Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies - Rhian's Recipes (2024)

Last updated - ; Published - By Rhian Williams 26 Comments

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TheseGluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies are soft, chewy, fluffy, tangy and citrusy! They're covered in a rich, creamy orange buttercream frosting too! They're easy to make, the cookie dough doesn't require chilling and are refined sugar free too. The perfect sweet treat for Christmas!

Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies - Rhian's Recipes (1)

The Lemon Cookies recipe I recently posted was so popular that I was inspired to make some Orange Cookies too! Just like my Lemon Cookies, these Orange Cookies are a bit like Sugar Cookies: they're soft, slightly fluffy and a little chewy. A creamy orange buttercream frosting adds extra orange flavour and richness.

How to make the cookies

Scroll down to thebottom of the post for the full recipe.

Tip: If the dough looks too wet: place it in the fridge for an hour to help it firm up. If it looks too dry: add a splash of any type of plant-based milk.

Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies - Rhian's Recipes (2)
  • Use your hands to shape the cookie dough into patties - you should be able to make 7 large cookies.

Tip: To make super fluffy cookies, I like to make sure the centre part of the cookie is slightly thicker than the rest, like in a dome shape. And don't worry, unlike traditional cookies, these ones won't spread as they bake.

Tip: Line the baking tray with greased baking paper to make sure the cookies don't stick.

Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies - Rhian's Recipes (3)
  • Bake in oven for around 10-12 minutes, until very lightly browned - be careful not to over-bake!
Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies - Rhian's Recipes (4)
  • They will be slightly soft when you remove them from the oven - leave to cool completely to let them harden before applying the frosting.
  • Don't worry about the cracks on top - I found it was impossible to make these vegan and gluten-free orange cookies without the cracks forming on top. The cracks don't affect the taste or the texture at all, and the yummy frosting will completely cover them up!

How to make the frosting

Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies - Rhian's Recipes (5)
  • Whizz until completely smooth, adding some plant-based milk or water to thin out if necessary.
  • Taste and add extra orange juice and/or maple syrup if necessary.
Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies - Rhian's Recipes (6)
  • Use a knife to spread a bit of frosting over each of the cookies.
Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies - Rhian's Recipes (7)

How long do these Orange Cookies keep for?

These Orange Cookies do taste best when fresh, but keepcovered in thefridge for up to afew days.

Substitutions you can make

  • You can replace thecoconut oilwithcoconut butter.
  • You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
  • You can replace thegluten-free flourwith rice flour.
  • If you don't need the cookies to be gluten-free,you can replace the gluten-free flour with plain flour.
  • You can replace the orange zest with 1 teaspoon orange extract.
  • The ground almonds can be replaced with ground walnuts.
  • For a nut-free version, use ground sunflower seeds instead of ground almonds and omit the frosting or make a different frosting!

Tips for baking with oranges

  • For optimum orange flavour, I would recommend using fresh oranges (not ones that you've had sitting in your fruit bowl for weeks!) and organic ones if possible.
  • You can use orange juice from a carton too, but I'd recommend using a juice made from fresh oranges rather than from concentrate.
  • You have to be careful when baking with orange juice as the acidity and orange flavour can really vary depending on the oranges you use.
  • For the frosting, I would recommend tasting it as you're making it and adding extra orange juice (or even some orange zest or orange extract) if necessary.
  • For the orange zest, make sure you use unwaxed oranges.
  • If you can't get hold of unwaxed oranges, you can use orange extract instead.
Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies - Rhian's Recipes (8)

More gluten-free vegan cookie recipes

  • Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
  • Peanut Butter Cookies
  • Oatmeal Cookies
  • Lemon Cookies
  • Snickerdoodles
  • Chocolate Cookies
  • Carrot Cake Cookies
  • Millionaire Shortbread
  • Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
  • Lemon Blueberry Cookies
  • Pumpkin Cookies
  • Linzer Cookies
  • Homemade Oreos
  • Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog,I’d really love to hear anyfeedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes onInstagram! Thank you.

Watch how to make this

Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies - Rhian's Recipes (9)

Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies

TheseGluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies are soft and chewy, slightly fluffy and perfectly citrusy! They're covered in a rich, creamy orange buttercream frosting too! The perfect sweet treat for Christmas!

4.77 from 13 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: gluten-free vegan cookies, orange cookies, vegan cookies

Servings: 7 large cookies

Calories: 400kcal

Author: Rhian Williams

Ingredients

For the cookies:

  • 30 g ( cup) coconut oil (or sub coconut butter)
  • 9 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other similar sweetener)
  • 10 tablespoons orange juice (around 1 medium-sized orange)
  • 2 tablespoons orange zest (make sure oranges are unwaxed - or sub 1 teaspoon orange extract)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
  • 150 g (1 ¼ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub rice flour, or plain flour if not gluten-free)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)

For the frosting:

  • 75 g (½ cup) cashew nuts soaked in cold water overnight or in hot water for 15 minutes
  • 4 tablespoons maple syrup (or sub any other sweetener)
  • 4 tablespoons orange juice (around ½ medium-sized orange)

Instructions

For the cookies:

  • Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).

  • Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave.

  • Add the maple syrup, orange juice, orange zest and vanilla, and mix well.

  • Measure out the dry ingredients (ground almonds, gluten-free flour and baking powder)and mix well.

  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well until you get a soft dough but one that’s firm enough to mould.

  • If the dough looks too wet, placing it in the fridge for an hour will help it firm up. If it looks too dry, add a splash of any type of plant-based milk.

  • Use your hands to shape the cookie dough into patties – you should be able to make 7 large cookies. To make super fluffy cookies, I like to make sure the centre part of the cookie is slightly thicker than the rest. And don't worry, unlike traditional cookies, these ones won't spread as they bake
.

  • Transfer the cookies onto a baking tray/baking sheet lined with greased baking paper.

  • Bake in oven for around 10-12 minutes, until very lightly browned – be careful not to over-bake!

  • They will be slightly soft when you remove them from the oven – leave to cool completely to let them harden before applying the frosting.

For the frosting:

  • Drain the soaked cashews and add to a food processor or blender with the maple syrup and orange juice.

  • Whizz until completely smooth, adding some plant-based milk or water to thin out if necessary.

  • Taste and add extra orange juice and/or maple syrup if necessary.

  • Use a knife to spread a bit of frosting over each of the cookies.

  • Taste best when fresh, but keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days.

Video

Notes

*You can alternatively use almond flour.

Don’t worry about the cracks on top – I found it was impossible to make these vegan and gluten-free orange cookies without cracks forming on top. The cracks don’t affect the taste or the texture at all, and the yummy frosting will completely cover them up!

  • For optimum orange flavour, I would recommend using fresh oranges (not ones that you've had sitting in your fruit bowl for weeks!) and organic ones if possible.
  • You can use orange juice from a carton too, but I'd recommend using a juice made from fresh oranges rather than from concentrate.
  • You have to be careful when baking with orange juice as the acidity and orange flavour can really vary depending on the oranges you use.
  • For the frosting, I would recommend tasting it as you're making it and adding extra orange juice (or even some orange zest or orange extract) if necessary.
  • For the orange zest, make sure you use unwaxed oranges.
  • If you can't get hold of unwaxed oranges, you can use orange extract instead.

Nutrition Facts

Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies

Amount Per Serving

Calories 400Calories from Fat 180

% Daily Value*

Fat 20g31%

Saturated Fat 5g25%

Sodium 6mg0%

Potassium 280mg8%

Carbohydrates 51g17%

Fiber 5g20%

Sugar 27g30%

Protein 9g18%

Vitamin A 75IU2%

Vitamin C 19mg23%

Calcium 132mg13%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Made the recipe?Tag @rhiansrecipes on instagram and use the hashtag #rhiansrecipes!

Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.

More Baking & Dessert Recipes

  • Gluten-Free Vegan Raspberry Madeleines
  • Gluten-Free Vegan Raspberry Muffins
  • Gluten-Free Vegan Raspberry Cake
  • Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Poppy Seed Muffins

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Reply

  1. A

    Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies - Rhian's Recipes (14)
    I have been gluten, dairy, soy-free for 17 years. Out of the many cookie recipes I've tried, my husband has only liked two of them. He is not a picky eater, loves other gf desserts but says gf cookies have a dry, gritty taste. This recipe is his favorite. He says I should use this recipe as a template for other flavors. I substituted rice bran oil for coconut oil to lower saturated fat. The cookies were quick and easy to make. Thank you very much!!!

    Reply

    • Rhian Williams

      Thank you so much, so happy to hear that!! If you're looking for other flavours, I actually have some similar cookie recipes to this one using different flavours!

  2. Claudia

    Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies - Rhian's Recipes (15)
    I loved these cookies!! I made them at home and they looked exactly like your pictures, the taste was a little gooey, although they looks very fluffy, but I don't mind at all. I did have major issues when I scaled the recipe to make a large badge. The mix was way too wet, we had to add more flour and it diluted the orange flavor. Do you have any suggestions for scaling these kinds of recipes?
    I loved it so much when I made it at home I posted this link on my Facebook 🙂
    Thank you for the inspiration!

    Reply

    • Rhian Williams

      Thank you so much, so happy to hear that! I don't know why there would have been an issue with making a larger batch if you kept the ratios of the ingredients the same. Did you make any substitutions? What type of gluten-free flour did you use?

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Gluten-Free Vegan Orange Cookies - Rhian's Recipes (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep gluten-free cookies from falling apart? ›

You need a binding agent in your gluten-free cookies recipe; otherwise, your cookies will fall apart. Some flour blends may already contain a binding agent, so double-check the list of ingredients. If it doesn't, you can add flaxseeds, xanthan gum, or guar gum.

