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.
Vegan Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies
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
- 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
- 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 colouring (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 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
Bon apptegan!
Sam.
Heather says
Followed the recipe with no modifications. I kept the butter, milk and lemon juice chilled until the last second. After the dough was mixed, I chilled in the fridge for 2 hours and also chilled between baking batches. I was able to get 37 nice cookies. My 3rd tray started to get lacey and the 4th one had 7 cookies spread together into a monster mess. I think I should have baked half and then let the remainder of the dough chill again.
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Sorry to hear about your experience, Heather. Certain vegan butters tend not to work the best, so it may have been that. It sounds like the dough had too much moisture if they were spreading into a mess.
Heather says
I used Earth Balance sticks. I think the dough was just too warm by the end. I live on a very hot, humid island.
Anoymous says
yes u can
Anoymous says
Hi, Sam
Could I use 1 cup of butter instead of vegetable shorting for the icing?
Thankyou
Stacia says
I was on edge about using this recipe bc sometimes internet recipes are unreliable, and I really needed these cookies to come out well for an event. Anyway! I'm so happy with these cookies and will make again! I chilled my dough actually in the freezer, not fridge. They do spread out quite a bit, and they do spread more if the dough is warmer.
lois isfjord says
Hi Sam,
Not sure if you have heard of the Icelandic cake Vinetarta but here in Canada it is very popular especially around Christmas time. Every family with an Icelandic heritage has their own traditional method of making this layered cake.
The filling is basically stewed prunes with ( or without) cardamon. The cake/ cookie layers are traditionally made using butter and eggs in the recipe.
Being vegan, I was wanting to be able to make this cake plant based but couldn’t find a recipe that had the likelihood to work…. But then I tried your Vegan Soft Sugar Cookie recipe and voila… vegan Vinetarta ❤️
I had to fiddle with the recipe a bit… if you are interested I can give you my ideas .
I’ve yet to put a coat of icing on the top but for the sake of this message I will send a picture..if I can .. not the finished product. Maybe in a couple days when the layers meld into each other a bit.
Gleðileg jól !
Erica says
Hi there,
Can I use those Crisco baking sticks that look like sticks of butter instead of the Earth Balance one for the cookies? Also, can I use Rice Milk instead of Soy or Almond Milk?
Thanks!!
Eileen Strom says
I would also need to make this recipe gluten free...
Can you recommend a type of flour, and or brand that might work best?
Also, in the U.K., you can get Bakers Supreme Cake Margarine. Unfortunately, here in the U.S., you can not. Do you know if a similar margarine is available? Most stick type margarine is better to use than tub varieties, but this brand was developed for baking.
Any help would be appreciated!
Thank you!
Marco says
I have to say, these cookies are really tasty… however, the texture really really does not come close to the grocery store cookies 🙁 they don’t have that sandy crumble, so it’s a bit disappointing. I, like many others had major issues with the cookies spreading, even after freezing them overnight.
After a couple of tests I came to these conclusions to prevent spreading: only scoop one tablespoon instead of two and keep them VERY far apart; or use a large muffin tin to keep the cookies in a perfect shape.
Overall, the cookies are very tasty, however the making process was.. difficult and frustrating at times, even with following the recipe and video to a t. I hope this is able to help others making these!
Lea says
These remind me so much of cookies I had as a kid! I can't wait to bake these!
Tayler says
These are by far my favorite cookies now. I made them for the fourth time tonight. My family and friends love them and have been continuing to ask me to make more of them! Great recipe and thank you so much for sharing it. Cant get enough. The batter is also yummy to eat. They freeze very well too.
Supriya Bhatia says
Just made these! The “cookies” taste good but they have more of a cake texture than a cookie texture. It’s like having a mini cake with frosting - and tastes really good! I wonder how these could be made more crumbly - to have a more cookie texture. Still liked em!
Claudia says
These cookies are so good!!! Super quick and easy to make, which is perfect for me! I do find that with the frosting, they are a little too sweet for me and my fam. Would I be able to cut back on the sugar in the batter and still get a fluffy sugar cookie?
I love the way they look with the frosting and the sprinkles and want to make these for my son’s birthday, but I want to try to cut some sugar out.
Thank you so much for sharing your delicious recipe!
Tammy says
Absolutely PERFECT! I used all butter for the frosting because I've been unable to find a veggie shortening that contains organic palm. No big deal. I made sure my cookies were completely cooled before frosting and then kept refrigerated. I also made your "Perfect Vegan Sugar Cookies" recipe and had more than enough to share with vegan (and non-vegan) family. They were a HUGE hit and this is probably my new favorite cookie recipe. Honestly, I can't believe how fast & easy they were to make. My husband used to love this type of cookie from the grocery store and now we can make them vegan at home. It's an indulgence but well worth it. Thank you, Sam!
Theresa says
Yeeeesssss! It took me until AFTER Christmas to find the perfect vegan sugar cookie, dang it, but at least I have it now!
These were perfect, and made enough cookies to last for days.
I’ve noticed a lot of comments stating theirs turned out flat, and I *think* they’d do better refrigerated for a warm kitchen. My first batch was perfect, but my second was a little flatter, and the last batch resembled lace cookies, but ugh... they were still so yummy! Point being, that butter needs to stay cold to keep from spreading as fast.
Theresa says
Edited: nope, they didn’t last for days. They lasted for exactly 12 hours
Pure vegie says
I was looking for an eggless version of these sugar cookies and I found this recipe. The cookies look so good so I decided I would try them out. The thing is I'm just vegetarian so I can drink milk and butter. So I was wondering if I could use regular milk and butter.
Sam Turnbull says
I never cook with or recommend any animal products so for best results I recommend using plant-based milk and plant-based butter.
Pure vegie says
Thank you! But I couldn't wait for you to reply so I tried it anyway and they turned out perfect even with regular butter and milk.