Author: You know those pillowy soft, cakey, frosted cookies you can buy at grocery stores that are oh so good? They are almost like the top of a cupcake that got smushed into a cookie. They always come with a generous amount of frosting and sprinkles, because who doesn't love sprinkles. I had a sudden craving for these cookies, I wanted them, I needed them, I must have them, and so I veganized them. It took a lot of recipe testing, but I finally cracked the code and satisfied my craving with my new favourite treat: Vegan Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies.
...and now I almost regret it as my diet has suddenly consisted of four cookies a day. So soft, so sweet, so fluffy amazing!!!
These are so much more than just a plain old sugar cookie. They are like funfetti turned into a cookie. The cakey texture is amazing, but I also made sure they tasted great as well. The combo of lemon juice, vanilla extract, and almond extract make for the perfect subtle, sugar cookie flavour.
I think the classic pink frosting is my favourite, but you can always change the frosting and sprinkle colours...
- Orange for Halloween or autumn.
- Green or red for Christmas, you could even sprinkle on crushed candy canes!
- Pink, blue, or yellow for baby showers.
- Classic white for a wedding.
- Gold for New Years.
- Pink or red for valentines day.
You get the idea. These cookies are perfect all year round and for any occasion.
Vegan Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies do require a few steps to make them, but it's actually pretty easy. The fussiest part is spooning out the cookie dough which can be a little sticky. The cookies are of course, great fresh, but they also freeze well making them a great make-ahead treat. (I now have a freezer full of them).
To make Vegan Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies:
In a medium bowl whisk together the dry ingredients.
In a large bowl, use a stand mixer or hand mixer to beat the vegan butter and white sugar together until fluffy. Add the remaining wet ingredients and combine. The mixture won't combine well and will look curdled and that's totally fine. (I didn't show a picture of that because it's not pretty)!
Now add the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet, and mix together. The dough will be very soft, like a thick cake batter.
You can either use the cookie batter right away or you can let it chill in the fridge for 1 hour. Chilling makes it a little easier to work with but does not affect the final cookie. Lightly spray a cookie scoop or large spoon with oil, and scoop 2 tablespoons of cookie dough and drop it onto the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Repeat to fill your tray, evenly spacing the cookies. Wet your fingers so they don't stick to the cookies, then lightly pat the balls down into flatter shapes.
Bake 11 - 14 minutes until lightly golden on the bottom. Let cool completely before frosting.
To Make the Frosting:
Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat together the vegan butter, vegetable shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. If needed add 1 tablespoon of plant-based milk at a time until desired frosting consistency is reached. Mix in food colour if desired. I divided my frosting into two to make multiple colours.
I like the combination of vegetable shortening and vegan butter for the best frosting that holds well and tastes great. If you prefer you can use all vegan butter, but note that it will make the frosting softer, so you may need less plant-based milk, and be sure to store the cookies in a cool place.
To Assemble the Cookies:
Smear frosting on the cooled cookies then decorate with sprinkles if desired. Store cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, for about 1 week in the fridge, or they also freeze well.
And there you have it! Soft, fluffy, slightly chewy and cake-y, and oh-so-sweet! My Vegan Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies are the perfect vegan treat for whenever your sweet tooth comes calling. Be sure to share!
Common Questions:
Can I freeze sugar cookies?
These cookies freeze perfectly. Just be sure to wait until they have cooled and then place them in an air-tight container or wrap them tightly in plastic wrap. If stored properly, they should last for about 3 months in your freezer.
Do I need to refrigerate sugar cookies?
It is not recommended to refrigerate these cookies as it will dry them out fairly quickly. Instead, keep them out at room temperature in an air-tight container tightly wrapped in plastic wrap. If kept as such, they should last for about a week. If you want to keep them longer, follow the freezing instructions above.
(click stars to vote)
Vegan Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies
Servings: cookies (give or take)
PRINT
PIN
Video
COMMENT
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients:
- 1 ¼ cups vegan butter, cold (I used Earth Balance Orignal Buttery Spread)
- 1 ½ cups white sugar
- 1 cup plant-based milk, (such as soy or almond)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
For the frosting:
- ½ cup vegan butter, cold (I used Earth Balance Orignal Buttery Spread)
- ½ cup vegetable shortening, *see notes
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 - 4 tablespoons plant-based milk, (such as soy or almond)
- Vegan Food Coloring, (optional)
- sprinkles, (optional)
Instructions
- To make the cookies: preheat your oven to 350F (180C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate large bowl, use a stand mixer or hand mixer to beat the vegan butter and white sugar together until fluffy. Add the remaining wet ingredients and combine. The mixture won't combine well and will look curdled and that's totally fine. Now add the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet, and mix together. The dough will be very soft, like a thick cake batter.
- You can either use the cookie batter right away or you can let it chill in the fridge for 1 hour. Chilling makes it a little easier to work with but does not affect the final cookie. Lightly spray a cookie scoop or large spoon with oil, and scoop 2 tablespoons of cookie dough and drop it onto the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Repeat to fill your tray, evenly spacing the cookies. Wet your fingers so they don't stick to the cookies, then lightly pat the balls down into flatter shapes.
- Bake 11 - 14 minutes until lightly golden on the bottom. Let cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting: using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat together the vegan butter, vegetable shortening, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. If needed add 1 tablespoon of plant-based milk at a time until desired frosting consistency is reached. Mix in food colour if desired.
