Vegan Lemon Thumbprint Cookies

These vegan lemon thumbprint cookies have a delicious sugar cookie base topped with luscious and silky lemon curd! Vegan lemon cookies are easy to make and so delicious!

Ingredients

• Lemons - If possible, use organic lemons, as you need both the juice and the zest. If using non-organic lemons, be sure to scrub them clean before using them. 
• Granulated sugar - Granulated sugar will add sweetness and maintain a beautiful yellow color
• Cornstarch - Cornstarch is necessary to thicken the curd.
• Evaporated oat milk - I used Nature's Charm's evaporated oat milk in both the cookie dough as well as the lemon curd.
• Gluten-free all-purpose flour - Use a 1-to-1 blend that contains xanthan gum!
• Almond flour - Almond flour adds a depth of flavor to your cookies.
• Salt - A necessary ingredient to balance the sweetness. Use fine salt.
• Vegan butter - Use butter sticks, rather than butter spread that comes in a tub, as the sticks have a higher fat content.
• Coconut oil - Use refined coconut oil, as it doesn’t smell or taste like coconut.
• Vanilla extract - Use pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste.

Substitutions

Lemon - Don’t like lemons? Switch it out for another citrus fruit! Think orange, lime, or yuzu cookies!

Evaporated oat milk - Can’t find evaporated oat milk in your store? You can use canned coconut milk.

Almond flour - Allergic to nuts? Just substitute with equal amounts of gluten-free all-purpose flour.

Coconut oil - If you can’t find refined coconut oil, you can use regular coconut oil or use shortening instead.

How to make vegan thumbprint cookies

1. In a bowl, combine gluten-free all-purpose flour, almond flour, and salt. Set it aside.
2. In a separate bowl, cream together the softened vegan butter, melted coconut oil, and granulated sugar. Add the evaporated oat milk and vanilla extract, and mix again.
3. Add the flour mixture and stir until you don’t see any dry bits of flour left. Cover the bowl and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
4. Take a heaped tablespoon amount of cookie dough into your hands and roll it into a ball. Place it on a piece of parchment paper and repeat until all the cookie dough has been rolled. Place them into the fridge for an hour.
5. Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
6. Place the cookie dough balls 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 9-12 minutes.
7. When the cookies come out of the oven, take a teaspoon and press on the surface of each cookie to create an indentation. Let them cool completely on the baking sheet before moving them to a wire rack.

How to make vegan lemon curd

The vegan lemon curd comes together as easily as combining the ingredients in a pot and heating them while whisking! Using evaporated oat milk in this lemon curd makes it super creamy and luscious!

To learn more about how to make this, check out my vegan lemon curd post.

Assemble the cookies

1. Lay the cookies on a wire rack or parchment paper and dust them with powdered sugar.
2. Fill the indentations with the lemon curd.

Recipe pro-tips

Let the cookie dough rest. The flour needs to properly hydrate, especially if you’re using gluten-free flour. The cookies will spread without resting the dough properly. 

Shape the cookies and chill before baking. Because of the coconut oil in these lemon curd thumbprint cookies, the dough gets very hard when chilled in the fridge. It’s best to shape the cookies first while the dough is soft, and then chill them in the fridge so they maintain their shape in the oven.

Create the indentations after baking the cookies. Because the lemon curd isn’t added to the cookies before baking, any indentations created in the cookie before baking would disappear as the cookie expands in the oven.

Rotate baking sheets to bake cookies evenly. All ovens are different, but many of them have spots that are hotter than others. If you find that some cookies are browning faster than others rotate the baking sheets halfway through the baking time so they bake more evenly.

Save the leftover lemon curd. You can use the leftover lemon curd in many ways! You can spread it on your morning toast instead of jam, fold it into your favorite vanilla ice cream, or top your yogurt with some lemon curd and granola to make it more exciting!

Serving suggestions

These thumbprint cookies are perfect to share with friends and family! You can bring them to a picnic, serve them with a cup of coffee or tea, or even package them up to give as a gift.

Storage directions

When storing these cookies, make sure to store them in an airtight container and add a piece of parchment paper in between layers of cookies. Without the parchment paper, the lemon curd will stick to the cookies layered on top. It should last about 3 days.

Freezing directions

These cookies freeze wonderfully! Wrap each cookie individually before placing them in a freezer bag for best results.

You can also store the cookie dough in the freezer! Roll out the cookie dough into balls, lay them on a baking sheet, and let them freeze. Once frozen, pop them into a freezer bag to keep them stored in the freezer for about a month.

When you’re ready to bake, take them out of the freezer and place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet for about 15 minutes before baking them in the oven.

Tools needed to make the recipe

To make the vegan thumbprint cookies you’ll need a cookie scoop (with a volume of about a heaped tablespoon), an oven, baking sheet or cookie sheet, parchment paper, and a sugar duster.

To make the vegan lemon curd recipe, you need a citrus juicer, a zester, a small pot, and a whisk.

Frequently asked questions

More vegan dessert recipes!

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This post is sponsored by Nature's Charm. All text and opinions are my own.