Make these perfect vegan sugar cookies! You only need 9 simple ingredients. They're soft, sweet, buttery, and super yummy. Use cookie cutters to make fun shapes and decorate them however you like! Easy and delicious baking fun. Easy and tasty baking for the holidays!
This vegan sugar cookie dough works beautifully for any kind of cookie cutter. If you want to attempt detailed snowflake cookie cutters or simpler kid-friendly Christmas cookie cutters, these cookies will hold up. If it's not the holiday season, you can use any kind of cookie cutter to create whatever shape you like, hearts, animals, letters, or numbers, making them perfect vegan sugar cookie for any time of year!
What I love most about these vegan sugar cookies is that they are not only great for cookie cutters, but they actually taste good. I find so many cut-out cookies are just hard and flavourless. The key that I learned from Sally's Baking Addiction is to use both vanilla extract and almond extract to really enhance the flavours. The result is sweet, light, soft, buttery, and totally addictive (Sally was right about that addiction thing).
To make perfect vegan sugar cookies:
Whisk together all of the dry ingredients.
Mix together the chia or flax with the water in a small bowl and let thicken. Then add that along with the remaining wet ingredients to a bowl, and beat the wet ingredients together until they are soft and fluffy.
Then add the wet into dry and mix until a dough is formed.
For the vegan butter, I used Earth Balance Buttery Spread, but I have found that sometimes the moisture levels in vegan butters are different, so if your dough does not come together, add up to 1 tablespoon of water until the dough just comes together.
Collect the dough into a ball, and place it between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll the dough out until it's ¼ inch thick. Put the parchment paper covered dough on a baking tray and pop it in the freezer for 15 minutes, or in the fridge for 30 minutes. This cools the dough, so the cookies are easy to cut out, and they will hold their shape in the oven.
Once cooled, remove the top piece of parchment and cut out your cookies. Re-roll the remaining dough and cut out more cookies, cooling the dough if needed. Bake the cookies until just lightly golden underneath. Let cool completely before icing.
To make the icing, mix together the powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons of plant-based milk or water. Add more liquid as needed until desired consistency is reached. Mix in vegan food colouring as desired.
Use a piping bag or a plastic bag with the corner cut off to decorate your cookies as you like! Have fun 🙂
ICING TIPS:
- For an extra white icing, I find using full-fat coconut milk as the liquid in the icing works best.
- The icing recipe makes enough to lightly decorate the cookies. If you want to heavily decorate them (like I did), double the recipe.
- Try not to eat them all before you finished icing them!
Common Questions:
- What food coloring is vegan? Most food coloring listed as "natural" is vegan because they are derived from plants. There is an exception though: carmine. Carmine is not vegan as it contains "cochineal", which is derived from bugs. Be sure to read and research the ingredients list before purchasing just to be safe 🙂
- Can I freeze sugar cookies? Yes. The best way to freeze sugar cookies is to wait form them to thaw, then either freeze them wrapped on a baking sheet in a single layer, or in an air-tight container. If stored in the freezer correctly, they should last for about 3 months.
- Are these sugar cookies gluten-free? Unfortunately, this is not as it recipe contains all-purpose flour.
If you try this recipe let us know by leaving a comment, rating it, and don't forget to tag @itdoesnttastelikechicken on Instagram.
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
(click stars to vote)
Perfect Vegan Sugar Cookies
Servings: cookies (approximately)
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Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients:
- 1 tablespoons ground chia or ground flax
- 3 tablespoons water
- ¾ cup vegan butter
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
Icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2-4 teaspoons plant-based milk or water
- A few drops of food colouring, (optional)
Instructions
To make vegan sugar cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C).
- In a large bowl mix together all the dry ingredients.
- In a small bowl, mix together the flax or chia, and the water and set aside to thicken which will be almost instant if using chia, but take about 10 minutes if using flax.
- In a third bowl beat the vegan butter and sugar together until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining wet ingredients including the flax or chia mixture, and mix well. Add the wet mixture into dry and combine until a dough is formed. I used Earth Balance vegan butter, but I have found that sometimes the moisture levels in vegan butters are different, so if your dough does not come together, add up to 1 tablespoon of water until the dough just comes together.