Why did my gluten-free cookies not rise? ›

11- Make sure your baking soda and/or baking powder are fresh. These are the leavening agents in your cookie recipe and if they are no longer active, your cookies won't puff up and may spread more. Try a fresh container if they've been open longer than 3 months.

Why are my gluten-free cookies dry and crumbly? ›

One of the most common gluten-free baking tips is “let your batter rest”. Letting the batter rest gives the gluten-free flours and starches more time to absorb the moisture. In theory, it will turn your dry, crumbly cakes into delicious, moist masterpieces.

Why are my vegan cookies so crumbly? ›

Too much flour = crumbly cookies

If you don't want to measure by weight, try sifting your flour first and scooping flour into your measuring cup with a spoon, and don't pack it down into the cup. If all else fails, try reducing the amount of flour in the recipe by 10%.

Should I add xanthan gum to gluten-free cookies? ›

Using xanthan gum helps provide some of the stickiness that gluten free goods lack, replacing some elasticity. Xanthan gum mimics some of gluten's most essential properties by sticking to flour and its moisture. This helps create moist goods that hold their shape after being baked.

What happens when you use gluten-free flour in cookies? ›

Gluten-free flours often contain fine starches, so they absorb more liquid than conventional flour. To address this, gluten-free recipes usually call for more liquid and produce looser batters. They may also call for a larger quantity of leavening, like baking powder, to help add volume and lighten the texture.

What is the best gluten-free flour for cookies? ›

What's the best gluten-free flour for baking? Bob's Red Mill gluten-free 1-to-1 baking mix is my favorite gluten-free all-purpose flour blend for baking. It has a mild texture and plenty of "stick" thanks to a blend of sweet rice flour, brown rice flour, and sorghum flour, plus some starches and xanthan gum.

How do you get gluten-free baked goods to rise? ›

2 teaspoons of baking powder per cup of gluten-free flour is necessary to ensure proper leavening. Baking soda and buttermilk can be used to leaven instead of baking powder, but 1-1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar should be added for each 1/2 teaspoon baking soda used.

Should you refrigerate gluten free cookie dough before baking? ›

Gluten-free cookie dough is stickier than standard cookie dough, but chilling it can help. This is because cold dough is less sticky, and it doesn't spread as easily, too.

Why do gluten-free cookies taste weird? ›

Flavor Differences

All gluten-free flours have a different taste. Some gluten-free flours are naturally sweet, some are nutty, while others have a strong flavor. When you're just getting started baking gluten-free, experiment with as many different flours as you can.

How to tell when gluten-free cookies are done? ›

Timing is Key

While visual cues like the toothpick test and pressing the top of the cake will still help, the best way to determine if your baked goods are perfectly done is with a timer and oven thermometer. This is because gluten-free treats often look underdone and slightly wet inside after baking.

How to keep gluten-free cookies from being gritty? ›

Chill the Dough

High fat cookie dough will get soft and sticky the longer it sits on the counter. Adding too much sprinkling flour can result in a gritty taste to your finished cookies. Learn to keep the dough cold by working with one piece at a time, leaving the rest in the fridge.

How do you make gluten free cookies less crumbly? ›

Remember: Xanthan Gum is Your Friend

It might sound scary, but xanthan gum is key for successful gluten-free baking. It helps bind together the ingredients, preventing your cookies from falling to pieces.

Why can't you eat vegan cookie dough? ›

Raw Flour Is Unsafe to Eat—Here's Why

Because of this assumption, flour isn't typically treated to kill bacteria, putting it in the same category as raw meat or uncooked eggs. Similar to raw eggs, flour can harbor Salmonella as well as E. coli.1 Like Salmonella, E. coli is often transmitted through animal waste.

What to avoid when baking vegan? ›

Dairy, whether it's milk or yogurt or sour cream, helps keep baked goods moist. It's also unfortunately not vegan. But don't skimp on the creamy stuff—it really helps to make a dense and luscious-textured pastry. Experiment with alt-milks, like almond milk.

How do you make gluten-free baked goods less crumbly? ›

Add xanthan gum to gluten-free flour. It enhances elastic qualities that gluten-free flours lack, making it easier to work with and less likely to crumble. Add plenty of water to the gluten-free flour to prevent the pastry from becoming too dry when rolling out.

How do you keep gluten-free cookies from being grainy? ›

Chill the Dough

Adding too much sprinkling flour can result in a gritty taste to your finished cookies. Learn to keep the dough cold by working with one piece at a time, leaving the rest in the fridge.

How do you keep gluten-free dough from falling apart? ›

To successfully make a gluten-free pie crust that won't fall apart, add one egg to your dry ingredients before adding any water. Fully combine the egg and then add only the amount of water you need to form the dough.

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