Description
If you’re craving New York Bakery-Style cookies, then you need to try these zesty thick and chewy vegan lemon cookies. We’re using cold vegan butter and baking at high temps to yield the most chewy, soft, and thick lemony sweet cookies- all without any lemon extract, nor eggs. And it’s EASY!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (110 g) light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 cup (226 g) cold salted vegan butter, cubed
- 1/3 cup (70 g) dairy free yogurt, cold
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
- 9 ounces vegan white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Prep: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Measure out all ingredients. You can use a hand mixer and a large bowl or a stand mixer.
- Rub the sugar and lemon zest: In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, add in the sugar, brown sugar, and lemon zest. With clean hands, rub the lemon zest into the sugar to help release the lemon oils (this helps us avoid having to use lemon extract).
- Cream the butter: Once the sugar seems “wet,” add in the cubed vegan butter. Either with a hand mixer or with the paddle attachment of the stand mixer, cream the cold vegan butter into the sugar. Because the butter is cold, this will take 5-7 minutes. Cream until the butter is fluffy and mixed into the butter.
- Add in the remaining wet ingredients: Add in the dairy free yogurt, lemon juice, cornstarch, vanilla extract, baking soda, and sea salt, and mix again until combined.
- Mix in the flour: Add in the flour, and mix the flour into the wet ingredients on low speed until you reach a thick and consistent dough, about 1-2 minutes.
- Fold in the vegan white chocolate chips: Add in the vegan white chocolate chips and switch to a silicone spatula to fold in the chips until evenly distributed.
- Shape the cookie dough: If you’re going for bakery style, you’ll be scooping about 6 ounces of cookie dough per cookie. I use a large ice cream scoop and use about 1.5 scoops, but it’s best to measure using a scale to get the most even cookies. You will yield 7 6-ounce cookies. Once scooped, leave the cookie dough in tall mounds. This helps them remain thick while baking.
- Chill: Once scooped and shaped, cover the cookie dough with plastic wrap and chill the tray of cookie dough in the fridge for 4 hours, or overnight. To speed it up, you can also chill in the freezer for 1-2 hours, but the best flavor is with a longer chill in the fridge.
- When ready to bake: Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Bake: Space the cookies out onto two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Space the cookies at least 2-3 inches apart. Bake the cookies on the middle rack (you may have to do one cookie sheet at a time) for 18 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.
- Cool & enjoy: Allow the cookies to set on the baking sheet for 10 minutes after baking. This helps their bottoms firm up so you can pick them up. Then enjoy! Freeze any leftovers in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
Gluten free: I like King Arthur Measure-for-Measure gluten-free flour here.
Vegan white chocolate chips: I like Enjoy Life vegan white chocolate chips. You can also use vegan white chocolate bars- Polar-less is a great brand.
You can watch how I make them here!