- To assemble the cookies: smear frosting on the cooled cookies then decorate with sprinkles if desired. Store cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, for about 1 week in the fridge, or they also freeze well.
Notes
Nutrition
⭐ Did You Make This Recipe?
I’d love if you left a rating and comment, it helps others find the recipe and makes my day! 💕Bon apptegan!
Sam.
SM says
As many other comments have pointed out... There is something really wrong with this recipe. I have been vegan and baking regularly for 8 years so it's not user error. I followed all of your instructions exactly and I baked a thin sheet of flat cake batter, essentially. I only baked a partial batch of 10 cookies initially, sensing something was wrong, and with the remaining batter, had to add ~3/4 additional cups of flour to make anything resembling a cookie. Once doing so, they are okay and took roughly your suggested amount of time to bake. Upon reading the other comments, you suggested that the oven wasn't preheated or that the butter has a different water content. My oven was definitely preheated. I used the Country Crock plant butter made with avocado oil. I used to use Earth Balance as you suggested but as you may know, many vegan butter brands have been discontinued and it is no longer carried at any store near me, along with Miyokos and Trader Joe's vegan sticks. I live in a major city with access to multiple grocery stores and this is the only brand carried anymore. It's not my preferred brand, but I have used it to bake for the last year since all butter disappeared in many recipes and have never had an issue with it until now. I think you seriously need to reformulate the recipe if for some reason it is dependent on Earth Balance, though I would still find the proportions shocking. I have genuinely never felt compelled to leave a review on a recipe until today but just had to due to the absolute devastation of using 1 and 1/4 cups of expensive vegan butter and almost 4 cups of flour to end up with 15 weird, salvaged cookies that I had to doctor myself.
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Hi SM, I’m really sorry these didn’t work out for you. I truly appreciate you taking the time to share such detailed feedback. It does sound like the butter brand may have played a big role here, especially since some vegan butters can vary quite a bit in moisture and fat content, but I hear your frustration. Thank you for flagging this.
Stephanie says
These are the lightest, fluffiest sugar cookies! I made a batch for Christmas and also for Valentine’s Day and they were so delicious.
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Aww I love this!! 💗 So happy they turned out fluffy and perfect, thank you for making them again and again!
Roo says
Was it supposed to be 1.5 sticks of butter instead of 1.5 cups? I followed the directions and the cookies came out like pancakes 🙁
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Oh no Roo! The recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups vegan butter, not 1 1/2 cups and not sticks. If you used 1 1/2 cups that would definitely cause pancake cookies 😅
Bianca says
These were delightful! Terrific recipe, though I do yearn for weights and not volumes when I'm baking. I got 30 cookies out of the recipe, and I ran out of frosting before I could finish because I was a little heavy handed, so I recommend icing them on the lighter side, or increasing the frosting batch by 25%. I would make these again.
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Bianca thank you so much!! And that’s super helpful feedback, I’m so glad you loved them, and I totally agree that a slightly bigger frosting batch is a great idea if you like them generously iced 😊
Mel says
They taste good, but this batter is very hard to work with, and yes, I chilled it as directed. The cookies do not bake uniformly, likely due to the instruction to use cold vegan butter. I do not recommend this recipe.
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Hi Mel,These cookies are meant to have a very soft, cake-like batter, so there’s no need to work with it like a traditional dough. The easiest method is to use a cookie scoop or spoon and simply drop the batter onto the baking sheet, no rolling or shaping required. There’s also a step-by-step video in the post that shows exactly how the batter should look and how the cookies are portioned, which may be helpful.
Rose says
Not my first vegan cookie experience, also not the best. These did not have a cookie texture or consistency. they were more like a flat cupcake.
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Hi Rose, thank you for giving the recipe a try 😊 These cookies are meant to be very soft, cakey, and almost like the top of a cupcake, so it sounds like they turned out as intended, but I totally understand if that texture isn’t what you were hoping for. Maybe you were looking for more of a hard cutout cookie like my Easy Vegan Sugar Cookies. I hope that helps!
Tina H says
These were amazing. I am new to dairy free baking due to an allergy. My son loved them. The only thing he asked for his birthday and these were awesome.
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Amazing! I am so happy they were enjoyed! Thank you for the review Tina 🙂
Sydney says
The frosting recipe is fine. The cookie recipe however is not. Such a waste. I cook and bake from scratch often. Not my first vegan baking attempt, and i usually like his blog as well, but this cookie recipe spread like a puddle when baking despite following the recipe exactly. Should have chosen a different recipe. Super, super disappointed.
Megan says
The same thing happened to me! I think the milk could be omitted altogether. I cannot believe how flat these turned out.
Sam Turnbull @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Hi Megan and Sydney, Thank you for your feedback! I’m sorry to hear about the issues with the cookies. It sounds like the spread might be caused by the vegan butter you used. Some brands can be a bit more liquid than others, which can affect the consistency of the dough. For a firmer dough, I recommend using a firmer vegan butter, I always use Earth Balance Original Buttery Spread, which gives me consistent results. Another potential factor could be the oven temperature – it's important to ensure the oven is fully preheated to 350°F (180°C) before baking to prevent spreading. You could also skip lightly patting the cookie dough balls to help them spread less. I hope this helps!
LM says
These cookies are so fun and delicious! We even made heart shaped cookies for a Valentine party and let everyone decorate their own. They were a huge hit and everyone was surprised to learn they are plant based.