This recipe for Easy Vegan Sugar Cookies is eggless and dairy-free, and the cookies bake up soft and chewy. And you only need 8 ingredients! Decorate them with sugar, spices, or a simple vegan royal icing for a festive holiday cookie.
It's officially that time of year! And by that "time of year," I mean holiday cookie season. It's the perfect time to make a batch of classic Vegan Gingerbread Cookies or Vegan Shortbread Cookies. Or if you like something less traditional, make a batch of my Vegan Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies!
And these Vegan Sugar Cookies are as classic as it gets. These cookies are soft and chewy and hold their shape perfectly. And they are a great canvas to sprinkle with colored sugar, spices, or to decorate with royal icing. So let's make them!
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- This recipe only requires 7 simple ingredients.
- And they are so easy to make!
- These Vegan Sugar Cookies hold their shape perfectly when baked.
- They are soft, chewy, and packed with vanilla extract.
- And most importantly, they are absolutely delicious!
Ingredient Notes
Vegan Butter: I love Country Crock Plant Butter Sticks best. They taste great and are really easy to find.
Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar is a key ingredient in vegan royal icing! You don't have to make the icing if you want to decorate your cookies with sugar, sprinkles, or spices. But it makes the cookies very festive.
Non-Dairy Milk: I used oat milk, but any non-dairy milk will work.
Baking Powder: Baking powder adds lift, but minimal spread, so the cookies are soft and chewy, but hold their shape.
Decorations: I like to add rainbow sprinkles to my cookies, but you can also use colored sugar or candies!
Food Coloring: You can use any food coloring you have for this recipe. Sometimes I use gel food coloring for more vibrant colors, but today I used beet powder and turmeric to create pink and yellow!
How To Make This Recipe
Step 1. In a large bowl using a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, cream together non-dairy butter and sugar until well combined and fluffy.
Step 2. Add the non-dairy milk and vanilla and mix on low speed until well combined.
Step 3. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and mix until just combined.
The cookie dough should stick together when lightly squeezed.
Step 4. Scrape the vegan sugar cookie dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and use your hands to form it into a flat disk.
The more you flatten it now, the easier rolling will be!
Wrap the disk tightly and place it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours, or up to 3 days.
Step 5. Lightly flour a work surface, and roll the cookie dough out to ¼ inch thickness.
Then, use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and transfer the cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Step 6. Bake the vegan sugar cookies in a 350°F oven for 11-13 minutes. They will be lightly golden around the edges.
Allow the cookies to cool completely before decorating.
Step 7. In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar and non-dairy milk until well combined and smooth.
Then, divide the icing into smaller bowls and use food coloring to make desired colors.
Step 8. Scoop the icing into piping bags and pipe it onto your cookies as desired.
Then, use any additional toppings you like, such as sprinkles!
This part is fun to do with friends or kids!
FAQs
I like to use vegan royal icing. Other options include cinnamon & nutmeg, sprinkles, or granulated or turbinado sugar. The other options should all be added to cookies BEFORE they are baked.
Store them in an airtight container stored at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Yes! The dough can be made up to 3 days ahead of time. Store it in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Yes, the sugar cookie dough requires chill time. But once you roll and cut the cookies into shapes, you can put them right in the oven.
Expert Tips and Tricks
If you are decorating with royal icing, I highly recommend using piping bags, not just ziplock bags. Piping bags are much sturdier and make it easier to control the icing.
If your dough cracks when rolling it out, allow it to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes, then continue rolling out.
Once you have cut your first round of Vegan Sugar Cookies, you can press the scraps back together and roll and cut them immediately! There is no need to chill the dough between rolls.
Looking for More Holiday Cookie Recipes?
If you tried this Vegan Sugar Cookies recipe or any other recipe on Earthly Provisions, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- 1 Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
- 1 Rubber Spatula
- 1 Cookie Sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- 1 Rolling Pin
- Various Cookie Cutters
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoon Non-Dairy Butter
- ¾ Cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 tablespoon Non-Dairy Milk
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- Turbinado Sugar, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Colored Sugar optional, see note
Vegan Royal Icing
- 3 Cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
- ¼ Cup Non-Dairy Milk
- Food Coloring optional, see note!
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, cream the non-dairy butter and granulated sugar until well combined and fluffy.8 tablespoon Non-Dairy Butter, ¾ Cup Granulated Sugar
- Then, add the non-dairy milk and vanilla and mix no low to combine.2 tablespoon Non-Dairy Milk, 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and mix until it forms a dough. The dough should stick together when lightly pressed.2 Cups All-Purpose Flour, ½ teaspoon Baking Powder, ¼ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- Scrape the dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap and form it into a flat disc. The flatter you make the disc, the easier it will be to roll the dough out! Then, place the disc into the refrigerator for at least two hours, or up to 3 days.
- Preheat oven to 350*F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove dough from the refrigerator. Lightly flour your work surface as well as a rolling pin. Roll the dough out to ¼ inch thickness. Then, use cookie cutters to cut shapes out and transfer the cookies to a lined baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space between each cookie. (See Note!)
- Press the cookie dough scraps back into a disc and roll out again immediately. Then, continue pressing into a disc and rolling back out until the dough is gone.
- If you want to decorate with colored sugar, cinnamon, or turbinado sugar, sprinkle the cookies with them before baking. If you want to ice the cookies with royal icing, leave them plain and bake the cookies, one tray at a time, in a 350*F oven for 11-13 minutes or until the edges are just barely golden brown.Turbinado Sugar, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Colored Sugar
- Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
For the Royal Icing
- In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar and non-dairy milk. Mix until completely smooth. Then divide the icing into 3 smaller bowls and mix with a couple drops of food coloring or powdered food colorings. See note!3 Cups Powdered Sugar, sifted, ¼ Cup Non-Dairy Milk, Food Coloring
- Scoop the icing into piping bags and pipe onto the cooled sugar cookies as desired. Then, feel free to top with sprinkles, sugar, or candies and enjoy.
Valerie Taylor Shannon says
It was the perfect little cut out…after I made friends with the dough. To be fair, I haven’t had much practice with cut-outs. Will use over and over again!
Megan Calipari says
So happy to hear you enjoyed these!