These Flourless Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Chia Seed Cookies are the perfect spring and summer dessert cookie.
I substituted the traditional lemon/poppy seed variation with a lemon/chia seed combination. They have a slightly tart flavor from the lemon and a subtle crunch from the chia seeds.
They're a delicate cookie but holds well together once you let them completely cool after taking them out of the oven and have a nice golden outer edge.
Traditional lemon and poppy seed cookies usually include ingredients like these:
S.A.D. Ingredients (Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies): Typical Ingredients: flour, eggs, butter (or worse, margarine), refined sugar
This healthier version is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free, flourless, egg-free, soy-free, paleo-friendly and contains no refined sugar.
Flourless Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Chia Seed Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups organic raw cashews
- 2 tablespoons organic coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons organic lemon juice freshly squeezed
- ¼ cup organic unrefined granular sweetener
- 3 tablespoons organic coconut flour
- 2 tablespoons organic chia seeds
- 2 pinches Himalayan pink salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add the cashews and coconut oil to a food processor and process until they are creamy and smooth. This will take about 3-5 minutes as the cashews will turn from nuts, to flour, then to nut butter. Stop every minute or so to scrape the sides and help it along.
- Transfer the cashew butter to a medium-size bowl and add the remaining ingredients (lemon juice, granular sweetener, coconut flour, chia seeds, Himalayan pink salt).
- Stir everything together until it is well combined.
- Take out a spoonful at a time, roll the mixture into a small ball, then flatten it in the palms of your hands to make a small cookie shape, about 1 ½ inches in diameter.
- Place the cookies on a baking pan lined with parchment paper and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 12-14 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before removing them from the baking pan.
- Store in an air-tight BPA-free container.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
The recipe and photographs for "Flourless Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Chia Seed Cookies" by Karielyn Tillman of The Healthy Family and Home website are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 International License and cannot be used without my written permission.
Recipe Roundups: Food Bloggers are always welcome to use a photo and a link back to my original post to share on recipe roundups without requesting permission.Nutrition Information
Copyright Notice
The notes, instructions, and photographs for this recipe are copyrighted material and are protected under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA). They cannot be used legally without my written permission.
Want More Healthy Gluten-Free Vegan Cookie Recipes?
Check out these:
- Flourless Vegan Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Flourless Vegan Chocolate Pistachio Cookies
- Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies
- or my CLEAN DESSERTS Cookbook with 72 plant-based gluten-free + vegan no-bake dessert recipes made with clean, real food ingredients just like this one that you will love!
Did You Make This Recipe?
I'd love to hear about it! Please give it a rating and leave a comment below...it would make my day! 🙂
Meghan says
I have organic raw cashew butter, can I use that instead of making my own? If so, do you have a recommendation on how much to use? These sound delicious!
Karielyn Tillman says
Hi there Meghan! I haven't tested the recipe with store-bought cashew butter, so I'm not sure if it will work 🙁
The reason I used homemade cashew butter in this recipe is because store-bought cashew butter can sometimes be runny or extra-oily. Because of this, it wouldn't be thick enough to hold the cookies together.
When you put raw cashews in the food processor, it will make a thick, paste-type nut butter which is what holds the cookies together.
However, you may want to give it a try with what you have, especially if it's not extra runny. If you do, I would use the same amount. You may need to add a little extra coconut flour, but be careful not to add too much because it will make the cookies too dry. Try adding (1) teaspoon at a time, but only as needed.
Thanks for the question and I hope it works out 🙂
Laurel says
Just made these. Very good! I didn't have coconut flour so I used almond flour, which is less absorbent of the liquid. They ended up pooling lemon juice which was sort of greasy from the coconut oil at the bottom of the bowl as I formed them, so I had to keep mixing them. I think that might be different with coconut flour so I'll have to try that. The taste is light and slightly crispy--perfect texture. I sweetened with coconut sugar, so mine were a bit darker in appearance than the picture. These will be great with tea! Thank you!
Karielyn says
Hi there Laurel! Yeah, unfortunately the coconut flour really does make a difference in this recipe, for the very reason you described. When you use coconut flour, they shouldn't spread on the baking sheet and will hold together well after they've completely cooled on the baking pan. I love your idea of using coconut sugar as a sweetener too!
I hope you give them another try with the coconut flour...they are one of my favorite cookies to enjoy with a warm cup of tea as an afternoon snack 🙂
Melissa @ Insider The Kitchen says
Lemon treats are so happy! Cookies for breakfast?! YES!
Karielyn says
Hi Melissa! Yes! Yes! and Yes! I totally agree! Hope you enjoy them 🙂