A bite-sized cookie that’s sweet, tender, and perfectly lemony!? Count us in! These shortbread-style lemon cookies are so quick and easy, not to mention gluten-free and vegan! One bite, and we were hooked.
They pack a TON of lemon flavor and require just 8 ingredients, 1 bowl, and 30 minutes to prepare! They’re ideal for spring, especially when you need a super cute and shareable treat! Let’s make cookies!
Inspiration For These Lemon Cookies
We aren’t the first to add lemon to cookies, and we certainly won’t be the last, because…YUM! From Italian lemon cookies (a.k.a. Anginetti) to Lemonade Girl Scout cookies to lemon shortbread and beyond, it’s clear that lemon and cookies belong together.
The following is our gluten-free, vegan take on lemon cookies. They have a lemony icing similar to the Italian treat, but their texture more closely resembles a softer shortbread.
How to Make Lemon Cookies
These cookies start with whisking together the sugar and lemon zest. This technique helps bring out the lemon flavor by infusing the sugar with the naturally occurring essential oils in the zest.
Then we add a combination of gluten-free flours for the right texture: brown rice flour for structure, tapioca flour for lightness, and almond flour for a nice crumb.
Coconut oil gives the cookies a buttery texture, lemon juice adds natural lemon flavor, sea salt enhances it, and (dairy-free) milk helps the dough come together.
Then we form the dough into a disc and let it chill in the refrigerator for a quick 5-10 minutes. Chilling isn’t essential, but it makes it easier to roll out the dough since coconut oil is prone to melting.
Next, we cut the dough into cookie shapes! And transfer them to a baking sheet for baking. If you don’t have cookie cutters, another option is to roll the dough into a log, freeze it, and then cut into thin slices.
When fully baked, these cookies develop golden brown edges and are ready to come out of the oven. Let them cool slightly, then dip in a lemony powdered sugar glaze for vibrant lemon flavor!
We hope you LOVE these lemon cookies! They’re:
Sweet
Tender
Lemony
Quick & easy
Perfect for spring
& SO Delicious!
They’re perfect for baby showers, Easter celebrations, and making the most of citrus season! Pair with a glass of dairy-free milk or a warm cup of English breakfast tea for ultimate comfort.
More Lemony Treats
- No-Bake Lemon Poppy Seed Donut Holes
- Lemon Loaf Cake (Vegan/GF)
- Creamy Vegan Lemon Bars (GF)
- Vegan Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo @minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Easy Lemon Cookies (Vegan + GF)
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup organic cane sugar
- 2 tsp lemon zest (1 medium lemon yields ~2 tsp zest)
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour (also called tapioca starch)
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup solid refined coconut oil* (unrefined is also okay, but cookies will have a slight coconut flavor)
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp dairy-free milk (we used almond)
GLAZE optional
- 1/2 cup organic powdered sugar
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp dairy-free milk (we used almond)
- 1 pinch lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (176 C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar and lemon zest until well combined and fragrant. Add the brown rice flour, almond flour, tapioca flour, and salt, mixing until well combined. Add in the solid coconut oil and, with clean hands (or a pastry cutter or fork), begin mixing the solid coconut oil with the dry ingredients until no obvious lumps of coconut oil remain. The texture should look sandy and hold together in clumps when you squeeze it.
- Add the lemon juice and dairy-free milk and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until combined. Resist the temptation to add more liquid — it’s okay if the dough is in separate pieces, as long as it’s moist.
- Place a piece of parchment or wax paper on the counter and transfer the cookie dough onto the paper. Mold the dough together into a disc and wrap the paper around it. Place the dough in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes to make it easier to roll out. Once chilled, place another piece of parchment or wax paper on top of the dough. Using a rolling pin, begin rolling the dough between the pieces of paper until it is 1/4-inch thick. Then, using a 2-inch circle cookie cutter, cut out as many cookies as possible (see notes below if you don’t have a cookie cutter). Use a spatula or butter knife to carefully transfer the cookies to the parchment-lined baking sheet. They won’t spread too much, so they should all fit on one large baking sheet.