- Put the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it out to about ¼ inch thick. Now pop it onto a baking tray and chill the rolled dough in the freezer for 15 minutes or in the fridge for 30 minutes. Once chilled, cut your cookie shapes and lay them on the parchment lined cookie sheet. Re-roll remaining dough until it’s all used up, chilling in between if needed. Bake 8 - 11 minutes.
To make the icing:
- Add the powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons of plant-based milk or water, and food colouring if using, to a bowl. Mix together. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons more plant-based milk or water if needed to reach desired consistency. Let cookies cool completely before decorating.
Notes
- For an extra white icing, I find using full-fat coconut milk as the liquid in the icing works best.
- The icing recipe makes enough to lightly decorate the cookies. If you want to heavily decorate them (like I did), double the recipe.
- Try not to eat them all before you finished icing them!
Chervonne says
Hi, what kind of sugar are you using? I’ve been told regular white sugar isn’t vegan.
Thanks in advance!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Chervonne,good question! A lot of brands of white sugar are totally vegan. Using bone char to refine sugar isn’t very common anywhere other than the US as far as I know, but I do check the sugar I buy to make sure. The standard brand I use here in Canada is Redpath and they say on their site that the sugar is indeed vegan-friendly. So you just want to check the brand you’re purchasing. And a helpful tip is that all organic sugar is always vegan-friendly! Hope that helps
Clarrissa says
Also all organic sugar is vegan, so if you don’t want to reset h the brand just buy organic.
Sueanne says
Hi Sam,
Would it work to make this dough, wrap it tightly in cling film to freeze for use later? I was planning on doing that this evening, but maybe it wouldn't suit this recipe? Thanks for any advice.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Sueanne, yes, I think that should work fine. Enjoy!
Kat says
Hi, Sam! I plan on making these tomorrow and I’m on my way to the store to pick up ingredients. Is food coloring vegan? I’ve read that the red one uses bugs. Please let me know at your earliest convenience. I really look forward to trying these!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Kat, some food colouring is vegan while others aren't. Some contain carmine, which also goes by the names Crimson Lake, Cochineal, Carminic Acid, and Natural Red #4. Carmine is code for beetles! Ew! Wilton brand doesn't use carmine in their food colouring. Enjoy!
Kindra Thackeray says
Can I use another type of oil instead of vegan butter?
Sam Turnbull says
You can use coconut oil when it's in the firm state, but the cookies won't have that buttery flavour, and they may be a bit trickier to work with as coconut oil melts so easily.
Pareeta says
Hi! I just tried these but they were a little crispy. Are they supposed to be? I've made the non-vegan recipe and they weren't crispy. These tasted delicious!
Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Pareeta, they should be crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle. There are lots of different versions of sugar cookies. I will add a not to make soft sugar cookies this upcoming winter season 🙂
Fuchs says
Could I use egg replacer instead of the chia or flax?
Sam Turnbull says
I haven't tried it myself, but it should work just fine 🙂
Dylan Henthorne says
Does the batter need to be chilled, or can that be skipped? How influential is that step in the overall process?
Dylan Henthorne says
I clicked too soon; I meant to rate the recipe 5 stars. They looks so good!
Sam Turnbull says
And thanks for the rating 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
You roll out the dough between parchment paper then chill it in the fridge before using the cookie cutters. Enjoy!
chlorine says
Hey! We did these as a last minute thing and they were given to seven non-vegans who all loved them, complimented them, and didn't have the faintest idea they were vegan. I really appreciate your clear instructions and the simplicity of the recipe--the first couple Google results wanted to sub in a whole bunch of stuff (pumpkin???) that isn't in regular sugar cookies, but this was really perfect and exactly what I was hoping to find! Thank you so much!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!!! Thrilled everyone loved them 🙂 Yes, I try to keep my recipes as simple as possible with easy for find ingredients and no weird stuff. Haha. So happy you appreciated that!
K Robinson says
What type of nondairy milk do you recommend do you recommend unsweetened nondairy milk? Would sweetened nondairy milk be ok? I am considering using soy milk. Thoughts?
I am looking forward to making these with our daughters. We have a cookie baking tradition for Christmas Eve.
