Soft, vegan sugar cookies with crispy edges, for all your holiday needs. Have fun with different cookie cutters, easy icing and sprinkles of course!
After much trial and error, I finally have the perfect recipe for soft cut-out vegan sugar cookies. Seriously, these are the cookies of my dreams, and I think you will LOVE them!
They are easy to make and roll out. A little trick I learned is to roll the dough onto parchment paper before chilling in the refrigerator. This way, the cookie dough only needs to chill for about an hour before you can cut and bake! And you don’t have to roll out cookie dough that is crumbling everywhere. Easy peasy.
How to make perfect vegan sugar cookies:
First, make the dough, using just 1 bowl and either a standing mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer. Your cookie dough should be similar to the texture of play dough. It will be rather crumbly in the bowl, but not dry, and it should stick together when you use your hands to roll it into a ball. Once the dough is made, break it into two balls. Place one of the doughs onto parchment paper, on a hard surface.
Roll the dough out, about 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle a little flour on top so the dough doesn’t stick to your rolling pin.
Place another piece of parchment paper on top of the first rolled dough.
Repeat with the second ball of dough (I usually do this right on top of the first rolled dough). Place another piece of parchment paper on top and carefully transfer the rolled dough to the refrigerator to chill for 1 hour.
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Remove the dough from the fridge, cut into desired shapes and bake for 8-10 minutes. They will look underdone, but firm up considerably as they cool. This is the key to soft sugar cookies. If you want them crispy, you could roll the dough thinner and cook them a bit longer, but I prefer them softer.
They will look like this when they come out of the oven. See how they don’t puff up a bunch or spread like some sugar cookie recipes do? Cookie perfection.
What’s the best way to decorate vegan sugar cookies?
So, let me tell you a little secret. I am not a natural decorator of sweets! I can bake, but the actual decorating of cookies or cakes is not really my thing, so I watched several videos and almost had a panic attack while decorating the cookies for these photos. 🙂 For real, it took me HOURS…
This video was incredibly helpful. So if you want to make really pretty sugar cookies, I recommend it! The trick is to outline the cookies first with a thicker icing, then flood the inside with a thinner icing, and carefully spread it to all the corners of the cookie.
I used Wilton Bags and decorating tips for this, which I highly recommend for all your cookie and cake decorating needs.
After icing, simply grab some food coloring, if desired, sprinkles of choice and have fun! My family has a tradition of making these cookies, and we usually just slap on some icing and have fun decorating. They don’t usually look quite so pretty, but they always taste amazing!
What food coloring is vegan?
Well this is quite a complicated topic. I’ve done A LOT of research on this online. Watkins brand is for sure vegan. From what I can tell, several of Wilton brand are vegan, such as the gel based color. I found a few at my local craft store, and carefully read the ingredients before buying. If you don’t want to use food coloring, you can also make your own, or just go with white frosting.
Want more Christmas Cookies?
Vegan Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
The Best Vegan Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies
- 3/4 cup vegan butter (earth balance preferred), slightly softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional, but so good)
- 2-2 1/4 cups all purpose flour, divided (correctly measured)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Easy Icing
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup (can omit, but it makes the icing very shiny)
- 1-2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
Instructions
Sugar Cookies
- In a large bowl either using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the vegan butter for about 1 minute until creamy and smooth. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 2-3 minutes until fluffy and light.
- Now add in the almond milk, cornstarch, vanilla and almond extract (if using). Beat on high until it is all fully combined, about 1 minute. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add 1 cup of the flour to the wet mixture. Sprinkle the baking powder and salt on top of the flour. Mix on low speed, until just combined. Now add 1 more cup of the flour and continue to mix on low until just combined; don't over mix. The dough should feel similar to play dough when you work it in your hands, but it will look crumbly in the bowl. If it seems too wet for rolling, add another 1/4 cup of flour. You want the dough to be thick, but not dry. I always use the full 2 1/4 cups of flour. If the dough is too wet, your cookies will spread.
- Using a spatula, scoop all of the dough out of the bowl; use your hands if needed to push it all together. Divide the dough in half and roll into two balls.
