These vegan sugar cookies are incredibly soft, fluffy, and coated in a smooth vanilla vegan frosting for the perfect amount of sweetness! This recipe is the perfect opportunity to get creative with your cookie cutters to make fabulous cookies for any occasion! They're easy to make as they don't require any chilling and bake up in a flash!
Best Homemade Vegan Sugar Cookies
If you are a fan of the pillowy-soft decorated cookies that you can buy at the grocery store but are looking for a vegan version, this recipe is for you! These vegan sugar cookies are made with common baking ingredients and I've even included a simple vegan frosting to top them off.
It's a no-chilled sugar cookie dough that comes together quickly and is rolled out so that you can get as creative as you want with cookie cutters! Add any color of food coloring to match the occasion you are serving them for.
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🥘 Vegan Sugar Cookies Ingredients
In addition to almond milk (or any milk alternative), you'll only need some common baking ingredients to make these tasty cookies! Make sure to look at the label on the food coloring you choose to ensure that it's free of animal products (most food coloring is fine, with the exception of red, which has carmine).
Vegan Sugar Cookies
- All-Purpose Flour - 1½ cups of all-purpose flour. You can also use spelt flour or oat flour if desired.
- Baking Soda - ¾ teaspoon of baking soda.
- Baking Powder - ½ teaspoon of baking powder.
- Salt - ½ teaspoon of salt.
- Sugar - ½ cup of granulated sugar. You could also use organic or unrefined sugar if desired.
- Coconut Oil - 6 tablespoons of melted coconut oil or use melted vegan butter.
- Almond Milk - 2-3 tablespoons of almond milk. Water, oat milk, coconut milk, or any milk alternative can be used too.
- Vanilla Extract - 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon of almond extract.
Vegan Sugar Cookie Frosting
- Vegetable Shortening - ½ cup of vegetable shortening.
- Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or extract flavoring of choice.
- Confectioners Sugar - 4 cups of powdered sugar.
- Water - 2-4 tablespoons of water. Start with 2 tablespoons and add more to reach your desired consistency.
- Food Coloring - Any vegan food coloring brand like TruColor.
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 How To Make The Best Vegan Sugar Cookies
Once your sugar cookie dough is made, all you have to do is roll it, cut out your cookies, and bake for 10 minutes! You will need your stand mixer, a baking sheet, parchment paper, a large mixing bowl, a rolling pin, cookie cutters, and some measuring spoons to get started!
This recipe will make 20 vegan sugar cookies, depending on how big you make them.
No Chill Vegan Sugar Cookie Dough
- Preheat. Preheat your oven to 325°F (160°C/Gas Mark 3) and line a baking sheet with some parchment paper.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, mix together 1½ cups (188 grams) of all-purpose flour, ¾ teaspoon (3 grams) of baking soda, ½ teaspoon (2 grams) of baking powder, ½ teaspoon (3 grams) of salt, and ½ cup (100 grams) of sugar until everything is incorporated.
- Add wet ingredients. Stir in the melted 6 tablespoons (84 grams) of coconut oil, 2-3 tablespoons (30 milliliters) of almond milk, and 2 teaspoons (10 milliliters) of vanilla extract to form a dough. The dough will be dry at first but will then turn into a typical cookie dough after a minute or so of mixing. *Add a drizzle more liquid as needed to get the dough to come together.
- Roll dough. Shape your dough into a large ball. Then, use a rolling pin to roll the cookie dough out until it is about ¼-inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out your cookies and place them onto the baking sheet.
- Bake. Bake the cookies at 325°F (160°C/Gas Mark 3) for 10-12 minutes. Your cookies will look under-cooked, but remove them from the oven, and they will continue to bake on the baking sheet.
- Cool. After cooling on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, transfer your cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Vanilla Vegan Sugar Cookie Frosting
- Beat. Using your stand mixer or a hand mixer, beat together ½ cup (103 grams) of vegetable shortening and 1 teaspoon (5 milliliters) of vanilla extract until smooth.
- Add ingredients. Add the 4 cups (480 grams) of confectioners sugar and 4 tablespoons (59 milliliters) of water in altering amounts, mixing until thoroughly blended.
- Add water. Gradually add small increments of water while consistently mixing until the frosting reaches your desired consistency.
- Add color. Add your favorite type of natural food coloring. *Any cruelty-free food coloring brand like TruColor.
- Frost. Apply the frosting onto your cooled cookies either by spreading it or using a piping technique.
