Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies {vegan, grain-free}

I miss Costco. Yes, I miss saving loads of money by buying things in bulk, but really I miss the taste test booths. We used to go with my mom after school, and we’d run around and try to grab every taster we could get our hands on. If we liked something, we’d sneak a second when the worker wasn’t looking. It just so happens my nephew loves Costco as much as me, maybe even more. According to him it’s his third favorite place in the whole wide world, following close behind Santa Cruz and Loon Lake.

Maybe he will love Switzerland as well, because I found us a version of Costco. Nope, there is no money-saving going on here (Noah won’t mind), but there are a lot of taste tests…and healthy taste tests, no less! This new-ish health food store, Migros Alnatura, just so happens to be right near the yoga class I teach on Tuesdays and Fridays. I went in recently to buy a few things and discovered health food samples everywhere! Fruit, cookies, crackers, chips, granola, chocolate, and more. It’s dreamy. The best part? The taste tests are un-manned, so I can eat as I please. The chocolate happens to be in the front of the store which means chocolate testing happens on the way in…andddd on the way out. Can you blame me?

No, it’s not the best habit to be eating snacks when I should head straight home and make myself a proper lunch. But this week’s snacking gave me inspiration for these cookies, so it’s proving to be advantageous. On Tuesday, my friend and I were doing our rounds and stumbled across some lemon cookies made with millet flour. Yum. There may have been some seconds, and maybe even some thirds. The only problem was that they were full of butter, eggs, and probably more sugar than necessary. So I got home with lemon cookies on my mind and went to work.

I did some recipe research and found that you can make some super simple cookies with nut butter, lemon, and maple syrup. I wasn’t fully convinced it was true, so I tried it, and confirmed it. These lemon poppy seed cookies are awesome in a delicious + good for you kind of way (a nice way of reminding you to not expect a bakery-style lemon cookie).

So zest a half a lemon and squeeze out it’s juice. Add some almond butter, maple syrup, poppy seeds, and a pinch of salt for good measure.

Stir, scoop, and bake! No baking skills required.

Now you see the wonders of taste testers?

Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

Yields 6

These lemon poppy seed cookies are a healthy and protein packed treat to get you through the afternoon slump! Vegan, grain-free, dairy-free, processed sugar-free

Prep Time-5 min

Cook Time-10 min

Total Time-15 min

Ingredients

1/3 cup // 80 grams almond butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice (about ½ lemon)
1 teaspoon lemon zest (about ½ lemon)
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon maple syrup
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Pinch of salt

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375F // 190C. Stir all of the ingredients together in a small bowl. Place 6 scoops of batter onto your cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool completely before taking them off the baking sheet.