These vegan lemon crinkle cookies are zesty, tangy, light and chewy, with soft centres and a crisp, crackled sugar crust. They are bursting with real, fresh lemon flavour - no extracts needed!
These cookies are easy to make with simple ingredients and are perfect for Spring or Summertime baking.
What Are Crinkle Cookies?
Crinkle cookies, also known as crackle cookies, are soft, chewy, cakey cookies which are rolled in icing/powdered sugar before baking to create the distinctive, crinkled surface. As the cookie bakes and spreads, the powdered sugar coating cracks and ripples, leaving behind a white "crinkled" crust that contrasts with the cookie inside.
They are a popular holiday cookie in America and can be made in various flavours such as chocolate, gingerbread and pumpkin.
These vegan lemon crinkle cookies are made without the usual eggs but are just as zesty, chewy and satisfying as the originals.
Ingredient Details:
Lemons: Make sure to buy unwaxed lemons as you will need both the zest and juice. You will need 2 large or 3 medium/small lemons.
Plain flour: Just regular plain (all-purpose) flour is best here. I haven't tried making these gluten-free.
Cornflour (cornstarch): This can be swapped for an equal weight of plain flour if you prefer.
Turmeric: This is totally optional but adding a teeny bit of turmeric to the dough gives the cookies a bright, sunny yellow colour without the need to use any artificial food colouring. It is not enough to impart any flavour but you can omit it if you prefer.
Sugar: You will need both caster or granulated sugar for the dough, and icing (powdered/confectioners) sugar for rolling the cookies in.
Baking powder: Needed to make the cookies rise and form the crackle crust.
Vegan butter: You need to use a block butter/margarine to make these cookies, not the spreadable kind in a tub.
Oil: Using part oil, part butter helps to make these cookies really moist and chewy. I use olive oil but any neutral flavoured oil that is liquid at room temperature (i.e. NOT coconut oil) will work fine.
How To Make Vegan Lemon Crinkle Cookies:
(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)
- Step 1: Whisk together the melted butter, oil, sugar, lemon zest and juice, vanilla, salt and turmeric.
- Step 2: Whisk in the baking powder and cornflour then add the plain flour and stir with a spatula to form a very soft dough. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Step 3: Scoop about a heaped Tablespoon of the dough and roll it into a ball, roll the ball in granulated/caster sugar.
- Step 4: Roll the caster sugar coated ball generously in icing/powdered sugar. Repeat with the rest of the dough, you should get around 14 cookies.
- Step 5: Place the sugar coated balls of dough spaced apart on two lined baking sheets.
- Step 6: Bake for 12-15 minutes.
Top Tips:
USE SCALES. As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scales rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
For the teaspoon and Tablespoon measurements, please use proper measuring spoons, not just regular spoons. A teaspoon is 5ml and a Tablespoon is 15ml.
Chilling the dough before shaping it is important to give it time to firm up.
Rolling the cookies in caster/granulated sugar before the icing/powdered sugar helps the cookies to retain a better coating of sugar that doesn't go discoloured and see-through but you can absolutely skip this step if you prefer and just roll them in the icing sugar.
Only coat the cookies in the sugar when you are ready to bake them otherwise they will absorb it.
Make sure that the dough balls are fully coated in a thick layer of sugar, if it is too thin you won't get that satisfying crust.
FAQ's:
Store the baked vegan lemon crinkle cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They will keep for around 4-5 days.
To freeze before baking:
Freeze the unbaked balls of dough without the sugar coating on a sheet pan until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. Let the dough balls thaw for a few minutes at room temperature while you pre-heat the oven, then roll them in the sugar and bake. You may need to add an extra minute or two to the baking time.
To freeze the baked cookies:
Arrange the cookies in layers in a freezer proof container with parchment paper between each layer. The cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw the frozen cookies at room temperature.
The dough will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days. Don't shape and coat the cookies in the sugar until you are ready to bake them however.
Yes absolutely, just roll the dough into balls and bake, you will still get delicious crackled cookies, just without the snowy crust.
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Vegan Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
Dough:
- 40 g (3 Tablespoons) vegan block butter melted
- 27 g (2 Tablespoons) oil (I use olive)
- 150 g (¾ cup) caster or granulated sugar
- finely grated zest of 2 large or 3 medium lemons
- 50 g (3 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon) fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon turmeric (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon fine table salt
- 10 g (4 teaspoons) cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 210 g (1 + ¾ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
To Coat:
- 50 g (¼ cup) caster or granulated sugar
- 50 g (½ cup) icing (powdered) sugar
Instructions
- Whisk together the melted butter, oil, sugar, lemon zest and juice, vanilla, salt and turmeric in a bowl.40 g (3 Tablespoons) vegan block butter, 27 g (2 Tablespoons) oil (I use olive), 150 g (¾ cup) caster or granulated sugar, finely grated zest of 2 large or 3 medium lemons, 50 g (3 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon) fresh lemon juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon turmeric, ¼ teaspoon fine table salt
- Whisk in the baking powder and cornflour then add the plain flour and stir with a spatula to form a very soft dough. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.10 g (4 teaspoons) cornflour (cornstarch), 1 teaspoon baking powder, 210 g (1 + ¾ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- Preheat the oven to 190℃/170℃ fan/375℉/gas mark 5. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Place the caster/granulated sugar in one small bowl, and the icing/powdered sugar in another.50 g (¼ cup) caster or granulated sugar, 50 g (½ cup) icing (powdered) sugar
- Divide the chilled dough into 14-15 portions, about a heaped Tablespoon each, and roll them into balls.
- Roll the balls first in the caster/granulated sugar, giving them a light coating, and then in the icing/powdered sugar, making sure that they have a thick, even coating.
- Place the cookies spaced apart on the lined baking sheets and bake for 12-15 minutes until they are set around the edges; they will still be quite soft but will firm up as they cool.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5-10 minutes, then gently transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- See post above for tips, details, make ahead and freezing instructions and step-by-step photos.
- As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess
Rosie Pressland
Terrific new recipe so delish and looking exactly like your photos. I tell everyone about your website. It truly is the best for vegan bakers. Keep it up Hannah. Thank you
Rosie Pressland
Christine
Hi
I followed the recipe exactly however, my cookies didn't spread out or 'crinkle'. They taste great, though!
Thank you for the recipe.
Alan Henry
Loved the recipe. Tasted amazing.
Could I replace the lemons with extract? I don't always have fresh lemons in the house.
Hannah
Hi Alan, thank you! I haven't tried making these using extract, I don't think that the flavour would be as good though. You would need to swap the lemon juice for another liquid such as soy milk with a couple of teaspoons of vinegar added to it to keep the acidity.
Helen Foster
So, so good. Easy to make and they look impressive too. Everyone asked for the recipe! Thank you Hannah for another fab recipe 🙂
Rich Coates
What a great recipe! Readily available ingredients, simple method, visually impressive, and best of all, fabulously tasty with just the right amount of ZING!
Will definitely be making these again soon cos this batch won't last long!
Thanks Hannah!