Vegan Glazed Lemon Cookies

Lemon is the flavor of the season and I am definitely here for it. I'd venture to say that I would take these cookies over classic chocolate chip, which is saying a lot. You would never know that these cookies are vegan either. The batter is so fluffy and tart that I may have eaten half and baked half-- which is completely edible by the way! Made without dairy or eggs, you'll be surprised at how well these little beauties rise and how buttery they taste!

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Another reason this recipe rocks is that it is very easy to make these gluten-free OR non-vegan, depending on your preferences. The vegan version requires a couple ingredients that you may not have on hand, but never fear! During this quarantine when you may not want to venture to the grocery store, there is a non-vegan version you can make with things you probably have at home!

Cookie Ingredients

1/2 cup softened dairy-free butter (I use the "Earth Balance" brand)

1/2 cup cane sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup applesauce

1/4 cup dairy-free vanilla yogurt (I use the "So Delicious" coconut milk yogurt)

1 large lemon

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp baking powder

Dash of salt

Dash of turmeric for color (optional)

Lemon Glaze ingredients

2 cups confectioners sugar

1 large lemon

*Makes about 16 large cookies*

Below are the dairy-free items that I used for this recipe.

If you're not into the vegan thing, simply swap these ingredients for regular butter and yogurt.

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or grease. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the "butter" and the sugars using a hand or a standing mixer. The mixture should be crumbly.

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After the butter and sugars are combined, add the applesauce, yogurt, and the juice and zest of one large lemon. If you do not have applesauce on hand, oil will work as well!

Mix until ingredients are incorporated, approximately 2 minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients, from the flour to the turmeric. To make these gluten-free, use GF All Purpose Flour. The turmeric is for color, giving the cookies a deeper yellow color. Don't worry, you won't taste it! You can leave this out completely or use yellow food coloring instead.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until incorporated. Do not over mix; you want these cookies fluffy!

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Once the dough is mixed, spoon the dough onto the baking sheet using a full tablespoon. Form balls and do not flatten. Keep the cookies a couple inches apart as they will expand beautifully in the oven.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the edges slightly brown. Keep the cookies on the sheet an additional 10 minutes after they come out of the oven to complete the baking process.

You can happily eat these as is, or if you're feeling extra tangy you can top with this yummy lemony glaze. To make the glaze, add the juice and zest of 1 large lemon to 2 cups of confectioners sugar. The glaze should be easily spreadable but should keep its shape after it's drizzled. Make sure the cookies are completely cooled before glazing.

I topped mine with a bit more lemon zest and voila! The cookies are so lemony and soft and perfect for summer! Here's to hoping we will have some summer get-togethers to take these to!

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