- On a flat surface, add a sheet of parchment paper. Sprinkle a little flour on it, then add half the dough. Sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough, and roll it out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Place a sheet of parchment paper on top. Repeat for the second ball of dough, and then stack them with parchment paper. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Once the dough has been chilled, set it on the counter for 10 minutes while the oven is preheating to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut into desired shapes using a cookie cutter and place them on the prepared baking sheets. Continue re-rolling the dough until it is all used.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, in the middle rack of the oven, until very lightly colored on top and around the edges. They will appear underdone, but they will firm up considerably as they cool. Let them cool for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to let cool completely before icing.
Easy Icing
- Whisk all icing ingredients in a bowl. If it seems too thick, add a little more almond milk. It should be smooth, glossy and not runny. If too runny, add more powdered sugar. You can dip the cookies in the icing, or use brushes, spoons or a squeeze bottle. See this helpful video on how to decorate sugar cookies with icing.
- *If you want really pretty cookies, first make the icing thicker, by using only 1 tablespoon of almond milk. Using a decorating tip, outline the cookies with the thicker icing. Then add a little more milk to thin it and flood the inside with icing. This way the icing doesn't spill over the cookie edges.
- Decorate with sprinkles as desired. The icing will take several hours to harden completely. The cookies will stay soft for about 5 days at room temperature.
Notes
- Try to get the earth balance sticks if you can; they are easier to bake with. Results will vary with other brands of vegan butter.
- Almond extract is optional but it adds a very good flavor to both the cookies and the icing, so use it if you can.
- To correctly measure flour, make sure to spoon and level by scooping the flour into the measuring cup with a spoon and level it off with the back of a knife. If you don't correctly measure the flour, you can end up with way too much flour and the dough will be dry!
- If you aren't comfortable using corn syrup, you may omit it. I rarely use it, but it makes cookie icing pretty and shiny and it's just 1 tablespoon.
- Baked sugar cookies freeze well, but don't freeze them once frosted.
Nutrition
I made these cookies along with our family recipe sugar cookies, since half of us are vegan and half are not. I followed the recipe exactly (great tips, by the way), and they turned out AMAZING! Both the dough and the baked product were delicious…well, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t snack on the leftover dough while they are rolling them out! ?
We put organic vegan canned frosting on the cookies, then topped them with crushed organic candy canes, and the result was super delicious!! I actually like them better than our original family recipe…! By the way, I had to make a second batch just two days later, as they were quickly gobbled up by all members of our family. Awesome recipe, thank you for all your hard work and determination that goes into each “best” recipe.?
Thanks Michelle, I’m so happy you enjoyed the sugar cookies so much! 🙂 OMG I know, I LOVE snacking on the dough as I roll them, so good. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this comment, I appreciate it!
Hi I’m so excited to try this recipe! Do you know how they compare to the soft loft house sugar cookies? I’m trying to find a vegan replica of them because they’re my favorite!!❤️
Hi! I think they could be quite similar, though don’t those use more of a frosting than an icing? If they do, I would frost them with my Vegan Vanilla Frosting instead of the icing. Also, you will probably want the cookies to be on the thicker side to replicate the loft house cookies, so simply roll them a bit thicker than I suggest, maybe about 1/2 inch thick. Hope that helps!!
Made these and while they held their shape nicely, I felt they were a bit on the dry side and not very flavorful. I used the almond extract. Thoughts?
Did you correctly measure your flour? It’s quite easy to get too much flour and make the cookies dry. For cookies ESPECIALLY, I recommend using the scoop and level method, where you spoon the flour into the measuring cup, then level off with the back of a knife. Don’t pack it down, or simply scoop flour out of a canister. I don’t think these cookies are too exciting by themselves, they absolutely need the icing unless you are not a very sweet kind of person. 🙂 I wonder if you made any substitutions? Many people have been making these the last few weeks and sharing their photos (on Instagram) and saying how much they loved the cookies, so I’m wondering if you could have forgotten an ingredient or made a substitution.
Even after I accidentally used whole wheat flour in these cookies, they were AMAZING!! Thank you for posting. I printed to keep as a family tradition.
