• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Rhian's Recipes

  • About
    • Contact
    • Work With Me
  • Recipes
  • Subscribe
  • Meal Plan
  • Cookbook
  • Blogging Tips
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Subscribe
  • Healthy Meal Plan
  • Cookbook
  • Blogging Tips
    • E-mail
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Recipes » Recipes » Baking & Desserts

    Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies

    Last updated - July 11, 2021; Published - December 14, 2019 By Rhian Williams 26 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe
    A collage of two Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies photos

    These Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies are soft, chewy, fluffy, tangy and citrusy! They're covered in a rich, creamy orange buttercream frosting too! They're easy to make, the cookie dough doesn't require chilling and are refined sugar free too. The perfect sweet treat for Christmas!

    Three gluten-free vegan orange cookies with frosting and orange zest with a bite taken out of one

    The Lemon Cookies recipe I recently posted was so popular that I was inspired to make some Orange Cookies too! Just like my Lemon Cookies, these Orange Cookies are a bit like Sugar Cookies: they're soft, slightly fluffy and a little chewy. A creamy orange buttercream frosting adds extra orange flavour and richness.

    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.

    Raw gluten-free vegan orange cookie dough in a mixing bowl
    • 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.

    Seven raw gluten-free vegan orange cookies on a baking tray lined with baking paper
    • Bake in oven for around 10-12 minutes, until very lightly browned - be careful not to over-bake!
    Seven gluten-free vegan orange cookies on a baking tray lined with baking paper
    • 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 orange 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.
    Cashew nuts, maple syrup and orange juice in a food processor
    • Whizz until completely smooth, adding some plant-based milk or water to thin out if necessary.
    • Taste and add extra orange juice and/or maple syrup if necessary.
    Vegan orange buttercream frosting in a food processor
    • Use a knife to spread a bit of frosting over each of the cookies.
    Three gluten-free vegan orange cookies with frosting and orange zest

    How long do these Orange Cookies keep for?

    These Orange Cookies 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. 
    • You can replace the orange zest with 1 teaspoon orange extract.
    • 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!

    Tips for baking with oranges

    • For optimum orange flavour, I would recommend using fresh oranges (not ones that you've had sitting in your fruit bowl for weeks!) and organic ones if possible.
    • You can use orange juice from a carton too, but I'd recommend using a juice made from fresh oranges rather than from concentrate.
    • You have to be careful when baking with orange juice as the acidity and orange flavour can really vary depending on the oranges you use.
    • For the frosting, I would recommend tasting it as you're making it and adding extra orange juice (or even some orange zest or orange extract) if necessary.
    • For the orange zest, make sure you use unwaxed oranges.
    • If you can't get hold of unwaxed oranges, you can use orange extract instead.
    Two gluten-free vegan orange cookies stacked on top of each other, one with a bite taken out

    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
    • Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
    • Lemon Blueberry Cookies
    • Pumpkin Cookies
    • Linzer Cookies
    • Homemade Oreos

    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.

    Watch how to make this

    Three gluten-free vegan orange cookies with frosting and orange zest with a bite taken out of one

    Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies

    These Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies are soft and chewy, slightly fluffy and perfectly citrusy! They're covered in a rich, creamy orange buttercream frosting too! The perfect sweet treat for Christmas!
    4.82 from 11 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: gluten-free vegan cookies, orange cookies, vegan cookies
    Prep Time: 25 minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 35 minutes
    Servings: 7 large cookies
    Calories: 400kcal
    Author: Rhian Williams

    Ingredients

    For the cookies:

    • 30 g (⅛ cup) coconut oil  (or sub coconut butter)
    • 9 tablespoons maple syrup  (or sub any other similar sweetener)
    • 10 tablespoons orange juice (around 1 medium-sized orange)
    • 2 tablespoons orange zest (make sure oranges are unwaxed - or sub 1 teaspoon orange extract)
    • 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)

    For the frosting:

    • 75 g (½ cup) cashew nuts soaked in cold water overnight or in hot water for 15 minutes
    • 4 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
    • 4 tablespoons orange juice (around ½ medium-sized orange)

    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, orange juice, orange 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.
    • 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 10-12 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 orange juice.
    • Whizz until completely smooth, adding some plant-based milk or water to thin out if necessary.
    • Taste and add extra orange 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.

