Recipe: Healthy Vegan Lemon Cookies

Lemon cookies photo by Asia Bradlee

With this healthy cookie recipe, a sweet tooth doesn’t have to spell the end of your diet.

These nutritious lemon cookies use whole-grain spelt flour instead of white flour, and no refined sugar. Plus, crushed almonds and unsweetened coconut add healthy fats, crunch, and tropical flavor. Bonus: The cookies are also vegan, so you can eat all the raw dough you want.

If you don’t like almonds, use a nut of your choice or leave them out all together. Dried fruit, such as figs or cranberries, would also be a great addition.

Ingredients

2/3 cup, plus 1/2 cup, spelt flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup crushed or slivered almonds
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
5 tbs maple syrup
2 tbs honey
1 1/2 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbs almond milk
2 tbs coconut oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix together the spelt flour, salt, baking soda, and coconut.

If the almonds haven’t been crushed, chop them up—or throw them in a food processor or blender—and add them to the mix. Melt the coconut oil in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

Add the coconut oil, lemon, vanilla, and almond milk to the spelt mixture. Pour in the maple syrup and honey. The amount of maple syrup and honey that the recipe calls for makes slightly sweet, but not overpowering, cookies, so feel free to add more to taste.

Mix everything together and roll the dough into tablespoon-sized balls; keep in mind that the dough does not expand when it bakes. Flatten slightly. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.