And don't worry, unlike traditional cookies, these ones won't spread as they bake.

• Transfer the cookies onto a rectangular baking tray.

Tip: Line the baking tray with greased baking paper to make sure the cookies don't stick.

• Bake in oven for around 15 minutes, until very lightly browned - be careful not to over-bake!

• They will be slightly soft when you remove them from the oven - leave to cool completely to let them harden before applying the frosting.
• Don't worry about the cracks on top - I found it was impossible to make these vegan and gluten-free lemon blueberry cookies without the cracks forming on top. The cracks don't affect the taste or the texture at all, and the yummy frosting will completely cover them up!

How to make the frosting

• Place the ingredients for the frosting in a food processor or blender.

• Whizz until completely smooth, adding some plant-based milk or water to thin out if necessary.
• Taste and add extra lemon juice and/or maple syrup if necessary.

• Use a knife to spread a bit of frosting over each of the cookies.

How long do these keep for?

These do taste best when fresh, but keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days.

Substitutions you can make

• You can replace the coconut oil with coconut butter.
• You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
• You can replace the gluten-free flour with rice flour.
• If you don't need the cookies to be gluten-free, you can replace the gluten-free flour with plain flour.
• The ground almonds can be replaced with ground walnuts.
• For a nut-free version, use ground sunflower seeds instead of ground almonds and omit the frosting or make a different frosting.
• You can use fresh or frozen blueberries.
• The blueberries can be replaced with raspberries, blackberries or cherries!

Tips for baking with lemons

• For optimum lemon flavour, I would recommend using fresh lemons (not ones that you've had sitting in your fruit bowl for weeks!) and organic ones if possible.
• You have to be careful when baking with lemon juice as the acidity and lemon flavour can really vary depending on the lemons you use.
• For the cookies, I would recommend tasting the lemon juice you're using and adjusting the amount of lemon juice you use accordingly.
• For the frosting, I would recommend tasting it as you're making it and adding extra lemon juice if necessary.
• For the lemon zest, make sure you use unwaxed lemons.

More gluten-free vegan cookie recipes

• Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
• Peanut Butter Cookies
• Oatmeal Cookies
• Lemon Cookies
• Snickerdoodles
• Chocolate Cookies
• Carrot Cake Cookies
• Millionaire Shortbread
• Orange Cookies
• Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
• Pumpkin Cookies
• Thumbprint Cookies
• Linzer Cookies

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Blueberry Cookies

These Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Blueberry Cookies are soft and chewy, fluffy and studded with juicy blueberries. They're covered in a creamy, tangy lemon frosting too!

4.34 from 12 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: blueberry cookies, gluten-free vegan cookies, vegan cookies

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 7 large cookies

Calories: 411kcal

Author: Rhian Williams

Ingredients

For the cookies:

• ▢ 30 g (⅛ cup) coconut oil  (or sub coconut butter)
• ▢ 10 tablespoons maple syrup  (or sub any other similar sweetener)
• ▢ 6 tablespoons lemon juice
• ▢ 2 tablespoons lemon zest (make sure lemons are unwaxed)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
• ▢ 150 g (1 ¼ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub rice flour, or plain flour if not gluten-free)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
• ▢ 100 g (1 cup) fresh blueberries

For the frosting:

• ▢ 75 g (½ cup) raw cashew nuts soaked in cold water overnight or in hot water for 15 minutes
• ▢ 5 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
• ▢ 3 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

For the cookies:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
• Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave.
• Add the maple syrup, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla, and mix well.
• Measure out the dry ingredients (ground almonds, gluten-free flour and baking powder) and mix well.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well until you get a soft dough but one that’s firm enough to mould.
• Carefully mix in the blueberries, making sure not to crush them, otherwise they will ‘bleed’ into the cookie dough.
• If the dough looks too wet, placing it in the fridge for an hour will help it firm up. If it looks too dry, add a splash of any type of plant-based milk.
• Use your hands to shape the cookie dough into patties – you should be able to make 7 large cookies. To make super fluffy cookies, I like to make sure the centre part of the cookie is slightly thicker than the rest. And don't worry, unlike traditional cookies, these ones won't spread as they bake
.
• Transfer the cookies onto a baking tray/baking sheet lined with greased baking paper.
• Bake in oven for around 15 minutes, until very lightly browned – be careful not to over-bake!
• They will be slightly soft when you remove them from the oven – leave to cool completely to let them harden before applying the frosting.

For the frosting:

• Drain the soaked cashews and add to a food processor or blender with the maple syrup and lemon juice.
• Whizz until completely smooth, adding some plant-based milk or water to thin out if necessary.
• Taste and add extra lemon juice and/or maple syrup if necessary.
• Use a knife to spread a bit of frosting over each of the cookies.
• Taste best when fresh, but keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days.

Notes

*You can alternatively use almond flour.

Don’t worry about the cracks on top – I found it was impossible to make these vegan and gluten-free lemon blueberry cookies without cracks forming on top. The cracks don’t affect the taste or the texture at all, and the yummy lemon frosting will completely cover them up!

Nutrition Facts

Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Blueberry Cookies

Amount Per Serving

Calories 411 Calories from Fat 180

% Daily Value*

Fat 20g31%

Saturated Fat 5g25%

Sodium 6mg0%

Potassium 256mg7%

Carbohydrates 54g18%

Fiber 5g20%

Sugar 30g33%

Protein 9g18%

Vitamin A 8IU0%

Vitamin C 11mg13%

Calcium 135mg14%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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