These Vegan Sugar Cookies are the perfect sugar cookie that everyone in your home will love. They are everything the quintessential sugar cookie should be: buttery, moist and chewy! This recipe is super easy and can also be used to make gluten-free sugar cookies if needed.
This vegan sugar cookies recipe is super easy because there is no refrigeration required. Simply mix the vegan or gluten-free sugar cookie dough, roll the dough into balls, and bake on prepared baking sheets. No need to separate the wet and dry ingredients, no need to use a standing mixer! Simply follow the instructions below for a perfect dessert every time!
Vegan Sugar Cookie Recipe Ingredients
- Butter: To make vegan sugar cookies, we use vegan butter in this recipe. If you are not vegan or dairy-free, feel free to use regular butter. Vegan butter gives cookies that chewy texture and buttery flavor we know and love. I like the brand Earth Balance. It is found at almost any grocery store.
- Sugar: These require regular cane sugar. I prefer organic cane sugar.
- Vanilla: No sugar cookie is complete without a little vanilla to bring out that delicious flavor.
- Baking Powder: Baking powder helps these cook properly.
- Milk: To keep this recipe vegan, we use unsweetened almond or oat milk. If you are not vegan or dairy-free, feel free to use regular milk.
- Salt: Salt helps to balance out the sweetness and bring out the buttery flavor of the cookies.
- Flour: For the best texture, use regular all-purpose flour. If you are gluten-free and would like to make gluten-free sugar cookies, swap the regular flour for a gluten-free all purpose flour such as King Arthur Measure for Measure.
- Flax Eggs: Since this recipe is egg-free, we use flax eggs help to bind the cookie dough. Instructions for making flax eggs are below.
How To Make Vegan Sugar Cookies
To make vegan sugar cookies, you just need a large mixing bowl, baking sheet and optional hand mixer for the frosting! Here's the simple process:
Preheat and prep flax eggs: Preheat the oven. To prepare the flax eggs, mix the flax seed meal and hot water together and let sit for 2 minutes until a gel forms. If you are not vegan, you can use one egg to replace two flax eggs.
Mix Ingredients: In a mixing bowl, mix the melted butter, sugar, 2 flax eggs, vanilla, baking powder, milk, and salt.
Add the flour and combine: Then, add in the flour until a thick cookie dough forms.
Roll the dough: Place parchment paper onto a baking sheet. Then, using your hands, roll about a tablespoon size amount of dough into balls. Set each ball onto the baking sheets with parchment paper.
Bake: Place in oven and bake for 10-12 minutes until the cookies are lightly golden on the bottom and around the edges.
Make the frosting: Using a hand mixer or whisk, combine all of the frosting ingredients together in a bowl. Spread over the cookies once they have cooled completely. Top with sprinkles, if desired and enjoy!
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Swap butter for vegan alternative: For a vegan replacement of butter, you can use vegan butter or just use coconut oil! Most people have coconut oil on hand, so this is a great alternative. If you are using coconut oil, add a pinch more salt to the recipe to balance out the flavors.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Be sure to use room temperature milk, vegan butter, or coconut oil for easier mixing and to ensure the cookie dough bakes evenly.
- Don't over bake: This tip goes for any type of cookie you ever bake. The cookies aren't going to look done when it is time to take them out of the oven. Take them out when they are set and are slightly colored around the edges. They will harden up as they cool.
- Make them even more festive: If you would like, you can make these vegan sugar cookies even more festive by adding color to the frosting or topping them with sprinkles. Be sure that they have cooled completely before frosting and topping with sprinkles. Also, ensure the food coloring you choose is vegan if you want to keep this recipe all vegan.
Frequently Asked Questions
If your sugar cookies become flat, chances are that your cookie dough was too wet. Be sure to use the exact measurements in this recipe. If your cookie dough is too wet to form into a ball, sprinkle a little more flour into the bowl or let the dough rest in the fridge for 20 minutes to harden it.