- Bake cookies for 10-14 minutes, or until the edges just begin to turn golden brown (a little cracking on top is normal). Repeat the baking process if there is any remaining dough.
- While the cookies are baking, make your glaze (optional). In a small mixing bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice, dairy-free milk, and lemon zest until smooth. Set aside.
- Remove cookies from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes on the baking sheet. If you are glazing them, let them cool completely, then carefully dip the top of each cookie into the glaze and place on a plate or cooling rack to set.
- Enjoy with a glass of dairy-free milk or a warm cup of English breakfast tea. Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Video
Notes
*If you don’t have cookie cutters, you can roll your dough into a log and slice it! Follow steps 1 through 4, then place a piece of parchment or wax paper on the counter and smoosh the dough together into a tall lump in the middle of the paper. Fold one side of the paper over your dough and begin pressing the ends in and rolling until you have a smooth, even log, about 8 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Roll it up in the parchment and place in the freezer for 20 minutes. If you prefer square cookies, you can simply press the dough into an even rectangle instead of rolling. Remove the dough from the freezer and cut into 1/4-inch slices. When cutting, rotate your dough log every few slices to avoid getting one side too flat. Place your cookie slices on your prepared baking sheet and bake for 10-14 minutes.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated without optional glaze.
Christine says
just made these cookies tonight and they are lemony, crisp and tasty. The glaze makes them even better . unfortunately, mine turned out to be a little gritty and grainy. Could this be from the brown rice flour or the almond flour? I followed the recipe exactly. They still are good, but not so sure I would want to serve them. Everything I try from you is always delicious.
Hi Christine! We’re so glad you enjoyed them overall. The grittiness could be from the brown rice flour. We’ve noticed certain brands can be grittier. Which brand did you use?
prashanthi atluri says
I loved this recipe! I am oil free, so I made a few a few changes. I used less brown rice flour and more almond flour. Subbed to tbsp of sun butter for the oil and used maple sugar and syrup instead of cane sugar and dairy free milk. Also made the glaze used powdered maple sugar. The cookies were super crispy, and I mean super-duper crispy and not hard at all.
We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Prashanthi! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications!
margaret says
These are yummy, but I made some mistakes. Wanted to share so others don’t do the same:
1) I subbed Bob’s 1-1 gluten free flour for 3/4 of the flour and sorghum flour for the other 1/2.
2) I didn’t read the comment from the author about if you’re using regular flour to decrease the amount, so my dough was extremely dry.
3) Subsequently I had to add close to 1/4 cup of almond milk to get it to come together at all.
4) I wanted to make the cookies smaller because I needed more than 15. I made them about the size of a quarter and got nearly 40 cookies.
5) I thought this would decrease baking time, but when I checked them at 6 minutes I didn’t see any browning. But… by 10 minutes they were quite brown on the bottoms. Oops!!!
The texture is snappy, not soft, as a result of my errors. But I can see how, done correctly, these would be great. So, my main warning is, I don’t suggest decreasing the SIZE of the cookies. I think it would have been okay if I had just subbed the flours (and decreased the amount of flour slightly) but the size difference changed things too much. I think even if I had taken them out at 6 minutes they wouldn’t have the same pillowiness that this cookie flavor calls for. With that said, they are still good and people will eat them.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Margaret. We hope it goes better next time! xo
ujwal meka says
Can this be made oil free? I was also wondering if the glaze could be made with coconut butter. I also love these recipes!
Hi Ujwal, for the shortbread-style crispy texture of these cookies, we’d say the oil is pretty essential. You could try with applesauce, but the cookies will be a different texture. You could make a lemon coconut glaze similar to what’s mentioned in the notes on this recipe. Hope that helps!
Valentina says
Hi~
Would it work good if i use oat and coconut flour? I just love coconut-lemon combination
Hi Valentina, we haven’t tested that, but we think coconut flour would make the cookies dense and a bit gritty. If you want to try it, we’d suggest keeping the almond flour and tapioca starch and using oat + coconut flour to just replace the brown rice flour. Hope that helps!
