The beauty of these gluten free lemon crinkle cookies is that they span the seasons. Christmas, winter, summer, 4th of July – you name it, they are good year-round! This small batch recipe makes an incredibly chewy and lemony cookie with the perfect crackly powdered sugar exterior.
Gluten Free Lemon Crinkle Cookies Recipe
Amidst all of the chocolate peppermint brownies, candy canes, and peanut butter blossom cookies, I had to shift my mindset to make these bright lemon crinkle cookies for Christmas! But I will say, the cookies make a wonderfully refreshing option on your holiday cookie platter.
A flavorful almond flour blend combines with fresh lemon juice and zest to yield a cookie with the perfect balance of tart and sweet. Think of your favorite lemon candy, in cookie form.
And these sweet rays of sunshine join the ranks of their chocolate crinkle and molasses crinkle counterparts. Powdered sugar makes any cookie beautiful. Case in point: pecan snowball cookies!
Everything To love about these cookies
- Amazing lemon flavor – With lemon juice and lemon zest, the citrus flavor shines in these lemon crinkle cookies.
- Delicious any time of year – We may be focusing on these cookies for the holidays, but they are wonderful option for any season, any celebration.
- Chewy cookie – The exterior of the cookie is lightly caramelized, while the center of the cookie is undeniably chewy!
- Tasty small batch – With all the cookie baking likely happening right now, it’s nice to have a variety of options without thousands of cookies laying around!
Key Ingredients
- Almond Flour – Almond flour gives the lemon crinkle cookies structure and their great texture.
- Tapioca Flour + Sweet Rice Flour – Both of these flours combine with the almond flour to yield a soft and chewy cookie dough.
- Sugar – I like to use organic cane sugar for flavor, though granulated white sugar will work.
- Butter – Unsalted is best since we add our own salt.
- Egg Yolk – For the small batch recipe, we don’t need the whole egg. Plus, the egg yolk gives the cookies a tender, chewy texture.
- Lemon Juice + Lemon Zest – Use both to deliver the citrus zing in the lemon cookies!
- Powdered Sugar – A must for the pretty crackled exterior!
Helpful Baking Tools
In addition to your standard mixing bowls and baking sheet, I recommend my go-to for cookies: the #40 medium cookie scoop. This will make portioning the lemon crinkle cookies easy!
lemon crinkle Cookies tips
- Fresh lemon works best – For the fresh citrus flavor, plus you get the zest!
- Chill the dough – For most of my gluten free desserts, a little time to chill will give the dough time to hydrate and develop flavor. Plus, we don’t want the lemon crinkle cookies to spread too much.
- Use a cookie scoop – Once you try it, you won’t want to make cookies without it! It will make portioning the dough so much easier!
- Give the cookie a generous roll through the powdered sugar – The liberal coat will ensure a well defined – and beautiful – yellow and white cookie!
- For perfect, round cookies – If the lemon crinkle cookies come out of the oven a little mis-shapen, you can swirl a cookie/biscuit cutter around the cookies while they’re still warm to make it perfectly round.
Bright fresh lemon juice and zest give these lemon crinkle cookies their citrusy punch. What better way to celebrate winter citrus than with these cheery little cookies!
How To Make Gluten Free Lemon Crinkle Cookies
This may be one of the easiest cookie recipes. A handful of ingredients, simple preparation and baking, make these lemon cookies ideal for your busy cookie season!
- Whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Stir together the butter and sugar to combine in a separate bowl – Than add the egg yolk, lemon, and remaining wet ingredients.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients – Mix until no dry streaks remain.
- Chill the cookie dough – For at least 1 hour so the dough can hydrate, firm, and develop flavor.
- Scoop and roll the cookie dough – Scoop the dough into balls, then give a liberal roll through the powdered sugar.
- Bake the cookies – For about 12 minutes, or until the edges are set. The center will look under-baked, which is what we want for chewy lemon crinkle cookies.
- Cool then enjoy!
FAQ
I think it would be fine. Though, I would use 2 egg yolks vs. 1 whole egg to ensure you get a chewy cookie.
Probably not. In my experience, I have found the 1:1 gf blends to be much drier than my blends. Other ingredients and rations would likely need to be adjusted.
Chances are, the dough was too warm and the powdered sugar was absorbed into the dough. Another good reason to chill the dough!
If you see that your lemon crinkle cookies aren’t spreading at minute 9 of baking, take the pan out of the oven and gently bang it on the counter to initiate the spread. Return to the oven to bake.
Yes! The cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months. Place in a freezer bag, and thaw at room temperature to enjoy.
Yes! Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months, and thaw in the refrigerator.
Gluten Free Lemon Crinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup blanched almond flour
- 3 tablespoons sweet rice flour
- 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup organic cane sugar
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest (optional, see Notes)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweet rice flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, and salt.½ cup blanched almond flour, 3 tablespoons sweet rice flour, 2 tablespoons tapioca flour, ¼ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the melted butter and sugar. Stir to combine. Add the egg yolk, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract. Stir well to combine all ingredients.2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, ¼ cup organic cane sugar, 1 large egg yolk, room temperature, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 2 teaspoons lemon zest, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the wet until no dry streaks remain. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour – for the dough to hydrate, firm, and develop flavor.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F degrees and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the powdered sugar to a small bowl.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop 6 equal cookies. Roll the cookie scoops into a ball, then roll generously through the powdered sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- Bake the cookies for 11 to 12 minutes, or until the edges start to golden – the edges will be set but the center will look under-baked, which is what we want. Tip – To get perfectly round cookies, swirl a round cookie/biscuit cutter (larger than the cookie) around the cookie.
- Cool the cookies on the baking sheet set on a wire cooling rack for 5 minutes. Then transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely. The cookies will last up to 1 week covered at room temperature.
RECIPE NOTES
- Serving Size – This is a small batch recipe that can be doubled. Be sure to use 2 egg yolks vs. 1 whole egg as the egg white may alter the texture of the cookies.
- Yield – The recipe as written using a #40 medium cookie scoop will yield 6 cookies.
- Lemon Juice and Zest – 1 lemon should be adequate to get the amount of zest. You can omit the zest and use bottled lemon juice. The cookies just won’t have as much zing.
- Perfect Round Cookies – If your cookies look a little wonky after they bake, you can get a perfectly round cookie by swirling a round cookie/biscuit cutter (larger than the cookie) around the cookie.
- Storing Cookies – Cover the cookies and keep at room temperature for up to 1 week.
- Freezing Baked Cookies – The cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months. Place in a freezer bag, and thaw at room temperature.
- Freezing Cookie Dough – The cookie dough can frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. Thaw in the refrigerator.
about the author ...
I'm Erin and I'm all about desserts - and a little bit of butter!
I've tested, written, and photographed hundreds of recipes on my website. Here you'll find the tastiest small batch gluten free and traditional desserts - all homemade, all simple, and all for you!
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