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These ‘cream cheese’ lemon sugar cookies are not your average cookie- they’re buttery soft, with a thick, melt-in-your-mouth chewy texture and bright zesty lemon flavor! All made in one bowl, just a whisk, and absolutely no eggs nor dairy (so yeah, they’re vegan!)!

stacked vegan lemon sugar cookies

Why this recipe works:

If you’re looking for the end all, be all of lemon sugar cookies, this one is it. I’ve never tasted anything like it- these lemon sugar cookies are bright and tangy, and have a ridiculously buttery flavor and SOFT, chewy texture.

We’re using only real lemon- no lemon extracts – to produce the zestiest of flavors complemented beautifully by a balance of sweetness, and the addition of the dairy-free cream cheese as the egg replacement (one of my new favorite discoveries for replacing eggs in baking!) makes these cookies even chewier, yet so soft and melt-in-your-mouth. It’s honestly, the nicest cookie you’ll ever make.

We’re also rolling in extra lemon sugar for even more bright, lemon flavor, and it’s an absolute treat!

Plus they’re thick, NOT flat pancakes, which, personally, I believe all sugar cookie types should be thick and chewy (not flat and chewy!).

We’re using simple ingredients (absolutely no eggs and no dairy, so yes, these are vegan lemon sugar cookies, but trust me, you’d NEVER know!). And with just a bowl and a whisk, it literally couldn’t be easier!

bitten lemon sugar cookie on a parchment paper baking sheet

Britt’s notes:

Truth be told, these vegan cream cheese sugar cookies were born out of a happy accident. I was originally going to go for cheesecake-stuffed lemon sugar cookies (much like my cheesecake-stuffed strawberry cookies!).

However, I wanted to avoid using cornstarch, so I did my first round of testing without cornstarch, the cream cheese filling melted into the cookie dough during the baking process.

But I actually really loved it. It created this ridiculously chewy texture around the filling with still a bit of a pocket of cream cheese that melted in your mouth even more. It was different than using the cream cheese as the egg replacement, which I do love, but it was also not quite a cheesecake-stuffed cookie.

So I thought- why not switch out the yogurt for the cream cheese? I decided to test this method even further to ensure it wasn’t just a one-and-done sort of occurrence, and it happened again, but even more beautifully.

The vegan cream cheese (even my homemade version!) melts beautifully to keep all the ingredients bound together yet creates a soft, chewy texture that’s incomparable to traditional lemon sugar cookies.

lemon sugar cookie dough
rolled lemon sugar cookies

What if my dough is too sticky?

Using cream cheese as a vegan egg replacement tends to make a stickier dough than dairy free yogurt- but that doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong! If the dough is too sticky to handle, I like to chill it for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour in the fridge.

Then I’ll chill it a second time, but this time in the freezer, after rolling in our lemon sugar and right before baking. This ensures that they spread out evenly and beautifully!

broke open lemon sugar cookies

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stacked vegan lemon sugar cookies

Soft & Chewy Vegan ‘Cream Cheese’ Lemon Sugar Cookies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review
  • Author: Britt Berlin
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 12 1x
  • Category: Cookies
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Dairy-Free, Vegan
Print Recipe

Description

These ‘cream cheese’ lemon sugar cookies are not your average cookie- they’re buttery soft, with a thick, melt-in-your-mouth chewy texture and bright zesty lemon flavor! All made in one bowl, just a whisk, and absolutely no eggs nor dairy (so yeah, they’re vegan!)!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 1/2 cup (318 g) all purpose flour or gluten free 1:1 baking flour, sifted and spoon & leveled
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 3/4 cup (170 g) salted vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
  • 1 cup (200 g) organic granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp lemon zest
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
  • 1/3 cup (80 g) vegan cream cheese , room temperature
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Lemon Sugar:

  • 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp lemon zest

Instructions

  1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Whisk the wet ingredients: In a large bowl, rub together only the granulated sugar and lemon zest. Then pour in the melted vegan butter, powdered sugar, vegan cream cheese, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Whisk until incorporated then add in the baking powder and sea salt, and whisk again.
  3. Fold in the dry ingredients: Add in the flour, and use a silicone spatula to fold JUST until the wet ingredients are incorporated into the dry ingredients.
  4. Make the lemon sugar: Rub the lemon zest into the granulated sugar in a small bowl, and set aside. 
  5. Scoop and roll: To make regular sized cookies, use a 2 tbsp cookie scoop or scoop 2 tbsp of cookie dough, and form one cookie dough ball. Place the cookie into the lemon sugar and roll it around to evenly coat, then place the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat this for the remaining cookies, creating about 20-22 cookies. For large cookies, scoop 3 tbsp of dough for the cookie dough ball (you’ll yield 11-12 cookies).
  6. Chill the cookies: Place the cookies into the freezer to chill for 10 minutes.
  7. Bake: Space out 2 inches apart on a baking sheet.Bake for 15-17 minutes for large cookies or 12-14 minutes for medium cookies, or until the edges are lightly golden.
  8. Serve and enjoy! Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the cookie sheet (which helps the bottoms firm up a bit more!), then serve and enjoy!

Equipment

Notes

Gluten free: I recommend King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten-free baking flour.