Valentina says
That worked out very good, thanks for the recipe!
We’re so glad it worked well! Thank you for letting us know, Valentina! xo
Margaret says
Hello,
I was wondering if there is a good substitute for the almond flour?
Margaret
Hi Margaret, cashew flour would be the next best option. Hope that helps!
Heather says
I plan to make these today!
Can I substitute either plant-based hard butter or actual butter? – I’ve run out of coconut oil.
Would anything change about the cookie, or would i have to amend the recipe in any other way?
Thanks!
Hi Heather, We hope we’re not too late in our reply! Butter (dairy or dairy-free) should work great. You shouldn’t need to make any adjustments!
MUTLU says
Hi! Amazing recipe, thank you! Quick question, I can’t find tapioca or brown rice flour, can I use regular flour instead? Thanks!
That should work! Just use slightly less of it because it’s more absorbent.
Cristi says
Could I make the following substitutions:
Coconut oil for margarine
Brown rice flour for white rice flour
Tapioca starch for corn starch
(I live in a town where many healthy/vegan/gf ingredients are difficult to find)
If so, do you suggest any quantity changes or additional ingredients.
Thank you!!! Love your website,
Cristi.
Thank you for your kind words, Cristi! Margarine should work fine. White rice flour would likely make the cookies gummy or crumbly. To replace the brown rice flour + tapioca starch, we’d suggest using a store-bought GF blend (such as Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 Baking Flour) if you have access to that! Otherwise, maybe oat flour (homemade as needed) + cornstarch, but we aren’t certain it will work. Hope that helps!
Karen Myers says
I made these cookies this morning, and am in heaven. So delightfully delicious, wonderful texture. It has been so long since I have been able to enjoy this kind of treat! Thank you.
Thanks so much for the lovely review, Karen. We are so glad you enjoy these cookies! Next time, would you mind leaving a star rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo
Nicci Parry says
Hi there, any recommendations for us refined sugar-free folks?
Hi Nicci, we haven’t tried it but these could work with coconut sugar, they will just be brown in color!
Marie Maldonado says
I only have regular GF 1:1 flour and almond flour. If I’m just using those two flours what should I do?
Hi Marie, we haven’t tried it but it’s possible you could use 3/4 cup GF 1:1 flour (in place of the brown rice flour + tapioca starch) and keep the almond flour the same. Let us know how it goes!
jacquie says
if i don’t need these to be GF can i substitute the rice and tapioca for chickpea or oat?
thanks.
Hi Jacquie, we don’t think chickpea or oat would work here! You could try substituting all-purpose flour though!
Marie Biddix says
These are my go to for cookies. We love them, I would bring to any gathering or special event. Simply the most delectable cookie ever!
Yay! We love to hear this. Thanks so much for the great review, Marie!
Pat Borecky says
I used white rice flour because that was what I had. I do
make a lot of your recipes and love them
Hi Pat, White rice flour has a very different texture than brown rice flour, so that’s the issue. You can learn more here.
Pat Borecky says
I id not make any modifications
Is it possible you were using superfine brown rice flour? That would be more absorbent and cause the cookies to be dry/crumbly.
Pat Borecky says
Followed the recipe exactly – dough was so crumbly I could not make individual cookies. So I put it in a square pan to bake. I frosted them – and still most broke getting out of pan. Found there was too much lemon taste & I love lemon. Would not make these again.
Hi Pat, so sorry these didn’t work out for you! This recipe is usually a reader favorite. Did you make any modifications to the ingredients?
Kathy B says
I made them for a second time and added the glaze this time- SO good. They’re in the freezer waiting for a mid September event. I’m not sure I can wait that long.
