Soft baked, healthy lemon cookies that are chewy and delicious, plus gluten free, refined sugar free, low carb, vegan, and just 4 ingredients. Seriously - what more could you ask for?
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Recipe
Soft and Chewy Lemon Cookie Recipe (Low Carb)
- 2 cups Finely Ground, Blanched Almond Flour
- ⅓ cup 100% Pure Maple Syrup (can sub honey)
- 1 each Lemon zested and juiced (approx. 3 tablespoons of juice)
- small pinch Salt
- Pour the flour into a bowl and zest the lemon into the flour. Stir the zest and flour together until the zest is evenly distributed.
- Pour the lemon juice and maple syrup into a small bowl. Give it a quick stir.
- Pour the maple syrup mixture into the flour mixture. Stir all the ingredients together until well combined.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- Line the baking sheet with parchment paper, or lightly grease the surface of the baking sheet with oil or butter.
- Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough and roll it between your hands into a ball. Place the ball on the baking sheet and use two or three fingers to flatten it just slightly, about ½ to ¾ inch thick. Repeat with the remaining dough. (The thicker the cookie, the longer it'll have to bake.)
- Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, longer for a firmer cookie. The color will not change, so be sure to set a timer.
See notes below.
Soft Lemon Cookies
Lemon cookies are amazing, right! But most lemon cookies you buy or make are hard like a shortbread or sugar cookie. These soft lemon cookies break the mold with a new, chewy texture almost identical to a fig newton.
Refined Sugar Free
Granulated sugar is an important ingredient in cookies, but I wanted to make these were healthier so I used 100% pure maple syrup. It's a natural sweetener and low glycemic, and the maple flavor is more pleasant than honey.
Sometimes honey has too much of a honey taste in baking. It can easily overpower the other flavors and leave a funny aftertaste. Maple syrup is just a strong, but because it has that rich and comforting maple flavor, it's less offensive (so to speak).
Lemon Flavor
I'm a HUGE fan of fresh lemon. It gives a MUCH better flavor than bottled lemon juice and lemon extract.
I'm not opposed to using lemon extract, but I use it only when I want a strong lemon flavor and the batter already has too much liquid.
You can use any one of the 3 lemon flavorings in this recipe, but I recommend and prefer the fresh lemon juice and zest. Next in line is the extract if you have that instead of a fresh lemon, then bottled juice only if you are way too tired to go to the store and get a fresh lemon.
Use about ¼ to ½ teaspoon of lemon extract, depending on how much you like a lemon taste. I mean...these are lemon cookies, so I say ½ teaspoon. Also add 3 tablespoons of water so the batter's texture remains the same.
If you use bottled lemon juice, start at 1 tablespoon and taste the batter to see if you want to add more.
Mixing and Rolling the Dough
The batter will be thick and a bit sticky. That's exactly what you want. You can see the texture in the picture below.
About halfway through rolling the cookies, the dough will start to stick to your hands. Lightly dust your hands with a bit of flour, or pop the dough in the freezer for 5 minutes to stiffen back up.
Size
The more you flatten these cookies before baking, the harder or crispier the outside layer will be. But don't get me wrong; they're still soft cookies.
Storage
Because all of the ingredients are pantry ingredients (even the fresh lemon), these cookies can be stored in any way. You can leave them out on the counter and they won't stale or harden because of the amount of maple syrup. You can also store in a container, baggie or in the refrigerator for longer life.
Other Soft Cookies
Click the names at the bottom of each picture to go to the recipe.
Carol
I could eat these cookies once a week. LOVED THEM
The Gestational Diabetic Chef
So good, right?! My favorite part is how chewy they are. Thanks, Carol 🙂