I based this Lemon Basil Cookies recipe (and photo) on one from Bon Appetit for Lemon-Lime Basil Shortbread Cookies. As you might expect, these are gluten-free, grain-free, sugar-free, dairy-free cookies. I used the same flavor profile as the Bon Appetit recipe, though decided not to make mine a shortbread cookie.
I’ve used coconut butter as the fat in this cookie recipe, which I learned to do from Jessica at one of my all time favorite blogs, inphyusion.com. Make sure to check out her site as she has quite a few incredible raw, plant-based recipes.
Lemon Basil Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup coconut butter
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
- Combine almond flour, salt, and baking soda in a food processor
- Pulse in coconut butter, honey, basil, and lemon zest
- Scoop dough one level tablespoon at a time onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet
- Press balls of dough down to flatten
- Bake at 350°F for 6-10 minutes
- Cool for 2 hours
- Serve
If you would like to make a super duper fuss over your cookies (as I did for the photo above), trim their edges with a [cookie cutter 2 inch]. Normally, if not photographing the cookies, I would not undertake this step. It’s way too fussy for me.
I may be posting a bit less frequently during the next couple of weeks as we are moving and I am in the process of packing my entire house (and therefore my kitchen) into boxes. Last night the boys were busy packing up their own rooms. Wish us luck and enjoy the cookies.
Here are some grain-free cookie recipes from other bloggers:
- Almond Butter Banana Cookies from George at The Civilized Caveman
- Paleo Fluffy Puffy Almond Butter (or Sunbutter) Cookies from Shirley at Gluten Free Easily
- Chocolate Chip Cookies from Joshua at Slim Palate
Amanda Dee says
Love these cookies. I use basil from my garden. My family enjoys all your recipes and they are so easy to personalize. We are personal chefs dedicated to gluten , soy and sugar free healthy food.Thanks from Old San Juan Puerto Rico.
Elana says
Amanda, greetings to you and yours in Old San Juan Puerto Rico! I’m so happy to hear everyone is loving these cookies :-)
Billy Lo says
I find avoid burning the cookie not easy compared to making bread where a toothpick come out clean as the benchmark indicator. When it comes to baking cookie, the edge of some may looks slightly brown but the body is still soft. Not until after couple hours of cooling when they remain soft that I come to realize they are under cooked. Or their edge are sightly brown but the bottom are already burned. They are overcooked in this case. I did monitor the temperature and time closely but the overcook situation can happened within minutes between the 6 – 10 minute time span. I just find baking the cookie at the correct crispiness without burning tricky.
Elana says
Billy, one solution might be to bake the cookies on a higher rack in the oven to prevent the bottoms from overcooking :-)
Juli Kanner says
I found these cookies at a cafe in Los Angeles. They were SO good so I googled the recipe and yours came up. Yours doesn’t include vanilla, though theirs listed Tahitian Vanilla. Would you recommend adding a teaspoon? Can’t wait to try making these at home.
Elana says
Juli, so nice to meet you here! I haven’t tried that so not sure, but it sounds like a fun addition that might work :-)
Steve says
Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe. I really enjoyed preparing it
Elana says
Steve, you’re welcome! I’m so happy to hear these cookies are amazing :-)
Jay says
Thank you for the recipe!
Elana says
You’re welcome Jay!
Jess Tanning says
Just tried the recipe and cookies turned out delicious…yeeey
Elana says
Thanks Jess!
Jessica says
Hi Elana, After pulsing in the coconut butter, etc. Is your dough a small crumble that you need to actually press together with your hands to make it form a more uniform dough? Thanks
Elana says
Hi Jessica, my dough forms when I pulse the ingredients in the food processor. If you are having trouble with this you may want to add a few drops of water to help the process along :-)
Charlie Bates says
Does anyone know how to substitute the almond flour for coconut flour?
Peter says
These turned out wonderful, thanks for the recipe!
Southpen says
I was looking all over the local mall and couldn’t find any coconut butter. Oh well, I guess I will have to substitute it or go back to the States…
Bonnie says
Coconut butter is easily made at home with shredded coconut and coconut oil in the food processor or high-performance blender. It is much cheaper than buying it in a jar. Recipes are readily available online.