Store them in a sealed container or plastic bag on the counter top for 3-5 days.
Absolutely!
Other Vegan Cookie Recipes
- Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Christmas Sprinkle Sugar Cookies
- 20-Minute Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Healthy Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies
- 15 Minute Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Apple Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
- Shortbread Sugar Cookies
Vegan Sugar Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
Vegan Sugar Cookies
- ½ cup melted butter regular or plant-based
- 1 cup cane sugar
- 2 tablespoon flax seed meal + 4 tablespoon warm water or one regular egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened oat or almond milk
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cup regular or gluten free all purpose flour If gluten-free, I recommend King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten-free flour. Please don't substitute any other flour such as almond flour, baking flour, etc.
- sprinkles
Vanilla Frosting (Optional)
- 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoon almond milk
- 1 tablespoon melted butter regular or plant-based
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Vegan Sugar Cookies Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375
- In a small mixing bowl, prepare the "flax eggs". Mix the flax seed meal with the warm water and set aside until a thick gel forms.
- In a mixing bowl, mix the melted vegan butter, cane sugar, 2 flax eggs, vanilla, baking powder, oat or almond milk, and salt. Then, add the flour and mix until a thick dough forms.
- Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use your hands to roll about a tablespoon of batter each into balls. Set each ball onto the baking sheet. Bake for 8-12 minutes. 8-10 minutes for soft cookies and 10-12 minutes for golden cookies.
- Option to make the vegan vanilla frosting by using an electric hand mixer to mix the powdered sugar, almond milk, melted vegan butter, and vanilla together. Spread over the cookies once they've cooled.
Riasha says
Can I substitute honey for sugar?
Sara says
Can I sub almond flour?
Jillian Glenn says
Only regular or gluten free all purpose flour will work in this recipe!
Jillian Glenn says
Hi Sara, only the flour listed in the ingredients will work!
Rachel says
Can you use regular eggs instead of flax? Will it change anything?
Jillian Glenn says
I haven't tried this recipe with regular eggs but I wouldn't use 2 eggs but maybe just one. Good luck!
Bailey says
Should this recipe say 2 1/4 cup flour? Mine were verrrry runny/goopy with just 1 1/4 cup flour.
Jillian Glenn says
The measurement is correct - my guess is you're not using the flour the recipe calls for. Be sure to use a regular or gluten free all purpose flour. Baking flours (like Bob's Red) won't work.
Michele says
Could you use coconut sugar instead if cane sugar?
Jillian Glenn says
Absolutely!
Lyndsay says
I made these last night and they were so good!!! The only change I made was using a half cup of cane sugar and a half cup of packed brown sugar because I didn't have enough cane. They were amazing!
Jillian Glenn says
I love that they worked out with brown sugar!! So happy you enjoyed them! Thanks for trying my recipe!
Donna says
Oh my goodness! These came out perfect! Not too sweet, but just enough to satisfy my craving. I love that! And for those that aren't gluten
intolerant, they'll still love them! Your recipes have been a godsend for me! Thank you so much!
Jillian Glenn says
Hi Donna, thank you so much for trying my recipe!! I am so happy to hear you enjoyed the sugar cookies 🙂
Dawn says
Hi Jill!
Thank you for your amazing recipes!! Would rice milk/and or oat Mike be okay for these? I've subbed both in alot of your other recipes and they have come out great! My son has an almond allergy so we can't use that type of milk.
Thank you so much,
Dawn
Jillian says
Hi Dawn, thank you so much for your kind words! So happy you've been enjoying my recipes! Any dairy or non-dairy milk will work in this recipe!
Cindy says
The recipe doesn't state how to make the flax egg. What ratio of water to flax do you use? And am I making it ahead of time to gel and then adding it to the recipe already made?
Jillian says
Hi Cindy, I've updated the recipe to show how to make the flax eggs! When we did the redesign we lost some content, thanks for catching that!