So glad! Thank you! It’s a yummy and fun tradition!
I loved working with this dough! Much easier to work with than regular dough.
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it and it was easy to work with.
That was just the most amazing recipe!
I’m from Brazil and wanted to make those vegan cookies for christmas dinner.
We can’t find any vegan butter here, so I used margarine and it was just fine, except that I had to add a lot more flour to achieve the right texture.
The sugar cookies turned out AMAZING. We ate a LOT of them while decorating because we just couldnt wait to eat them.
The decoration looked great too.
Thank you so much!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the sugar cookies, and that they worked out with the margarine you used! I understand the feeling of needing to eat them while you decorate. 🙂 Thank you!!
Hi! These look amazing and I’m planning a batch (Christmas goats!) to wow non-vegan friends and family.
Question: is any non-dairy milk okay? I have unsweetened macadamia nut milk.
Thanks!
Yes that should work just fine. I hope you enjoy the cookies, Christmas goats sound SO cute!! 🙂
The almond extract should not be optional, it should be a MUST!! These cookies are SO delicious! I am SO happy I found your Instagram Nora, your recipes have impressed me! My three year old son loved making these cookies with me, it was simple, fun and super yummy! Will recommend this to all my friends and family 🙂
Thank you Nina! I agree, I love the addition of almond extract, but I guess some people don’t appreciate the flavor. 🙂 I’m so glad you had fun making these cookies with your son, my youngest son is 3, too and LOVES baking with me! So sweet.
Hi! I have a question about the ingredient list. It says 2-2 1/4 cup of flour evenly divided. The instructions only use exactly the 2 1/4 cup. I ended up having an extra bowl of the 2 1/4 f flour. Why does it say 2-2? Thanks!
Hi Madison! So by 2-2 1/4 cups of flour, I mean that you will need 2 to 2 1/4 cups, so at least 2 cups, but maybe 1/4 cup more, depending on your cookie dough. Sorry about the confusion, maybe I can find a way to make that more clear! The measurements for all the ingredients need to be correct for the cookies to work well, but the range of flour gives a little room for error. So if someone didn’t quite use enough vegan butter for example, they could get away with using maybe just 2 cups of flour and still have great cookies. I have made these cookies many times now, and I always use 2 1/4 cups of flour.
So glad I found those recipe. First Christmas eating a plant based diet and sugar cookies are my favorite. First batch was a little dry/crumbly but still yummy! Second batch I was more careful with my measurements and I didn’t add the full 2 1/4 cups flour (prob more like 2 1/8) and they are perfect. Safe to say this will be my go to recipe from now on! Easy to work with, hold their shape, delicious. Thank you!!
Thanks Amy! So glad you are enjoying the sugar cookies this Christmas season!
I’m more interested in this recipe as an egg-free cookie recipe, as opposed to a vegan recipe. Do you think it would matter consistency-wise if we used regular milk instead of almond milk? In Addition to being allergic to eggs, my child is allergic to peanuts, almonds and pistachios, So we try to avoid any use of nuts.
Hi Jennifer! No, I don’t think it would matter if you used regular milk instead of almond milk. Thanks!
I’m looking to make this recipe dairy free but I’m allergic to almonds. What would you suggest I use instead of almond milk? Thank you!
Any non-dairy milk will work -soy, cashew, hemp or coconut. Hope you love the cookies!
I can’t get Earth balance in the uk and most vegan bitter alternatives are very soft. Could I use a solid vegetable fat instead? Or a mix of vegetable fat and vegan butter?
I *think* a mix would work. The vegan butter you have might work alone, as long as you refrigerate the dough long enough for it to chill completely. I imagine you could also use coconut oil that is solid, not melted, but I haven’t tried it yet.
SO EXCITED TO BAKE THIS!! Doing it tonight. I also love soft sugar cookies…why anyone likes a hard sugar cookie is beyond me. Also King Arthur has really good instructions and even WEIGHT measurements on their website for the flour!
Great! Let me know how it goes for you. Happy baking! And thanks for the tip. 🙂
I’m making these for a Christmas cookie decorating party. I’m curious to know if I make the icing a couple of days before hand will it still be good to use in two days?
