Lemon Macaroons (vegan and gluten free)

Lemon Macaroons are a delicious snack that are vegan, gluten free and can be made raw. They are a healthier alternative to the traditional macaroon and are made with coconut, almond flour, maple syrup and coconut oil. Add your favorite flavors like lemon or even chocolate to create a fun little cookie. 

These looks cookies are inspired by coco-roons, a delicious little packaged cookie that we found at Whole Foods. They are made with all natural and healthier ingredients. They are naturally gluten free and vegan. They are great if you eat paleo or low carb. And they don’t require much baking time. You can even eat them completely raw, without baking.

Lemon macaroons recipe

The base of these macaroons are just four ingredients – shredded unsweetened coconut, almond flour, maple syrup and coconut oil. Add a few fresh flavors like lemon and vanilla to create the cookie flavor.

Process all of the ingredients together in a food processor. Use a 1-inch cookie scoop, pack the mixture into the scoop and place on a cookie sheet. Bake and then cool. Store them in a container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

You can skip the baking and transfer the cookie sheet directly to the refrigerator until they harden. Once hardened, you can move them to a smaller container for storage.

If you have a dehydrator, you can also dehydrate these for 8 hours on 110 degrees.

Other vegan and gluten free macaroon flavors

• Chocolate – Use 1 to 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (instead of the lemon juice and zest.)
• Strawberry – Add 1/4 cup chopped strawberries (instead of the lemon juice and zest.)
• Gingerbread – Add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon ground all spice (instead of the lemon juice and zest.)

With a few easy additions or substitutions, you can create a delicious treat in a variety of flavors. Below are a few other macaroon flavors that we love.

These lemon pie macaroons taste exactly like the store bought version. With only a few simple ingredients, they are the perfect snack. So much flavor is packed into one little bite. They are the perfect serving size so I don’t feel guilty about eating one. I make a batch at the beginning of the week and they last all week.

Lemon Macaroons (Vegan and Gluten Free)

Yield: 12 small cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 25 minutes mins

Total Time: 35 minutes mins

Lemon Macaroons are a delicious snack that are vegan, gluten free and can be made raw. A healthier alternative to the traditional macaroon!

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Ingredients 

• ▢ 1 1/2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
• ▢ 2/3 cup almond flour
• ▢ 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• ▢ 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• ▢ zest of one lemon
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Add all of the ingredients to a food processor. Pulse until well blended and the mixture starts to clump. Using a one inch cookie scoop, pack the mixture into the scoop and place cookie on cookie sheet. Bake in oven for 10 minutes. Turn off oven but leave the cookies inside for 15 additional minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. (see notes for completely raw version)

Notes

• If you're concerned about possibly gluten, please make sure that your vanilla extract is gluten free. To my knowledge, all pure vanilla extracts are gluten free, but you can confirm on the label. 
• To make these raw, rather than baking them in the oven, dehydrate them for 8 hours on 110 degrees.
• These cookies are soft. They do not firm up like a standard cookie because they are meant to be (almost) raw. When you slow bake or deydrate they should firm up a bit though.

Nutrition

Serving: 0g, Calories: 160kcal, Carbohydrates: 8g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 29mg, Potassium: 78mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin C: 0.3mg, Calcium: 23mg, Iron: 0.6mg

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Ashley C.

If you try this recipe, don’t forget to leave a review below or share a photo and tag @spoonfulofflavor on Instagram.

Recipe originally published April 2015, updated June 2020.