A friend’s birthday came up recently, and he loves lemon desserts. So I decided to bake him some dairy-free lemon sugar cookies. I tested several variations of lemon cookies, but this recipe was our favorite. It has the perfect mix of sweet and tangy, with the wonderful tender soft and slightly chewy texture of a drop sugar cookie. Plus, it’s a timeless treat that’s perfect for every season and holiday, from spring to winter, and Easter to Christmas!
These Dairy-Free Lemon Sugar Cookies are a Zesty Treat
Sugar-style cookies are more delicate than many other types of cookies, so oven and climate variations can easily change the end result. Consequently, I tested a range of recipes before landing on this one. It’s adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. I did make several modifications to come up with the dairy-free lemon sugar cookies we all loved. To help you get exactly the cookie you want, I’ve included some FAQs and tips below.
Can I Roll & Cut these Lemon Sugar Cookies?
I don’t recommend it. The dough is a touch sticky, but can be cut. However, the dough does spread when baking, so the cookies won’t hold the cut shape.
Is there a Dairy-Free Butter You Recommend? Can I Use Buttery Spread?
I would stick with buttery sticks, not spread, because they are formulated for baking. Buttery spreads often cause the cookies to spread too much and sometimes burn around the edges. I’ve been using Country Crock Plant Butter Sticks lately, because it’s readily available in my local area. But see our Best Dairy-Free Butter for Baking post to see the performance of several popular brands.
The Dough is Too Sticky to Roll into Balls. What Do I Do?
Refrigerate it for 1 hour. It should be a soft, slightly sticky dough. Just roll it gently to keep it from sticking to your hands, or lightly dampen your hands with water to prevent sticking.
My Cookies are Browning on the Bottom. How Can I Prevent This?
Some ovens don’t circulate heat well or have trouble holding temperature. If this is your oven, place the cookie sheet on a higher rack in your oven. You can also flatten the cookies more, so they bake through quicker, allowing you to reduce the baking time by a minute or two. It also helps to use an insulated baking sheet or a baking stone.
Choose Your Own Cookie Adventure Tips
- Thinner, Soft & Chewy Cookies – Bake the cookies on a baking stone that isn’t preheated in the oven. The cookies might not look baked through, but you can leave them on the warm baking stone to continue baking. They’ll set up more as they cool, but should still stay soft. If you don’t have a baking stone, flatten the dough to ¼-inch thick, put the baking sheet on a middle or higher rack, and bake the cookies until they don’t look doughy in the middle, but haven’t browned on the bottoms.
- Thicker & Cakier Cookies – Leave the cookies as dough balls (do not flatten them), bake the cookies on a middle or middle upper rack in your oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies appear more set.
- Doughier Cookies – Don’t flatten the dough balls. Bake them on a middle upper rack in your oven or with an insulated baking sheet to avoid over browning on the bottoms. Bake the cookies for just 9 to 10 minutes, or until they just barely loose their sheen on top and still look quite soft.
- Other Citrus Flavors – You can substitute lime, orange, grapefruit, or other fresh citrus juice and zest for a different flavor spin on this delicious sugar cookie recipe.
- White Chocolate Combination – Did you know dairy-free white chocolate is amazing with lemon? Stir 2/3 cup Enjoy Life White Mini Baking Chips into the dough before (or instead of) rolling them in lemon sugar. These white chocolate chips hold up great in cookies.
Special Diet Notes: Dairy-Free Lemon Sugar Cookies
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, nut-free, peanut-free, optionally soy-free, and vegetarian.
For egg-free and vegan lemon cookies, see our Glazed Vegan Lemon Cookies Recipe.
For gluten-free dairy-free lemon sugar cookies, you might try substituting a gluten-free flour blend, like King Arthur Measure for Measure. But please note that we haven’t tested this recipe gluten free. You might need to add a little extra flour if the dough is still too sticky after refrigeration. Do not substitute a grain-free flour, like coconut flour or almond flour. They do not work as a 1:1 substitution.
- 2⅞ cups all-purpose flour (see Flour Note below)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ½ cup dairy-free buttery sticks (1 stick)
- ½ cup shortening (I use Spectrum Organic)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or lemon extract (optional; see Extract Note below)
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice or 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a mixing bowl, cream the 1½ cups sugar, butter alternative, shortening, and 1 tablespoon lemon zest with a hand mixer.
- Add the egg, ¼ cup lemon juice, and extract (if using), and beat until the batter is smooth.
- Add the dry flour mixture to the wet mixture and beat or stir until it comes together as a smooth dough.
- Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
- Make the lemon sugar right before you remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator. It can harden a bit if left out too long.
- Place the ½ cup sugar in a small bowl. Add the lemon juice or zest and stir until it’s evenly distributed. It will be a bit like a very coarse sugar.
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Roll the dough into balls about 1 ¼-inch to 1 ½-inch in diameter.
- Roll the dough balls in the lemon sugar, brushing off excess. If the lemon sugar starts clumping, just crush it with the back of a spoon.
- Place the dusted dough balls on your prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Gently flatten the dough to about ½-inch thickness.
- Bake the cookies for 9 to 11 minutes, or just until they lose their sheen on top. They do puff up as they bake, but deflate once you remove them from the oven. If baked too long, they will stay puffy and be a bit cakey in texture.
- Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, and then carefully lift the parchment with the cookies onto a cool countertop or wire rack. They will be more fragile when warm, but set up as they cool.
Extract Note: For zingier lemon flavor, use lemon extract. If you don't have lemon extract, I find leaving the vanilla out makes these dairy-free lemon sugar cookies a tad tangier. The vanilla gives them a mellower lemon-vanilla vibe.