🍴 What To Serve With Vegan Sugar Cookies
For a delicious vegan dessert spread, you can pair these sugar cookies with my vanilla nice cream that's made from bananas and my fresh fruit salad (use agave or maple syrup in place of honey). To keep it simple, a tall glass of your favorite milk alternative would be tasty too! Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Tips & Recipe Notes
- Using vegetable shortening as the base for the frosting results in an ultra-white color that is easy to color.
- You can make these cookies with melted coconut oil or vegan butter. The version made with oil will be slightly crispier with a texture similar to shortbread, while the version with butter will be softer.
- I recommend using a quality vanilla extract for the best flavor since this is a key flavor in these vegan sugar cookies.
- If you don’t want to make cutout cookies, the dough can be rolled into balls and flattened before baking.
- If desired, you can place the dough into a sealed food storage bag and refrigerate it for up to 2 days before rolling it out, cutting, and baking.
🥡 Storing
Place your cookies in an airtight container or resealable bag and keep them at room temperature for up to 3-5 days.
Freezing Vegan Sugar Cookies
For longer storage, you can freeze your completely cooled, frosted vegan cookies in a freezer bag. Enjoy within 3 months. Thaw overnight in your fridge.
You can freeze the cookie dough before baking for up to 3 months when wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container.
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❓ Recipe FAQs
If your frosting is too funny, you might have added too much water. Start with 2 tablespoons and gradually add more until you reach your desired consistency. You can add small amounts of powdered sugar to make your frosting thicker.
You can use natural food colorings derived from fruits, vegetables, and plants, like beet juice or hibiscus powder (pink/red), matcha tea powder or spirulina (green/blue), or turmeric powder (yellow).
Absolutely! Make sure to use a blend of gluten-free flour that can place all-purpose flour to a 1:1 ratio. The texture might be different than the results of this recipe.
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📖 Recipe Card
Vegan Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Vegan Sugar Cookies
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour (or spelt, or oat flour)
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sugar (organic, or unrefined if desired)
- 6 tablespoon coconut oil (melted, or use melted vegan butter)
- 2-3 tablespoon almond milk (or water, or oat milk, coconut milk, etc)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1 teaspoon almond extract)
Vegan Sugar Cookie Frosting
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or extract flavoring of choice)
- 4 cups confectioners sugar (½ of a 2-pound bag)
- 4 tablespoon water (2-4 tablespoons, start with 2 tablespoons)
- food coloring (any vegan food coloring brand like TruColor)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
Vegan Sugar Cookie Dough
- Preheat your oven to 325°F (160°C/Gas Mark 3) and line a baking sheet with some parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (1½ cups all-purpose flour, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ cup sugar) until everything is incorporated.
- Stir in the melted 6 tablespoon coconut oil, 2-3 tablespoon almond milk, and 2 teaspoon vanilla extract to form a dough. The dough will be dry at first, but will then turn into a typical cookie dough after a minute or so of mixing. *Add a drizzle more liquid as needed to get the dough to come together.
- Shape your dough into a large ball. Then, use a rolling pin to roll the cookie dough out until it is about ¼-inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut out your cookies and place them onto the baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies at 325°F (160°C/Gas Mark 3) for 10-12 minutes. Your cookies will look under-cooked, but remove them from the oven and they will continue to bake on the baking sheet.
- After cooling on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, transfer your cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Vegan Sugar Cookie Frosting
- Using your stand mixer or a hand mixer, beat together ½ cup vegetable shortening and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth.
- Add the 4 cups confectioners sugar and 4 tablespoon water in altering amounts, mixing until thoroughly blended.
- Gradually add small increments of water while consistently mixing, until the frosting reaches your desired consistency.
- Add your favorite type of natural food coloring. *Any cruelty-free food coloring brand like TruColor.
- Apply the frosting onto your cooled cookies either by spreading it or using a piping technique.
Notes
- Using vegetable shortening as the base for the frosting results in an ultra-white color that is easy to color.
- You can make these cookies with melted coconut oil or vegan butter. The version made with oil will be slightly crispier with a texture similar to shortbread while the version with butter will be softer.
- I recommend using a quality vanilla extract for the best flavor since this is a key flavor in these vegan sugar cookies.
- If you don’t want to make cutout cookies, the dough can be rolled into balls and flattened before baking.
- If desired, you can place the dough into a sealed food storage bag and refrigerate it for up to 2 days before rolling it out, cutting, and baking.
- To store: Place your cookies in an airtight container or resealable bag and keep them at room temperature for up to 3-5 days.
- To freeze: For longer storage, you can freeze your completely cooled frosted vegan cookies in a freezer bag. Enjoy within 3 months. Thaw overnight in your fridge. You can freeze the cookie dough before baking for up to 3 months when wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container.
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