Vegan Lemon Crinkle Cookies

These vegan lemon crinkle cookies have a slightly crisp exterior yet are soft inside and deliciously lemony. The powdered sugar adds a nice sweetness to balance out the tang and gives these cookies their pretty crinkled appearance.

Plus, they’re really easy and quick to whip up, which makes them a perfect cookie to make when you need a sweet treat for tea, a potluck, cookie exchange, picnic or anything really! And you can modify the recipe and try it with other citrus like orange, grapefruit or meyer lemon. Or even replace part or all of the oil in the recipe with olive oil!

The recipe is based on the chocolate crinkle cookies recipe (which is equally delicious) but with some modifications. Like replacing the flax egg with chickpea flour to avoid dark flecks in the cookie, and incorporating both lemon juice and zest for all the lemon flavour. The chocolate one is usually my go-to so these are a nice variation and great for spring and summer!

How to make these lemon crinkle cookies

Honestly it couldn’t be simpler. The dough is mixed by hand and there’s no chilling time. All in all, these crinkle cookies can be done in under 40 minutes. And probably eaten in 5.

All there is to it is mixing the dry ingredients together, then the wet, and combining them. When mixing the wet I like to whisk the chickpea flour with the water first to ensure there aren’t any lumps, then add the other ingredients.

Once the dough is mixed, it’ll seem a bit soft but that’s normal! Since the portions are dropped directly into powdered sugar it doesn’t cause any issues. And the softness makes for just the right spread.

As the cookies bake and expand, the coating of powdered sugar will split and create the lovely crinkle top. And the yellow dough from the added turmeric will poke through and make for a pretty contrast.

Although the turmeric is optional, it is what adds the yellow hue to these vegan lemon crinkle cookies. Mine is very mild so I can get away with using 1/8 tsp. But if you have a stronger tasting one, I would perhaps reduce that by about half.

To store, place them in an airtight container for up to 3 days. They’ll lose their crisp exterior and some of the powdered sugar will dissolve because of the moisture. But they’ll still taste amazing!

If you make this recipe please let me know in the comments! All feedback is very much appreciated and I would love to hear from you! You can also tag me on instagram @the.quaint.kitchen or use the hashtag #thequaintkitchen to share your creations!

Vegan Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Tatyana

Soft and tangy cookies with a slightly crisp and sweet exterior that are easy and quick to make.

5 from 1 vote

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Course Dessert

Total Time 38 minutes mins

Servings 12

Ingredients

  

• 130 g all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp (6 g) chickpea flour, sifted
• 30 g water
• zest of 1 lemon, about 1 ½ tsp
• 30 g freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 40 g brown sugar
• 45 g white granulated sugar
• 27 g neutral oil, (grapeseed, canola, vegetable…)
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• <⅛ tsp turmeric*, (optional) for colour
• 2-3 tbsp powdered sugar

Instructions

 

• Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour and water until no lumps remain. Then whisk in the lemon zest and juice, sugars, oil, vanilla and turmeric.
• Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir until a smooth dough forms.
• Place the powdered sugar in a small bowl. Scoop portions of the dough using a 2 tbsp scoop (if you’re weighing them, about 30g balls), roll each one in the powdered sugar to coat completely and place it on the baking sheet. Leave some space for spreading.
• Bake for 11-13 minutes then, using an offset spatula if needed, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

• *Disclaimer: I have a tiny not-so-great oven, so your bake time may vary from mine.
• I strongly suggest making recipes by weight, if you make them by cups I can’t guarantee that you’ll get the same results.
• You could replace part or all of the oil in the recipe with olive oil for a different flavour profile.
• *I have a very mild tasting turmeric so if you have a stronger one reduce the amount.
• You could also make this recipe with other citrus like orange or grapefruit. Meyer lemon would also be great!