These vegan cream cheese cookies have the irresistible tang of lemon in every crumb. They are slightly crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. And all you need to make them are seven ingredients!
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If you love lemony desserts like vegan lemon yogurt bundt cake, vegan lemon pound cake, vegan lemon rolls and vegan lemon shortbread cookies, get ready for what could very well become your favorite cookie --these vegan lemon cream cheese cookies.
The cookies and the soft, creamy glaze that coats them both pack a bright, sunny, lemony punch from oodles of lemon juice and lemon zest. They are soft and chewy with crispy edges. Yum.
Lemons are a fabulous dessert ingredient, but they are healthy too, and there is so much lemon goodness packed into this simple cookie recipe. There's lemon zest and lemon juice in the cookie dough, and more lemon in the cream cheese frosting. This ensures that you get all of that wonderful citrus flavor your tastebuds crave in one delicious package.
This is a no-fuss recipe, so easy to make. In fact, it takes under 25 minutes from start to scratch. Get the oven going while you prep the cookie dough and you will be eating lemony cookies in no time at all!
Recipe card
Vegan Lemon Cream Cheese Cookies
Ingredients
- 1½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 oz vegan cream cheese (let the cream cheese stand at room temperature for several hours so it's very soft).
- 6 tablespoons vegan butter
- ¼ cup lemon juice (from approx 2 lemons)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 cup sugar
For lemon glaze
- 2 oz vegan cream cheese (at room temperature)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar (add more sugar if you like the glaze sweeter)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius.
- Place the flour in a bowl with baking soda and salt. Whisk.
- Place the softened cream cheese and butter in a larger bowl and beat with a whisk or hand held mixer until fluffy.
- Add the lemon juice and zest and beat in until combined.
- Beat in the sugar.
- Add the flour mixture to the bowl and beat it in briefly, then mix with a spatula until combined and there's no dry flour in the bowl.
- Using a cookie scoop or spoons scoop out balls of the cookie dough on a parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet. Make sure you space the cookies about two inches apart. I got 24 cookies total.
- Bake the cookies 13-14 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly golden.
- Let the cookies stand on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then carefully, using a thin spatula, transfer the cookies to the rack to continue cooling.
Make glaze
- While the cookies are cooling, prepare the glaze by placing all glaze ingredients in a small bowl. Mix with a small whisk or spoon until smooth.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies and let them stand an hour or two for the glaze to set.
Notes
- Use all purpose gluten-free flour to make these cookies gluten-free.
- You can use my vegan lemon curd to top these cookies, instead of the glaze.
- The glaze makes the cookies very lemony because the lemon in the cookies will dissipate a bit during cooking. That said, the cookies are perfectly delicious by themselves with a hint of lemon and you can certainly skip the glaze. You can also dust the cookies with a bit of powdered sugar instead.
- To make a differently delicious cookie, substitute the lemon juice and zest with orange juice and zest.
- Refrigerate: Store the cookies in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.
- Freeze. Freeze the cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to three months.
Nutrition Information
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How to make vegan lemon cream cheese cookies
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius. Place the flour in a bowl with baking soda and salt. Whisk to mix.
2. Place the softened cream cheese and butter in another bowl and beat with a whisk or hand held mixer until fluffy.
3. Add the lemon juice and zest and beat in until combined.
4. Beat in the sugar.
5. Add the flour mixture to the bowl and beat it in briefly, then mix with a spatula until well combined.
6. Using a cookie scoop or spoons, scoop out balls of the cookie dough on a parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet. Bake 13-14 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly golden. Let the cookies stand on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then carefully, using a thin spatula, transfer the cookies to the rack to continue cooling.
7. Prepare the cream cheese glaze by placing the vegan cream cheese in a small bowl with the powdered sugar and lemon juice.
8. Mix until a smooth glaze forms. Drizzle the glaze over the cookies after they have cooled completely and let stand for an hour or two for the glaze to set.
Vegan lemon cream cheese cookies FAQs
Use all purpose gluten-free flour to make these cookies gluten-free.
The glaze makes the lemon cream cheese cookies more lemony because the lemon in the cookies will dissipate a bit during cooking. That said, the cookies are perfectly delicious by themselves with a hint of lemon and you can certainly skip the glaze. You can also dust the cookies with a bit of powdered sugar instead.
Absolutely! Just substitute the lemon juice and zest with orange juice and zest for a different flavor.
Storage instructions
- Refrigerate: Store the cookies in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.
- Freeze. Freeze the cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to three months.
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