We know the feeling! We’re so glad you enjoy them, Kathy! xoxo
Cara says
Thank you for another great recipe! I am checking in to report the numerous ways in which I deviated from it with substitutions so others can avoid following in my perilous footsteps, which sadly resulted in these babies ending up in the trash. : / (No fault to the original recipe at all.) I subbed cane sugar for coconut sugar for a lower glycemic index (as I am sensitive to sugar) and found that this changed the flavor profile too much. I also subbed the solidified coconut oil for vegan butter (because it’s super hot in Kansas right now and my coconut oil is melted in the jar) but found that changed the flavor profile too much also. (Should have just put it in the fridge or freezer!) Based on other reviews, I did change out the brown rice flour for Bob’s GF flour blend and that seemed just fine. After mixing the batter, my dough was too moist so kept adding a little bit of tapioca flour at a time until the best dough consistency was reached but this made the texture pretty awful! (I should have added GF flour blend instead.)
Despite all of the ways in which I dismantled the genius of the original recipe, I could still tell that the lemon flavor was to die for. Minimalist Baker, can you offer any suggestions to using something instead of cane sugar for a lower Glycemic index? Coconut sugar is my go-to but doesn’t work for this!
Aw, bummer! We’re sorry they didn’t turn out well with those modifications. We aren’t sure on an alternative to cane sugar in this recipe that wouldn’t impact the texture/flavor, but we do have naturally sweetened GF/V shortbread cookies. Maybe you could add lemon zest to those?
Nelva says
Hello this may not be who was to get this but do you happen to know US conversion for the entire receipe? If so could you send to me, thanks a bunch.
Nelva Jean
Hi Nelva, this recipe has US measurements already. Hope this helps!
Allison says
I was looking for a nice summer weekday treat, so made these today. Stuck to the recipe, except I didn’t have any lemon zest (used lemon juice from a bottle, gasp!). So I opened up a lemon herbal tea bag which looked to be about 2 tsp, and mixed that in with the sugar. Delicious and would make again!! Agree with the earlier comment that these have great shortbread qualities.
Love your creativity, Allison! Thank you for sharing! xo
Margot says
I’d like to make these this weekend. If am going to sub in a gluten-free flour mix, should I still add the tapioca flour? Thanks!
Hi Margot, you may be able to use a GF blend to replace the brown rice flour, but we’d suggest keeping the almond flour, if possible, for best texture. Hope that helps!
Julie says
My family loved this recipe. We are NOT a gluten free family but no one even noticed it was a GF recipe. My kids loved it too. Great lemon flavor!
Amazing! We’re so glad you and your family enjoyed these cookies. Thank you for sharing, Julie! xo
Megan says
I’ve made these a few times now. Today was this first time I made them with brown rice flour. To me, it tasted a but grainy. Normally I make them with GF flour mix and vegan butter. I think I prefer them like that rather than with brown rice and coconut oil. I also add a little lemon extract and lavender to give it more flavor.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Megan! Lavender sounds like a delicious addition!
Kari says
Amazing!!! Even my friends who have no dietary restrictions enjoyed these cookies. I tripled the recipe and brought to a party. I was asked multiple times for this recipe!!! Thank you soooo much :) I pretty much made as directed. I did have meyer lemon juice – (i had squeezed many and froze into ice cubes when they were in season). I couldn’t roll out. So I just rolled into a long cylinder in parchment paper, refrigerated overnight and sliced into cookies and baked. They tasted very close to shortbread cookies. SOOOOO delish!
We’re so glad everyone enjoyed them, Kari! Thank you for sharing your experience! xo
Laurie says
So delicious!!
I could have easily eaten every single one… in a single sitting!
Yay! Thanks for the great review, Laurie!
Christine Somogyi says
Do you have any recommendations about using a lower glycemic sugar like Monk fruit sugar or Stevia?
Hi Christine, we haven’t experimented with those in this recipe, but if you try it, we’d suggest using versions that are a 1-1 granulated replacement vs. the liquid versions. Hope that helps!
Catherine ES says
I made these and they are DELICIOUS. I used Bob’s 1×1 GF flour because I didn’t have any brown rice flour, but still used almond flour and tapioca starch. I was nervous about the dough staying together so I just packed it down in a 9×9 pan and cooked it shortbread style, then cut it up after baking and glazing. They are crumbly but hold together well, deliciously lemony and completely addictive. Even the non-celiacs and non-vegans loved them!!!