    Video

    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 orange cookies without 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!
    • For optimum orange flavour, I would recommend using fresh oranges (not ones that you've had sitting in your fruit bowl for weeks!) and organic ones if possible.
    • You can use orange juice from a carton too, but I'd recommend using a juice made from fresh oranges rather than from concentrate.
    • You have to be careful when baking with orange juice as the acidity and orange flavour can really vary depending on the oranges you use.
    • For the frosting, I would recommend tasting it as you're making it and adding extra orange juice (or even some orange zest or orange extract) if necessary.
    • For the orange zest, make sure you use unwaxed oranges.
    • If you can't get hold of unwaxed oranges, you can use orange extract instead.
    Nutrition Facts
    Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 400 Calories from Fat 180
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 20g31%
    Saturated Fat 5g25%
    Sodium 6mg0%
    Potassium 280mg8%
    Carbohydrates 51g17%
    Fiber 5g20%
    Sugar 27g30%
    Protein 9g18%
    Vitamin A 75IU2%
    Vitamin C 19mg23%
    Calcium 132mg13%
    Iron 2mg11%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Made the recipe?Tag @rhiansrecipes on instagram and use the hashtag #rhiansrecipes!

    Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.

    More Baking & Dessert Recipes

    • Vegan Blueberry Muffins (Gluten-Free)
    • Gluten-Free Vegan Churros (Baked!)
    • 35 Vegan Thanksgiving Dessert Recipes (Gluten-Free)
    • Vegan Baked Pumpkin Cheesecake (Gluten-Free)
    • Share
    • Tweet

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




    1. A

      January 14, 2021 at 1:19 am

      5 stars
      I have been gluten, dairy, soy-free for 17 years. Out of the many cookie recipes I've tried, my husband has only liked two of them. He is not a picky eater, loves other gf desserts but says gf cookies have a dry, gritty taste. This recipe is his favorite. He says I should use this recipe as a template for other flavors. I substituted rice bran oil for coconut oil to lower saturated fat. The cookies were quick and easy to make. Thank you very much!!!

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        January 14, 2021 at 3:07 pm

        Thank you so much, so happy to hear that!! If you're looking for other flavours, I actually have some similar cookie recipes to this one using different flavours!

    2. Claudia

      March 04, 2021 at 4:35 pm

      5 stars
      I loved these cookies!! I made them at home and they looked exactly like your pictures, the taste was a little gooey, although they looks very fluffy, but I don't mind at all. I did have major issues when I scaled the recipe to make a large badge. The mix was way too wet, we had to add more flour and it diluted the orange flavor. Do you have any suggestions for scaling these kinds of recipes?
      I loved it so much when I made it at home I posted this link on my Facebook 🙂
      Thank you for the inspiration!

      Reply
      • Rhian Williams

        March 04, 2021 at 6:52 pm

        Thank you so much, so happy to hear that! I don't know why there would have been an issue with making a larger batch if you kept the ratios of the ingredients the same. Did you make any substitutions? What type of gluten-free flour did you use?

    « Older Comments

    Primary Sidebar

    • E-mail
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Photo of Rhian Williams from Rhian's Recipes

    Hi, I'm Rhian! I make easy, undetectably vegan + gluten-free recipes, including healthy comfort food and naturally sweetened desserts using plant-based ingredients.

    Learn more.

    Popular Recipes

    Three vegan blueberry muffins with a bite taken out of one with a bowl of fresh blueberries in the background

    Vegan Blueberry Muffins (Gluten-Free)

    A stack of oat flour pancakes topped with desiccated coconut and syrup on a blue plate

    Oat Flour Pancakes (Vegan + GF)

    A loaf of gluten-free rice bread topped with mixed seeds with two slices next to it against a sheet of brown baking paper

    Gluten-Free Rice Bread (Vegan)

    A loaf of coconut flour bread topped with sunflower seeds and poppy seeds with two slices next to it

    Coconut Flour Bread (Vegan + Gluten-Free)

    A loaf of gluten-free vegan oat bread topped with oats with two slices on the side

    Gluten-Free Vegan Oat Bread

    Five vegan coconut flour pancakes stacked in a pile decorated with fresh raspberries and coconut flakes on a green plate against a grey background

    Vegan Coconut Flour Pancakes (Gluten-Free)

    A loaf of oat flour bread with two slices

    Oat Flour Bread (Vegan + Gluten-Free)

    A sliced vegan baked cheesecake topped with wild strawberries and strawberry flowers

    Vegan Baked Cheesecake (Gluten-Free)

    Footer

    • E-mail
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About
    • Privacy Policy & Disclosure
    • Copyright Notice

    Newsletter

    • Subscribe for free updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Work With Me

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro Theme On Genesis Framework ·