I haven’t tried it, but I think if you put the icing in small bowls and covered well with plastic wrap it will keep for a couple of days. It will probably thicken quite a bit, so you may need to stir more non-dairy milk into it when you are getting ready to use it. When you are ready to ice the cookies, let it sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes before using as well.
Hi! I love this recipe =) just wondering though, my dough was so insanely crumbly that i had to throw away the other half because i was so tired of fighting it. I don’t use white sugar because it’s almost impossible to tell which ones are filtered with bone char, if not all of them. That’s the only thing i did differently. I measured correctly. Do you think that’s why it was so bad? What can i do to change this?
Thanks Erika! What kind of sugar did you use? That certainly could have been the problem. If you use organic granulated sugar, it will certainly be vegan and it will work for the recipe. Also, when you are making the dough and it comes to the point of adding the flour, add it slowly and stop before it gets too dry. In order for the cookies to hold their shape and not spread or puff up when the bake, the dough needs to be quite thick, but it should not be dry. I’ve made these countless times now and I always use the full 2 1/4 cups flour. I hope that helps!
My dough came out all crumbly instead of like play dough. Any ideas?
Your measurements are probably slightly off. With baking recipes, you really need to measure your flour correctly. If you are scooping flour out of a canister with a measuring cup, you are going to end up with too much flour, and the cookie dough will be too dry. To correctly measure flour, make sure to spoon and level by scooping the flour into the measuring cup with a spoon and level it off with the back of a knife.
These truly are fantastic – the flavor, texture, everything! A hit in my house! Thank you for this recipe and so many other great-tasting plant-based meals. You are my go-to site as every recipe we’ve tried we love! Such as the Alfredo, Mac & Cheese, etc.
I’m so happy the sugar cookies were a hit, and you are enjoying the other recipes as well! Thanks so much for your kind feedback. 🙂
I have a question I hope you can answer. When my daughter and I baked these, some of the cookies developed air pockets while baking and poofed up in spots. They looked pregnant. We chilled the dough over an hour, tried not to work with it too much etc.
Hi Traci! I have a couple of ideas about what could have happened. Probably the most likely is that your measurements weren’t accurate. Too much sugar and/or vegan butter will cause the cookies to spread and puff up more. When you measure the flour, I recommend using a spoon to scoop it into your measuring cup, then leveling off with a knife. Just scooping from a canister of flour with a measuring cup, you can end up with way too much or too little flour, which will completely ruin a baking recipe. You said you chilled the dough and tried not to work it too much, so it probably wasn’t that, unless you re-rolled the dough a lot and got it warm. It helps to bake them on parchment paper or a silicone mat. My only other idea is that your oven temperature is a bit off. Ovens vary, and cookies cooked a too low temperature will spread. I hope that helps! I’ve made them several times as have others who haven’t had this problem; in fact it’s what I love about them so much. 🙂
Ooh I’ll have to make these for my work cookie swap. Do you think these could be made with coconut sugar?
I think it would work, though they will look darker and it may change the flavor somewhat. Good luck, hope you enjoy them!
What type of icing did you use on the edges as the thick line before you filled them in? Use the same recipe, just thicker?
Yes, exactly that! First, I made it thick and outlined the cookies, then I thinned it out with a little more non-dairy milk to fill the inside.
These are the best sugar cookies I’ve ever made, vegan or otherwise! They held their shape perfectly and taste amazing.
Thanks Asha! I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, I totally agree! 🙂
Will the icing harden like RI does, so they can be stacked??
Yes, it hardens just like regular icing does, and they can be stacked.
Can i use gluten free flour and omit the cornstarch?
I’m not sure as I’ve never tested it with gluten free flour. Results will vary depending on the type of gluten free flour you use.
Was hesitant to try this recipe because it only had one review but I am so glad that I did! They were a little on the crumbly side and I had to work with the dough a couple times but they kept their shape SO well. No melting out at all. I wish I could attach a photo. Excellent recipe!
I’m so glad you made and enjoyed the cookies! Thanks for leaving a comment! 🙂
Seriously, so good!