Amazing! We’re so glad everyone enjoyed them! Thank you for sharing, Catherine! xo
Michelle says
We are a refined sugar free household. Suggestions for substitutions?
Hi Michelle, unfortunately we haven’t tried this recipe without cane sugar, but we do have naturally sweetened, GF/V shortbread cookies, maybe you could add lemon zest to those? Hope this helps!
Kelly says
I have been making recipes from minimalist baker for years and recommend this website to all my friends. Every single recipe I make comes out perfect (I’m the worst cook) and I never took the time to write a review (until now). These cookies were so ridiculously good that I couldn’t resist taking the time to acknowledge them properly!
Pure perfection. I didn’t have rice flour so I replaced it with half almond flour and half tapioca starch (1/4 cup each) in addition to their own respective measurements that the recipe calls for. They still came out perfect!
Also, I only had unrefined coconut oil and didn’t even notice the coconut flavor although I wouldn’t have minded it anyway.
This website has been my go to since going plant based several years ago and I’m grateful for all your recipes, thank you for serving the vegan food community in a mighty way.
Aw, thank you SO much for taking the time to leave such a sweet review, Kelly! We are so glad you enjoy our recipes! xoxo
Sandra says
Love these!!!!
Yay! xoxo!
Jayne says
This recipe looks fantastic, and I decided to double it on my first attempt. That might have been my problem…You warn us not to be tempted to add more liquid, but the dough is too dry to form a disc. Should I add more solid coconut oil?
Hi Jayne, sorry to hear it didn’t turn out right! We wonder if something about doubling it didn’t turn out right? More coconut oil should help! Keep us posted.
Katie K says
I made these exactly as written, and the flavor is delicious! My coconut oil was solid and the dough was the right texture, but I did have some unexpected spread in the oven. I almost put the pan of cut cookies in the fridge for 10 min before cooking, and think that would have helped. I used a wine glass as the cutter, which made the edges less clean than a cutter, maybe that influenced the spread. I found the cookie texture slightly grittier than expected, which might be my brown rice flour (bulk bin, don’t know brand). Overall pretty tasty! And I want to eat the glaze by the spoonful.
Hi Katie, thank you for sharing your experience and sorry they didn’t cook up quite right! It sounds like the coconut oil may have softened too much and caused spreading. Are you in a warmer climate?
Linda W. says
Absolutely amazing! I didn’t have brown rice flour, so I replaced it with Bob Red Mill’s All-purpose gluten-free flour. I also added some dried lavender. All I can say is yum! And that this is my new favorite cookie. Thanks for the easy recipe.
Wow, that sounds extra amazing, Linda! Thank you for the lovely review! xo
Alicia says
I was wondering about using Bob’s because I don’t have tapioca flour on hand. Thanks for this
Karianne says
Linda, did you use almond flour and tapioca flour in addition to the Bob’s 1 to 1? Or did you substitute all flours with Bob’s? Thanks!
Jill Anderson says
Lovely little cookies, perfect with tea. I didn’t have any tapioca starch so used arrowroot powder – it worked fine! And of course I had to glaze them, yum.
Amazing! We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Jill! Thank you for sharing! xo
Cynthia says
After making these lemon cookies can some be frozen?
Yes, these should freeze great!
Rebecca says
Hello! I can’t wait to try these, I love all of your recipes. I am wondering if I can double the dough and freeze half for later? Or do you recommend making it all fresh? I have two events I want to make these for this week. Thank you!
Freezing should work great!
Donna says
I made these and they are delicious. I did have to make some substitutes as I didn’t have all the different flours. I also didn’t have the coconut oil. I subbed regular flour and 2tbsp butter and 2 tbsp sunflower oil. I get it, these substitutions make this not vegan or gluten free. I will be going to the store soon to get the correct ingredients. I was house bound today so used what I had. I also used cashew milk. My point is that they are pretty fool poof. I liked that fact that they were low in fat. My family told me to hide them because they can’t stop eating them. Thank you for this recipe, it’s wonderful!
