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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

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.

Find it online: https://thebananadiaries.com/vegan-cream-cheese-lemon-sugar-cookies/