These lemon raspberry cookies are the ultimate spring dessert! They’re made with oat flour, pillowy soft, bursting with lemon tang and made in just one bowl! Naturally gluten free and can easily be made vegan.
Spring has sprung in Texas and I cannot stop making these lemon raspberry cookies. You guys, I’m obsessed.
They’re pillowy soft, almost like a muffin top, bursting with lemon tang and raspberry flavor. These cookies are buttery, perfectly sweet and completely gluten free.
They’re made with oat flour, so they’re a bit on the healthier side, and have a deliciously chewy texture. They remind me of my lemon blueberry cookies, but with a bit more tang thanks to the raspberries.
They do require some chill time so they don’t spread too flat, but I promise they will be well worth the wait.
Ingredients & substitutions
Oat flour. I tested a few variations of these raspberry cookies, but ultimately went with oat flour because it creates such a fluffy texture and is super affordable.
Oats are naturally gluten free, just be sure to use certified gluten free oat flour as needed.
Cornstarch. A bit of cornstarch will not only help bind everything together, but also help prevent the cookies from spreading prematurely.
Butter. Either regular butter or dairy free butter will work here! Be sure it is at room temperature or soften in the microwave for about 20 seconds.
Sugar. I recommend sticking with regular white sugar for best results. I do not suggest a liquid sweetener like maple syrup because that will change the wet/dry ingredient proportions.
You can try coconut sugar if you want to keep these refined sugar free, but that will darken the color quite a bite.
Egg. Just one egg will help bind all ingredients together. Since there is only one, you can likely sub with a vegan replacement. I suggest apple sauce (3 1/2 tablespoons), a flax egg or a store bought egg replacer.
Lemon. Lemon juice and zest will add a lot of lemon flavor, but you can definitely add more with a bit of lemon extract.
Baking soda & powder. Baking soda will encourage the cookies to spread, but just a small amount so they don’t spread too much! The baking powder will keep the cookies chewy and a bit fluffy.
How to make oat flour raspberry cookies
Add the softened butter and sugar to a mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer. Cream together for 1 minute.
Add in the remaining wet ingredients and cream together until well combined, about 30 seconds. Leave out the lemon extract for now.
Add in the dry ingredients aside from the raspberries and beat together until a dough forms. Taste and add more lemon zest or the lemon extract if desired.
Fold in the raspberries, mixing just until combined so the raspberries don’t completely bleed into the dough.
Use a 2 tablespoon scoop and scoop onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Chill for 1 hour.
When you have about 15-20 minutes left, preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
Once the dough is done chilling, bake for 14-17 minutes or until the cookies have spread and the edges are just golden brown.
Let cool on the baking sheet for about 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. These cookies are intended to be very thick, soft and pillowy, but if you prefer them a bit crispier, simply bake for longer.
Fresh vs. frozen raspberries.
You can make these raspberry cookies with both fresh and frozen raspberries, though my preference is frozen.
If you choose to use fresh raspberries, make sure they are firm, not mushy. When using frozen raspberries, make sure they are completely frozen before adding them to the batter.
Whether you use fresh or frozen raspberries, the most important thing is to not overmix the dough. You don’t want the raspberries to bleed too much into the dough, we want to create a bit of a swirl.
How to store, freeze & reheat
To store: Once prepared, these raspberry cookies will keep for about 3-4 days. Because of the nature of the ingredients, they can get a bit mushy if left to their own devices. I suggest keeping them on a plate with foil so they have a bit of room to breathe.
To freeze: You can freeze these either before or after baking. To freeze before baking, still scoop and chill the dough, then transfer the dough balls to a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Bake at 300 for a few extra minutes than usual to account for the frozen dough.
To freeze after baking, allow the cookies to cool completely, then transfer to a freezer safe bag for up to 2 months.
To reheat: To reheat from frozen, add to the oven at 300 degrees for about 5 minutes or until warm through the center.
Use a different berry!
You can swap the raspberries for blueberries, blackberries or strawberries.
If you use blackberries or strawberries, I would break them up a bit in a food processor so they’re in smaller pieces. The blueberries you can use as is.
More Spring desserts you’ll love!
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Lemon Raspberry Cookies
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Wet
- ½ cup room temperature butter dairy or non-dairy
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- optional: 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
Dry
- 2 ¼ cups oat flour spooned and leveled
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup frozen raspberries broken up into small pieces
Instructions
- Add the softened butter and sugar to a mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer.
- Cream together for 1 minute.
- Add in the remaining wet ingredients and cream together until well combined, about 30 seconds. Leave out the lemon extract for now.
- Add in the dry ingredients aside from the raspberries and beat together until a dough forms. Taste and add more lemon zest or the lemon extract if desired.
- Fold in the raspberries, mixing just until combined so the raspberries don't completely bleed into the dough.
- Use a 2 tablespoon scoop and scoop onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Chill for 1 hour.
- When you have about 15-20 minutes left, preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
- Once the dough is done chilling, bake for 14-17 minutes or until the cookies have spread and the edges are just golden brown.
- Let cool on the baking sheet for about 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- These cookies are intended to be very thick, soft and pillowy, but if you prefer them a bit crispier, simply bake for longer.
Kelly says
Hello! These look so good and I am in New England and can not wait for spring to get here…
Wondering a few things: 1. Do these get crispy at all or do they stay more wet inside? Or chewy?
2. How long do you think they would last and should they stay a room temp or put in fridge or freezer? Overall wondering if the “wetness” of the raspberries creates a to “wet” cookie. Was thinking of replacing half the frozen raspberries with freeze dried? What do you think? So looking forward to making these! Thanks so much for any insight.
Claire Cary says
They’re definitely more chewy/cakey, but you can try simply baking for longer if you prefer a crispier texture. You can definitely try using freeze dried raspberries, you may not need to chill the dough if you do that. If you don’t chill the dough at all, they will spread more and may end up crispier if you prefer that. They should keep at room temp for about 3 days or in the fridge for a week or so.