Simple Lemon Cornbread Cookies {vegan + gf}
/Oh, hi. Welcome to one of my proudest cookie moments ever.
LEMON
Cornbread!
Vegan
Gluten-free
Only TWO flours!
ONE bowl!
AHHHHH.
Trying to contain the excitement.
These babies took 5 tries to perfect but I could not be happier with the end result! If you are not awareofmycornbreadobsession I have a major one. Everything cornbread all of thee time. Cornbread waffles are my current favorite. BUT! I’ve never attempted a cornbread cookie or really even knew if such a thing existed. Until of course I checked the old interwebs and a slew of recipes popped up. Well, there you go. Cornbread cookies are a thing.
While the search results gave me the confidence these could work I had no idea where to start with making them gluten-free and edible. Gluten-free cookies are an intimidating thing! I referred back to my recent recipe for 1-Bowl Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. They happen to not only be gluten-free but also vegan and also really freaking tasty. You should go make them right now and then come back and make these!
I used this recipe as a guide[ish]. The flours needed to be swapped along with the peanut butter, maple syrup, chocolate chips, etc. I ended up switching the peanut butter to almond butter, used agave instead of maple syrup, nixed the baking soda, and used only two flours. Pretty excited about the only two flour thing. So I pretty much changed the entire thing.
The first batch was decent but too gritty from the cornmeal. I switched a few things and tried a few more times, mostly changing the flour ratios each time. Instead of using cornmeal and corn flour I switched to just corn flour mixed with almond flour, which resulted in a much softer texture.
So what exactly is the texture like? These are not a fluffy, cakey cookie and they do not crumble at all in your hand. They’re nice and thick but also tender all the way through. If you bake them on the longer side you’ll achieve a slightly crispy bottom and edge.
The best way to describe the texture is like a chewy and thick sugar cookie.
All of this to say…
Make these cookies. Today!
loosely adapted from my 1-Bowl Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Simple Lemon Cornbread Cookies
gluten-free, vegan // yields appx. 18 cookies
- 1 tablespoon ground flax meal
- 2 tablespoons warm water
- 1/4 cup natural plain almond butter, the drippy kind – stirred well
- 3 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil, very soft but not fully melted
- 3 1/2 tablespoons agave syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon lemon zest, loosely packed
- 2/3 cup corn flour
- 2/3 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- muscovado sugar for dusting, or other sugar
In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flax and water for about 15 seconds. Set aside for 5-10 minutes until gelatinous. Preheat your oven to 350* F.
To the same bowl add in the almond butter, coconut oil, agave, and vanilla. Whisk thoroughly. Whisk in the lemon zest then add the corn flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt. Mix together with a large spoon until the ingredients are combined and starting to form dough. Knead about 10 times in the bowl to incorporate the remaining flour and to achieve a smooth and soft ball of dough.
Roll the dough into about 1-inch sized balls and place on a large baking sheet [you can line with parchment if desired] with 2-3 inches between each ball. Tear a small piece of parchment or wax paper and place it over one cookie. Gently flatten with a flat-bottomed glass to 1/4-inch thickness. This should make the cookie about 2 1/2 inches wide. Repeat with all cookies then dust with sugar.
Bake for 8-12 minutes [mine were perfect at 10 minutes]. Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes then remove with a metal spatula and place on a cooling rack. Let fully cool [texture + flavor improves once fully cooled]. Store in an airtight container on the counter for about 4-5 days.
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Notes: The dough will be soft and a bit oily feeling but should be able to roll into small balls easily and hold their shape. If the dough is too wet add 1 tablespoon each of corn flour and almond flour and knead again. You can also wrap + refrigerate the dough for 20-30 minutes to stiffen up a bit, but it’s not mandatory.
Funny thing. I started experimenting with the gluten-free/vegan version but wanted to see if using eggs made them even better. Guess what? The exact opposite happened! The gluten-free/vegan version turned out so much tastier with a simple ingredient list and uncomplicated method. Hence, one of my proudest cookie moments ever.
Ashley
