What is the best dairy-free butter for these vegan lemon sandwich cookies?

Block-style dairy-free butter that is cold and firm — such as Flora Plant Butter or Naturli Vegan Block — is the most specifically recommended for these shortbread-style vegan lemon cookies. Block dairy-free butter has the most similar fat content and most similar baking behavior to conventional block butter, producing the most properly crumbly and most beautifully melt-in-the-mouth shortbread texture. Spread-style dairy-free butter contains more water and less fat, which produces a significantly different and less desirable texture in the finished cookies.

Why is chilling the dough for 40 minutes essential?

Chilling the assembled dough for the full 40 minutes to one hour allows the cold cubed dairy-free butter to re-firm after the mixing process and prevents the cookies from spreading too aggressively during baking. The chilled dough also rolls out most smoothly and most evenly on the floured surface, producing the most cleanly cut and most beautifully defined individual cookie shapes. Skipping or shortening the chill produces a stickier dough that is more difficult to roll and cut and cookies that spread more during baking.

Can I make these vegan lemon sandwich cookies gluten-free?

Yes. All-purpose plain flour can be substituted with a gluten-free one-to-one baking flour in the same quantity. The texture may be slightly more crumbly than the conventional flour version but the flavor will be equally vibrant and equally beautifully lemon-forward. Ensure that all other ingredients — including the dairy-free butter and cream cheese — are certified gluten-free if strict compliance is required.

Vegan Lemon Sandwich Cookies Easy Lemon Cream Filling Summer Recipe

Description

The most extraordinary Vegan Lemon Sandwich Cookies made by rubbing zest of 2 lemons into 100g caster sugar with fingertips until fragrant then creaming cold cubed 200g dairy-free block butter with lemon sugar and yellow food gel until pale and fluffy sifting in 300g plain flour and mixing to thick dough wrapping and refrigerating 40 minutes to 1 hour rolling to 1/2 inch on floured surface cutting into lemon ovals baking at 180°C fan for 10 to 12 minutes until golden cooling completely then filling with whipped lemon cream of 150g dairy-free butter 20g dairy-free cream cheese 200g sifted icing sugar 1 tsp lemon extract and lemon zest beaten 5 minutes until pale and fluffy piped and sandwiched with sugar-coated tops. A completely extraordinary vegan lemon sandwich cookie recipe.

Ingredients

Scale

100g Caster Sugar plus extra for coating tops

Zest of 2 Medium Lemons

200g Dairy-Free Block Butter cold and cubed

300g All-Purpose Plain Flour

1 drop Yellow Food Gel

150g Dairy-Free Butter for filling

20g Dairy-Free Cream Cheese

200g Icing Sugar sifted

1 tsp Pure Lemon Extract

Zest of 1 Lemon for filling

Fresh Mint Leaves for decoration optional

Instructions

1. Add caster sugar and lemon zest to bowl. Rub zest into sugar with fingertips until deeply fragrant.

2. Cream cold cubed dairy-free butter, yellow food gel, and lemon sugar until pale and fluffy.

3. Sift in flour. Mix to thick dough.

4. Transfer to plastic wrap. Refrigerate 40 minutes to 1 hour until firm.

5. Preheat oven to 180°C fan. Line baking tray with greaseproof paper.

6. Roll chilled dough on generously floured surface to 1/2 inch thickness.

7. Cut into oval or lemon shapes with cookie cutter. Place on lined tray.

8. Bake middle of oven 10 to 12 minutes until golden at edges. Turn tray halfway through.

9. Cool slightly on tray. Transfer to wire rack. Cool completely.

10. For filling: whip dairy-free butter and cream cheese until creamy. Add sifted icing sugar, lemon extract, and zest. Whip high speed 5 minutes until pale and fluffy. Add dairy-free milk splash if too thick.

11. Transfer filling to piping bag with medium round tip.

12. Dip tops of half the cookies in caster sugar.

13. Pipe filling on flat side of remaining cookies. Press sugar-coated cookies on top. Add mint leaf if desired.

Prep Time: 5 minutes plus 40 minutes chilling
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Category: Dessert, Cookies, Vegan, Summer
Method: Baking
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 sandwich cookie
Calories: 385
Sugar: 28g
Sodium: 145mg
Fat: 22g
Saturated Fat: 8g
Unsaturated Fat: 12g
Trans Fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 44g
Fiber: 1g
Protein: 3g
Cholesterol: 0mg

Keywords: vegan lemon sandwich cookies, easy vegan lemon sandwich cookies recipe dairy free egg free lemon cream filling, best plant-based lemon sandwich cookies melt in mouth, vegan lemon shortbread sandwich cookies