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!
4tablespoonwater(2-4 tablespoons, start with 2 tablespoons)
food coloring(any vegan food coloring brand like TruColor)
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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.