Remember when I brought you those fabulous lemon cookies a few weeks ago? If you tried them, you know how good they were.
But guess what? I wanted to make you another cookie that anyone could enjoy so I combined my lemon cookies and almond flour sugar cookies into one glorious lemon flavored sugar cookie packed with poppyseeds and a sweet, zesty lemon glaze. GUYS, they’re sooooo good! Soft, chewy, gluten free, dairy free and even paleo-friendly!
What more could you want? I mean, besides a cold glass of almond milk to pair them with. Or perhaps an almond milk latte?!
Mmmm now we’re talkin’. Clearly, my favorite 3pm snack = cookies and coffee.
Ingredients for lemon poppyseed cookies
Almond flour: these cookies call for blanched almond flour. There is no substitute in this recipe.
Coconut flour: I like to use coconut flour in my paleo recipes, but if you aren’t paleo, gluten free oat flour is a good substitute most of the time.
Baking soda: you’ll just need a pinch for this recipe.
Coconut oil: I prefer to use virgin coconut oil in this recipe because it adds flavor, but melted butter or melted vegan butter is a great option!
Sugar: granulated or organic cane sugar is best in this recipe. You can use coconut sugar too (more paleo-friendly), but just know that it will change the color of the cookies to a golden brown hue and the flavor may slightly change a bit.
Egg: you’ll need one egg, and it’s best if the egg is at room temperature before you bake with it. These cookies work very well with a ‘flaxegg’ if you want to make them vegan. More vegan notes can be found in the recipe note section!
Fresh lemon zest and juice: more tips on this below!
Almond extract: a hint of almond extract brings out incredible flavor in these lemon poppyseed cookies. Don’t skip it.
Poppyseeds: You don’t need to include poppyseeds in this recipe, but I’m addicted to the flavor and texture it gives the cookies.
Tips on making lemon poppyseed cookies:
Make sure to use parchment paper when baking: To make sure the cookies don’t stick to the pan, use parchment paper.
Make sure your egg is at room temperature: Simply run your egg under warm water for a minute before using it in the recipe.
Use fresh lemon juice: make sure you use freshly squeezed lemon juice for this recipe. Do not use lemon concentrate, it’s too potent and sour.
Don’t forget the lemon zest: the lemon zest is very important to flavoring these lemon poppyseed cookies. Here’s the inexpensive zester I recommend.
Allow cookies to completely cool before putting icing on them: If you are in a rush and want to speed up the process you can put the cookie sheet in the freezer for 10-15 minutes after baking.
How to make vegan lemon cookies
If you want to make these lemon cookies vegan, simply use a ‘flaxegg’ instead of a regular egg in the recipe (1 tablespoon flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoons water). I’ve tested them and they worked perfectly!
More paleo-friendly dessert recipes to try:
The Best Healthy Carrot Cake You’ll Ever Eat
Damn Good Paleo Chocolate Chunk Tahini Cookies
Healthy Lemon Bars (gluten free, dairy free & paleo!)
Paleo Orange-Kissed Loaf with Dark Chocolate Glaze
Salted Tahini Caramel Millionaire Bars (vegan + paleo)
If you make these lemon poppyseed cookies, be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe below! I’d love to hear from you and it helps encourage others to make the recipe too! Thank you — xo!
Paleo Lemon Poppyseed Cookies
Ingredients
- For the wet ingredients:
- 1/4 cup melted and cooled coconut oil (or sub melted butter)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract⠀
- zest from 1 large lemon (about 1 tablespoon lemon zest)
- For the dry ingredients:
- 1 cup packed fine blanched almond flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1 tablespoon poppyseeds
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda⠀
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Optional for rolling the cookies:
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- For the lemon glaze:
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar⠀
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus more if necessary
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In a large bowl, mix together the wet ingredients: melted and cooled coconut oil, sugar, egg, fresh lemon juice, almond extract & lemon zest. Mix until smooth and combined.
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Add in the almond flour, coconut flour, poppyseeds, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine. Let dough sit for 5 minutes. Roll into 12 balls. If you want you can roll each ball in a bit of sugar. Place cookie dough balls 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Gently flatten slightly with your hand. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool completely on baking sheet.
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Make the glaze by mixing together the powdered sugar, fresh lemon juice and lemon zest until smooth. place about a 1/2 tablespoon over each cookie. Enjoy! Makes 12 cookies
Recipe Notes
If you want to make these lemon cookies vegan, simply use a 'flaxegg' instead of a regular egg in the recipe (1 tablespoon flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoons water).
If you want to skip the frosting, you can, but I think it makes these cookies AMAZING and full of lemon flavor.
You can use coconut sugar too (more paleo-friendly), but just know that it will change the color of the cookies to a golden brown hue and the flavor may slightly change a bit.
59 comments
Into these!!!
So good!! Hope you get a chance to try them 🙂
These look delicious! Making them stat!! The recipe calls for regular sugar – have you tried making them with coconut sugar or another alternative so that they truly are paleo-friendly? Thanks!
Yes coconut sugar will be fine! I made a note of it in the post 🙂 It will just make them a bit darker.
These look amazing and so easy to make! I can’t wait to try them out!
They are! Hope you love them 🙂
I adore cookies made with almond flour!!! and I’ve been loving all the lemon things lately 🙂
Perfect!! LOVE all things lemon 🙂
Can these be stored at room temperature, or do they need to be refrigerated? How long will they keep?
You can store them on the counter for 3-5 days.
Omg yum they are delicious!
Glad you love them!!