We’re so glad you and your family enjoyed them, Donna! Thank you for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications! xo
Julie Bodnick says
I made these last night because I am always looking for a recipe that can be used for the Jewish Passover. We make a meat meal, so no dairy and also to be kosher for Passover, no wheat. These cookies are super easy and very very delicious. I agree with you that they should be made with “refined” coconut oil. I only had the unrefined and I although I love coconut, I don’t love the mix of those two flavors. But honestly they were so good anyway that I could not stop eating them. Next time I will make a double recipe so they don’t disappear so quickly. Your recipes are always winners. Thank you so much! Julie
We’re so glad you enjoy our recipes, Julie! Thank you so much for sharing your experience! xo
Jeanne says
Hello
Can you use white rice flour vs brown?
Hi Jeanne, White rice flour is much starchier than brown rice flour and we suspect it might make the cookies gummy. If you have sorghum flour that would be an ideal sub, or perhaps a lesser amount of oat flour? Let us know if you give it a try!
Sarah says
Awesome recipe thanks. I mage with plain white flour and they turned out great. Will be a regular bake in our home! Thanks
Yay! We’re so glad they turned out well! Thank you for sharing, Sarah! xo
Dawn says
I would love to make these for my gluten free soon to be daughter in law. I have white rice flour but not brown. Can I substitute the white for the brown?
I have made so many of your recipes- thank you for having such delicious ideas!
Hi Dawn, White rice flour is much starchier than brown rice flour and we suspect it might make the cookies gummy. If you have sorghum flour that would be an ideal sub, or perhaps a lesser amount of oat flour? Let us know if you give it a try!
Jacquie says
Hi, i am really excited to serve this with lime Pana Cotta for Easter .
How about sticky rice flour rather than brown rice???? Any thoughts???
Thanks for the beautiful looking recipe.
Cheers,
Jacquie
Serving with a lime panna cotta sounds SO delicious! Sticky rice flour won’t have the structure that brown rice flour provides. If not gluten-free, you could try a lesser amount of all purpose flour. Hope that helps!
Sherri Rhoades says
Can you use maple syrup or honey instead of cane sugar
Hi Sherri, the texture of the dough would be different and they likely wouldn’t turn out as crispy. If you want to try it, we’d suggest looking at this recipe for inspiration. Hope that helps!
Erica says
I’m not a cookie baker (or a baker at all, I’m working to change that) but can you re-roll the scrap dough and cut more cookies? Or if you’re bent on using all the dough, as I am bent on using all of any food I make, are you better off doing the slice and bake thing?
Hi Erica, yes, definitely re-roll and cut more cookies!
Hannah says
Hi!! Just wondering what could be used instead of almond flour and to get it GF? We have an almond allergy in the house. Thanks!
Hi Hannah, we think cashew flour would be the next best option. Hope that helps!
Jeff says
Can you substitute maple syrup for the cane sugar?
Hi Jeff, the texture of the dough would be different and they likely wouldn’t turn out as crispy. If you want to try it, we’d suggest looking at this recipe for inspiration. Hope that helps!
Sarah says
Do you think I could make this with regular flour using the same amount of the combination of flours used?
Hi Sarah, We haven’t tried this with regular flour but we think it might work. We’d suggest using ~3/4-1 cup in place of the brown rice, almond, AND tapioca. Hope this helps!
lois isfjord says
Can I use regular flour instead of the brown rice and almond flours ?
Hi Lois! We haven’t tried this with regular flour but we think it might work, we’d suggest using ~3/4-1 cup in place of the brown rice, almond, AND tapioca. Hope this helps!
Deb Z says
Love lemon cookies but will not cook or bake with coconut oil. Super unhealthy. Can we sub a healthier oil?