Please reply ASAP as I am shopping today.
Sam Turnbull says
Unsweetened. While sweetened may work it would make the cookies sweeter than intended. My go to is Silk Unsweetened Soy Milk. I hope you and your daughter enjoy them!
Maggie Gilmer says
I really enjoy your fun ideas and recipes, but it is a little off-putting to see adds for Oscar Meyer bacon and other meats pop up while on a vegan site.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Maggie, glad you enjoy my site! When it comes to ads, I do have blocks on animal-product ads but sometimes they manage to sneak through. It's difficult to catch the ones that sneak through because everyone sees different ads depending on their device, location and search history. I put in a notice to block Oscar Meyer ads to my ad manager, and if any other offensive ads come up, please feel free to contact me and send me the link the ad takes you to when clicked so I can have it properly blocked. Thanks!
Amy Morris says
These look delicious! And the perfect little intro to vegan goodies for my family this holiday season. And that watch? GORGEOUS!
Sam Turnbull says
I know right? I thought the watch was so cute. 🙂 I hope you and your fam enjoy them!
Bethery says
Oh Sam! These are great. I'm saving it for next year. You're amazing with a plastic baggie and some icing. I've never gotten such vibrant colors out of natural food coloring. I'll check out yours.
Sam Turnbull says
Haha well thank you Bethery. The colours I used weren't labled as natural, but they just happened to be vegan. I couldn't find them on Amazon, but I wanted to link to a vegan food colouring to help people find something suitable. Also, I worked as a paint colour mixer at one point in my life, so mixing colours is a bit of a skill I have. None of these colours came straight from the bottle like that... a little bit of colour sorcery was involved! Muhahahaaha.
Bethery says
Holy schmoly, I bought the one you linked to at our Co-op, but I'll try my best with it. You're a wicked colorist. Hahaha.
Sam Turnbull says
Haha thank you 🙂
Vee says
Do you think it would be possible to do this recipe with just a whisk since I don't have a mixer or hand beater?
Sam Turnbull says
Yes! You might just want to let the vegan butter soften at room temperature for a bit so it's easier to beat together. Softened, not melted! Enjoy!
Wendy says
These turned out great thanks for the recipe. Rolled out well and cut out well. I made some for my son's first birthday and will make more next week for Christmas!
Sam Turnbull says
That was fast! So happy you loved them Wendy 🙂
Mariana says
Do you think bobs red mill 1to1 would translate well in this recipe?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Mariana,
I've heard good things about Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1, but never actually tried baking with it myself, so I'm not sure. That said these cookies are fairly simple, so I would think it would likely work. If you give it a go, let us know how it works for you 🙂
Tammy Church says
Does the icing go hard?
Sam Turnbull says
Not rock solid, but yes it hardens. 🙂
Seren says
Hi Sam!
The "groud flax" and "chia" are supposed to be seeds or more like grinded? I can't wait to try this recipe :p
Thanks, you're awesome 😀
Sam Turnbull says
The seeds that are then ground. White chia is my preference (just because it gels faster), and you can either grind it yourself or buy it pre-ground, like here on amazon. 🙂
Lynne says
Awwwww...more sugar! I'm sure it's possible to be a vegan without stuffing your food full of sugar, but maybe not here.
Well written, good photography, but the recipes always seem full of sugar, even the "savoury" ones.. Bad news for health. Maybe think about The health risks? DIabetes? Major killer.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Lynne,
There are lots of health-focused vegan recipe blogs, but that's not the focus of this blog. I just like to make scrumptious recipes that are just like the original animal product based recipes... except better!
Carolyn says
SOOOOO gorgeous. You make everything look easy. It is except for the amazing creativity. How about those chocolate and vanilla square cookies you once made!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha, I guess the art degrees paid off. Haha, I'll keep those in mind 🙂
Delia Fey says
Just in the nick of time! I just bought a giant assortment of cookie cutters and a triple tray of cookie racks to bake up some Christmas cookie goodness with my son - hopefully this weekend.
Thank you! I really look forward to making them with the vanilla and almond extracts.
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! Perfect. I really hope you enjoy them 🙂
Claudia says
Is the ground chia/ flax suppose to be like an egg
Sam Turnbull says
Yep!