Easy Chewy Gluten-Free Lemon Crinkle Cookies
With loads of fresh lemon, these gluten-free lemon crinkle cookies are super easy to make and taste like fresh lemon curd. Made with an almond flour base, the sugary crackles bake up crisp with a tender melt-in-your-mouth center and a perfect balance of tart and sweet. Adjust the bake time for either an intensely chewy or a pillowy soft cakey cookie, both are equally delicious!
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 10 min
- Yield
- 24 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 170 g sweet rice flour (also called mochiko, distinctly different from brown rice flour or white rice flour)
- 140 g super-fine blanched almond flour
- 147 g Bob’s Red Mill tapioca flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest (from 2-3 lemons)
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar (for rolling)
Instructions
- 1
In a medium bowl, sift together the sweet rice flour, almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- 2
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar over medium speed for 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and mix in the lemon zest on high for 1 minute. Mix in the egg, followed by the lemon juice and vanilla until thoroughly mixed, scraping down the sides as needed. Note: the dough will seem to separate at this step, don't worry and carry on!
- 3
With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients until just combined, scraping down the sides and bottom as needed. Try not to over mix the dough or the almond flour will release moisture.
- 4
Scoop 2-tablespoon-sized balls (I recommend a medium cookie scoop) onto a small baking sheet close together. Chill the cookie dough balls on the baking sheet for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days in the fridge (cover if storing for longer than 2 hours) or 10 minutes in the freezer.
- 5
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- 6
With your palms, roll each chilled cookie dough into a smooth ball. Place the powdered sugar in a small bowl and roll each cookie dough ball in the powdered sugar, packing it on tight. Transfer coated balls to a baking sheet, placing them 2 inches apart.
- 7
In batches, bake the cookies on the middle baking rack for for 10-13 minutes (10 minutes for chewy cookies, 12-13 for cakey cookies). For chewy cookies, the centers beneath the cracks will still look a bit moist and underbaked. For cakey cookies, the bottom edge will just ever so slightly turn golden brown while the centers look just set. Remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.