Hi Deb! The coconut oil is ideal in this recipe because it needs to be solid at room temperature to achieve the “shortbread” texture of these cookies. If you have a butter (vegan or dairy) that you like, that would work best. We haven’t tried this recipe with liquid oils and cannot guarantee results!
Suzanne says
I would like to try this and other cookie recipes with monk fruit or stevia. What advice can you give me?
I love all your recipes!! This is my favorite food blog!
Hi Suzanne! We haven’t tried these cookies without the cane sugar, but we think a 1 to 1 granulated sugar replacement should work. Let us know if you give it a try! Thanks for the support!
Nicole says
Hello, any recommendations for substituting the brown rice flour? I have almond and tapioca but not brown rice flour, and would love to try these cookies without waiting till the next grocery run. Thanks!
Hi Nicole! We haven’t tried these without the brown rice flour but we think sorghum flour would work, or perhaps a lesser amount of oat flour? You could try increasing the almond and tapioca to compensate, too, but we think it might be too dense. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
ReaderRita says
Yay! Lemon cookies!
Would it be possible to use the stick form of Earth Balance vegan “butter” instead of the coconut oil? It’s what I’ve got in the house, and then I can make these asap. Thank you for all the wonderful recipes!
(Your peerless crisp recipes have become our dessert staples in this house. We strayed once and learned to NEVER do that again, lol.)
Hi there! We haven’t tried it but we think it would work.. yes. Let us know how it goes! (thanks so much for the support!)
D says
Can coconut flour be substituted for the almond flour in this recipe?
Hi D! We haven’t tried these with coconut flour and we aren’t sure if it will work, we’d suggest starting with 1/2 the amount if you give it a try. Hope this helps!
Kevin says
Is there a sub for the oil to make this oil-free? Applesauce seems like a no-go.
Hi Kevin! Unfortunately for the “shortbread” style of these cookies we think the oil is pretty essential. But we haven’t tried it with applesauce so we aren’t sure if it would work, it might! Hope this helps!
Jo says
Any ideas of something to use instead of rice flour? Thank you!
Hi Jo! We haven’t tried these without brown rice flour but we think sorghum flour would work, or perhaps a slightly lesser amount of oat flour? Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Jayme says
Do you think this would work with regular AP Flour or JUST almond flour? I dont have the other two listed and am dying to make these ASAP! I havent used them in the past so I am uncertain how to substitute. Thanks!!
Hi Jayme! This would probably work with AP flour if you use ~3/4-1 cup in place of the brown rice, almond, and tapioca. We suggest referencing the recipe video to see the texture of dough you want to achieve! We don’t think it would work with just almond flour. Let us know how it goes!
Veronica N says
Hi these look great for Easter! Do you think I could safely use white rice flour in place of brown rice? Its what I have on hand.
Hi Veronica! White rice flour is much starchier than brown rice flour and we suspect it might make the cookies gummy.. but we aren’t sure! If you have sorghum flour that would be an ideal sub, or perhaps a lesser amount of oat flour? Let us know if you give it a try!
Lisa says
What about only almond flour and tapioca…Do you think that might work? If so, just replace the rice flour with the almond flour? Or, what about almond “meal” instead of the rice flour?
Thanks!!!!
Hi Lisa! We haven’t tried this without brown rice flour and we think sorghum flour would be the best sub, or perhaps a lesser amount of oat flour. You could try increasing the almond and tapioca but we haven’t tried it and we think the cookies might be too dense… let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Stacy S says
What other flours did you use in your trials? My husband is avoiding all grains so can’t use rice flour.
Hi Stacy! We didn’t test this with other flours, and we aren’t sure if it will work grain-free. You could try increasing the almond flour and tapioca starch to compensate, but we cannot guarantee results. Let us know how it goes!
Laura says
Hi, you must be clairvoyant. I was hoping for a way to use some extra Meyer lemons. Would it be acceptable to substitute Cassava flour in place of the Tapioca flour? Thanks so much!
Ooo, perfect timing! We haven’t tried this with cassava and we aren’t sure if it will have as much structure, but it might work. Let us know how it goes!