These Gluten-Free Lemon Sugar Cookies are rich and buttery, sweet and tart, and soft and flaky. Made with monkfruit sweetener, lemon juice and lemon extract, vanilla, and gluten-free flour, these cookies come together in under 25 minutes for a mouthwatering treat your tastebuds will enjoy! {GF + DF + SF}

If you are a lemon person then these Gluten-Free Lemon Sugar Cookies are just for you! Inspired by Bless Her Heart Y’all’s Lemon Crinkle Cookies, these baked treats taste like lemon bars, lemonade, or those decadent Girl Scout Lemonades cookies I hoard every season! They are literally the perfect blend of lemon flavoring and sugar cookie magic. Now with a super-simple gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free ingredient list, you can enjoy these same flavors in your own kitchen.

When you do make a batch of Gluten-Free Lemon Sugar Cookies, I want to know: did you eat just one or did you go back for more? Truthfully, I’m neither. I grab a bunch at the start and then realize maybe I should put a few back so K-Hubs and the girls can enjoy them, too. Sharing may be caring but sharing is hard.

The short, straightforward ingredient list belies just how rich, flaky, soft, and chewy these gluten-free cookies are. We were feeling adventurous and traded out white granulated sugar for monkfruit sweetener and LOVED the final result. In addition to the monkfruit sweetener, we also used our tried-and-true Earth Balance Soy-Free Buttery Spread because it’s rich and creamy and allergen-friendly! And we went all in for the lemon flavoring!

These Gluten-Free Lemon Sugar cookies are all the rage in our house. We’ve literally made no less than four batches in the last week. #ThankYouForUnderstanding. If a cookie can be magical, then these cookies are it! So grab your electric mixer and let’s bake some magic!

GLUTEN-FREE LEMON SUGAR COOKIES INGREDIENTS

Below is the ingredient list we follow to make our cookies.

Butter. We use Earth Balance Soy-Free Buttery Spread because it ticks all the boxes for our girls’ food allergies. It also boasts a rich, creamy flavor that’s ideal for baking.
Sugar. Granulated sugar will produce a lighter, crinkle-style cookie, whereas monkfruit sweetener will produce a denser, mound-like cookie. Both taste delicious!
Eggs. Two eggs.
Lemon juice and lemon extract. To taste – suggested ranges are provided in the recipe card. For the lemon juice, fresh or bottled is fine. Follow your preference.
Vanilla extract. About a teaspoon. If you end up with more lemon than you wish you had, then add a little more vanilla extract to balance the flavor.
Gluten-free flour. I’ve learned over the years that not all gluten-free flours behave the same. And we’ve used several types to make these cookies. See BEST PRACTICES below for more details. Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Flour is used in the cookies pictured in this post.
Baking powder and baking soda. I read labels to make sure the ingredients I pick are officially gluten-free.
Sea salt. A pinch to balance the flavor.
Powdered sugar. The powdered sugar coating will absorb into the cookie as it bakes, so we often sprinkle a little more on top of the cookies after they’ve baked! That last part is optional but highly suggested!

HOW TO MAKE GLUTEN-FREE LEMON SUGAR COOKIES

Set oven to 350 degrees. Combine the gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt in a bowl and set aside. Pour powdered sugar into a small bowl and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat butter until softened. Then add the sugar and beat on a LOW to MEDIUM speed until blended. Next add the two eggs and blend until smooth. After that add the lemon juice, lemon extract, and vanilla extract and blend until combined. Finally, pour the gluten-free flour mixture into the mixing bowl and blend until smooth. You may need to add the flour mixture in batches so as not to overwhelm the mixer.
Roll the dough into 3/4-inch to 1-inch balls, roll them in the powdered sugar, and then place them at least an inch apart on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with additional powdered sugar, if desired, and let cool slightly before serving.
Store in an airtight container for up to four days.

BEST PRACTICES FOR A DELICIOUS COOKIE

We’ve made these cookies several times and discovered a few ways to get the tastiest cookie!

Gluten-free flour. Not all gluten-free flours are exactly the same. We’ve made these lemon cookies with Extra White Gold Gluten-free Flour that produced a condensed, moisture-packed cookie. And we’ve made these with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Flour, which produced flakier crinkle-like cookies (pictured here) with a deceptively soft, airy center. Both flours produced the same great lemony sugar taste. But each one produced a different texture. I suggest playing around with flours to get the consistency you like best.
Baking times. Be careful not to over-bake these cookies. I make a point to check at 8 minutes, and if I feel they need to bake longer, then I check every 30-60 seconds thereafter. Cookies will appear soft straight out of the oven but will solidify as they cool.

If you like these Gluten-Free Lemon Sugar cookies, then you should also try these cookie recipes!

Gluten-Free Lemon Sugar Cookies

Print Recipe

These Gluten-Free Lemon Sugar Cookies are rich and buttery, sweet and tart, and soft and flaky. Made with lemon juice and lemon extract, vanilla, and gluten-free flour, these cookies come together in under 25 minutes for a mouthwatering treat your tastebuds will enjoy! {GF + DF + SF}

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 20 cookies 1x
Category: Baked Goods
Method: Baking
Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Scale

2 1/4 cups gluten-free baking flour (for this recipe we used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 – 1/3 cup powdered sugar (more or less as desired)
1/2 cup allergen-friendly buttery spread (I use Earth Balance Soy-Free Buttery Spread)
1 cup granulated sugar or monkfruit sweetener
2 eggs
1–2 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh or bottled is fine)
1–2 teaspoons lemon extract
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Set oven to 350 degrees. Combine the gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt in a bowl and set aside. Pour powdered sugar into a separate small bowl and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat butter until softened. Then add the granulated sugar and beat on a LOW to MEDIUM speed until blended. Next add the two eggs and blend until smooth. Pour the lemon juice, lemon extract, and vanilla extract into the wet mixture and blend until combined. Finally, pour the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl and blend until smooth. You may need to add the flour mixture in batches so as not to overwhelm the mixer.
Roll the dough into 3/4-inch to 1-inch balls, roll them in the powdered sugar, and then place them at least an inch apart on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating once halfway through the baking time. Remove from oven, sprinkle with additional powdered sugar, if desired, and let cool slightly before serving.
Store in an airtight container for up to four days.

Notes

Gluten-Free Flour: Not all gluten-free flours are exactly the same. We’ve made these lemon cookies with Extra White Gold Gluten-free Flour that produced a condensed, moisture-packed cookie. And we’ve made these with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Flour, which produced flakier crinkle-like cookies (pictured here) with a deceptively soft, airy center. Both flours produced the same great lemony sugar taste. But each one produced a different texture. I suggest playing around with flours to get the consistency you like best.
Baking times. Be careful not to over-bake these cookies. They will appear soft straight out of the oven and will solidify as they cool. I make a point to check at 8 minutes, and if I feel they need to bake longer, then I check every 30-60 seconds thereafter.
Monkfruit sweetener vs. granulated sugar: Monkfruit sweetener will produce a denser, mound-like cookie, whereas granulated sugar will produce a light, crinkle-style cookie (pictured)