Soft vegan sugar cookies

Name: Soft vegan sugar cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/3 cup softened unsalted vegan butter (such as Miyoko's); 2 Tbsp vegetable oil; 3/4 cup granulated sugar; 3/4 cup powdered sugar; 3 Tbsp aquafaba (juice from a can of chickpeas or light beans); 2 tsp vanilla extract; 1/8 tsp almond extract; 1 Tbsp coconut milk; 2 cups cake flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 cup softened unsalted vegan butter (such as Miyoko's); 3 cups powdered sugar; 2 Tbsp coconut milk; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1/8 tsp almond extract; 1/4 tsp salt; Food coloring; Vegan sprinkles

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Nothing says fall or winter like soft vegan sugar cookies. These frosted cookies are perfect for a dreary afternoon in the warm kitchen, any time of year. They'll impress your guests, and limit the mess.

soft vegan sugar cookie with pillow of frosting and sprinkles — Dying to take a bite of this cookie...

Sugar cookies not your thing? Check out these chocolate chunk cookies or kitchen sink cookies. Want something else frosted? This carrot cake bread is divine.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions & Variations
Equipment
Storage
Frequently asked questions
Top tip
Soft vegan sugar cookies
Make them with me!
Food safety

Ingredients

vegan butter, powdered sugar, granulated sugar, vegetable oil, coconut milk, chickpea juice (aka aquafaba), salt, almond extract, vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda, cake flour — Ingredients - mostly pantry staples

Wet ingredients:

Softened unsalted vegan butter (such as Miyoko's). Soften for 1-2 hours at room temp. Vegan butter melts faster than dairy butter.
Vegetable oil
Granulated sugar - classic for a sugar cookie
Powdered sugar - for a soft cookie
Aquafaba aka juice from a can of chickpeas or light beans. It is a FANTASTIC egg replacer for cookies
Vanilla extract
Almond extract
Coconut milk

Dry ingredients:

Cake flour for a more delicate crumb
Baking powder
Baking soda
Salt

Frosting:

Softened unsalted vegan butter (such as Miyoko's) - see above
Powdered sugar
Coconut milk (for thinning as needed)
Vanilla extract
Almond extract
Salt
Food coloring (not pictured)

Optional:

Vegan sprinkles - Sweetapolita has a great collection of vegan sprinkles!

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Let's get into it!

First, prepare dry ingredients. Combine cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl and stir gently to combine. Set aside.

vegetable oil and butter combining for sugar cookies — Homogenous mixture of butter and vegetable oil

Now prepare wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, beat softened unsalted vegan butter and vegetable oil with hand mixer until smooth and homogenous.

batter thinning out with sugar and other wet ingredients — Add the sugars, then other wet ingredients.

Add granulated sugar, powdered sugar and beat until combined. Then add aquafaba, vanilla, almond extract and coconut milk and mix again. It's ok if it looks a little wet.

dough thickening with addition of dry ingredients — Dough is complete with dry ingredients - time to scoop

In two batches, add dry ingredients to wet, mixing in between. Form into golf ball sized scoops, and chill for at least 10 minutes.

left side has deeper cracks while right side has shallower cracks and thicker cookies — Un-chilled dough (left) vs chilled dough (right) - let that dough chill!

Place balls onto a lined cookie sheet, and bake for 10-12 minutes. Do not flatten the dough balls - they will spread as they bake.

There is a very fine line between under-baking and over-baking these soft vegan sugar cookies. They should not have any golden brown color around the edges. When they come out of the oven, the top should be barely set - if you touch the top of the cookie, it may jiggle slightly, but you shouldn’t be able to see where you touched it.

two vegan frosting colors - pink and orange — Smooth frosting with gorgeous fall colors!

Using a hand mixer, beat all frosting ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl until homogenous. Add food coloring and mix until you have your desired color.

vegan sugar cookie with a bite taken out — Perfectly frosted sugar cookie with sprinkles

Once cookies have cooled completely, frost using a knife or offset spatula. Finally, add sprinkles. Store at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Hint: it is OK to underbake these cookies a little bit - we aren't dealing with raw eggs, so the dough is safe to eat as well!

Substitutions & Variations

This recipe is already vegan and naturally, dairy free. I do not suggest making many alterations. Baking is a science!

If you're looking for a non-vegan version of this cookie, Sarah and Sofi from Broma Bakery do a fantastic job!

If you need a gluten-free variation (though not vegan), Daniela from The Gluten Free Austrian will have something to satisfy your cookie craving. She is a professional pastry chef, after all.

If you're not a fan of almond extract, you can leave it out or replace with the same amount of lemon extract in the cookie for a different vibe. It already has some vanilla, so you're set!

Equipment

For these soft vegan sugar cookies, you'll need:

Measuring cups & spoons
2 mixing bowls for wet and dry ingredients, and later on, frosting
Metal sheet trays lined with parchment paper (or nonstick sheet trays)
Hand mixer for beating cookie dough and frosting
Ice cream scoop for scooping uniform dough balls
Offset spatula for frosting cookies (a regular knife or spoon also works)
Cooling rack

Storage

Store the cookies in the refrigerator until ready to eat. They will survive on the counter at room temp, but do not cover with plastic as it will stick to the frosting. I have a cake container that converts to a cookie container that I use.

Frequently asked questions

How do you replace eggs in vegan sugar cookies?

There are a few good replacements for eggs in cookies. Aquafaba and flax eggs are two of the best. Aquafaba is the juice from a can of chickpeas, and flax "eggs" are made by combining ground flaxseeds with water. This recipe uses aquafaba. In general, 3 tablespoons of aquafaba equals one egg, while 2 tablespoons equals one egg white.

If you plans to adapt a non-vegan recipe, don't forget you may need to play around with the leavener ratio. In this case, we increased the amount of baking powder.

Why is my vegan icing melting?

Vegan butter has a different melting point than dairy butter. So it melts more quickly when squeezed out of a piping bag.

While adding more sugar sometimes help, it can result in a dessert that is too sweet.

To keep frosting from melting, there are a few things you can do. First, turn down the AC - it does make a difference! Second, handle icing as little as possible, especially in a piping bag. Third, store frosted treats in the refrigerator.

Top tip

Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 15 mins before baking, otherwise the dough will be too runny. When in doubt, under-bake these cookies for a soft result. They're vegan, so there's no danger from raw eggs.