These were so easy to make and such a hit! Perfection the very first time I made them.
This will now be one of my go-to recipes. So happy I found you on Instagram!
Amazing! I’m glad you found me on IG, too 🙂 and hope you find some new go-to’s here!
They look good,but I am so tired of recipes calling for almond and coconut flour.I have been paleo,then switched to keto for a short bit and ended up with an allergy to both .Now,every time I ingest either one I break out in itchy hives and tiny pimples all over my body.I believe that overeating certain foods,especially nuts, over time will make people sensitive.
Hi Ann! Totally understand where you’re coming from. I do my best to create recipes with a variety of ingredients so that there’s something for everyone here. Coconut & almond flour are easy paleo options to bake with, but I try to include notes for alternatives that I think will work well. Everyone is different 🙂
Maybe cassava flour or tigernut flour would work instead of almond flour ?
I would not suggest replacing the almond flour, sorry!
These are amazing! They have the prefect amount of sweetness and are a nice light cookie
YUM! Made them with olive oil instead of coconut because I like the olive oil lemon combo and didn’t feel like measuring and melting coconut oil! These are perfect and fluffy.
Perfect! Such a great treat.
Monique! I think you and I are baking soul sisters 🙂 Your site is always my go to when wanting to make a healthier option for a baked good, and your savory (especially Mexican!) dishes are always loved in our home.
These cookies are amazing! Almost so light and fluffy I’d like to/could eat the entire cookie sheet. Thanks for the great recipes!
Amazing! So happy to hear that Megan 🙂 Love these ones. Hope you keep finding some baked goods you love!
Not exaggerating when I say these are my favorite cookies of all time. Burned the top of my mouth because I couldn’t wait for it to cool and I’m not even mad about it!!! Monique you’ve done it again. Thank you!!!
So happy you love them!! Perfect for spring 🙂 thanks for your note, Sarah!
I love your recipes and this one also sounds amazing. However I have a question though. I need to bake for someone who has nut allergies. Can I replace the almond flour with regular flour? Thanks!
Try this recipe instead! https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/lemon-cookies-with-lemon-glaze/
Delicious! My family and I already ate 5 while they were still warm! I subbed the flour with oat flour and baked for 13 minutes 😊
Delicious! I’m glad that swap worked out well 🙂
We’ve made these several times in the past week alone- my whole family loves them!!! One of our favorite recipes.
So happy to hear that!
Mine fell flat. What did I do from?!?
Wrong***
Hi! Did you follow the recipe exactly including all of the ingredients? Also is your baking soda fresh?
I’ve tried many of your paleo/gluten free cookie recipes and this is my favorite! I used flax egg just to conserve eggs, and I always substitute coconut sugar for stevia to make your recipes low carb. Held together amazingly, stayed soft on the inside. My husband and I ate the entire batch in 24hrs oops.
Perfect! I’m glad the flax egg works well in these!
10/10 definitely worth waiting for them to cool and glaze. Just whipped up a batch of these bad boys and that tart glaze is perfection. I used regular butter and the texture is excellent. Strong recommend.
Absolutely! So delicious!
THESE COOKIES ARE AMAZING! I made them last night and I only wish the recipe made more because they’ll be gone today. Highly recommend!
So happy you love them!!
holy wow these are incredible!! the glaze is perfect on top. im afraid i might eat them all right now
Such a great treat! Glad you love them 🙂
oh dang! You just made my night with these cookies. I had been craving lemon poppyseed muffins but these were even better than what my body had been wanting! Thank you very much.
Amazing! So glad you loved them!
How about if I want to freeze the cookies? Do I frost them with the frosting or without frosting?
I’d recommend freezing them without the frosting 🙂
Made these last night and they came out super flat. It’s my first time cooking with almond flour, so maybe I need to learn how to bake with it better. I refrigerated for 5 min but think I’ll need to keep it in the fridge longer next time?? It was hard to roll out into balls as it was quite goopy.
I will try again though because the flavour was soooo good! So richly lemony, perfect balance of sweetness and tartness which is exactly what I was looking for! Didn’t even need the frosting.
Update. I refrigerated the dough for 10min instead of 5min and rolled into balls without flattening and they came out perfect! I probably could’ve tapped it down a bit since it firmed up in the fridge better. This my new go to lemon poppyseed recipe, so good!
Perfect! So happy to hear that!
Perfect!!!
One of my favs!
These cookies are to die for! The flavor & texture is perfect, and they are easy to make! Definitely will be baking them again.
One of my favs, too!
Out of these sugars do you have a recommendation for this recipe?
1. Stevia baking sugar
2.Honey
3. Agave
I would recommend following the recipe as is to ensure success, but I think honey would also work okay!
This recipe is fabulous. Easy to make. I used Natural Almond flour from Bob’s Red Mill. I am not sure if the cookies are supposed to be soft or crunchy. I know you said not to substitute for the almond flour. But this is what I had at home during the pandemic. I also used brown sugar instead of white. May be this is why they were soft inside?
Anyway, I used a little less sugar than what it calls for, since I am watching my sugar intake. Overall, this is a repeat for me! Thanks.
They are supposed to be on the softer side but not overly soft 🙂 Glad you liked them!
These are delicious! I used a mixture of butter and coconut oil, and replaced the coconut flour with oat flour. Everything else was as per the recipe (although I wasn’t able to get a whole tbsp of zest out of my lemon). Mine turned out pretty thin / delicate, probably due to the flour substitution. The whole batch was gone within a day!
The flour swap is likely what made the cookies thin. I’m glad they were a hit regardless!