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!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword blueberry cookies, gluten-free vegan cookies, vegan cookies
1teaspoonbaking powder(ensure gluten-free if necessary)
100g(1cup)fresh blueberries
For the frosting:
75g(½cup)raw cashew nuts soaked in cold water overnight or in hot water for 15 minutes
5tablespoonsmaple syrup(or sub any other sweetener)
3tablespoonslemon 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!