These nostalgic Vegan Sugar Cookies are the perfect combination of sweet, soft and chewy. They are also super easy to make! Only 1 bowl needed easy! Top them with homemade cookie icing (recipe below!) and sprinkles if you're feeling fun! Let's learn how to make them.
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Sugar cookies are one of the best cookies for several reasons - a taste that everyone can get behind, perfect texture and recipe versatility. Have you ever met a person who didn't like sugar cookies? No? Thought so.
These Vegan Sugar Cookies truly check every box. They achieve the perfect chewy texture and the tangy strawberry frosting is absolutely to die for. This recipe creates a much better version of those pink grocery store cookies we all loved.
Want to make Vegan Cut Out Sugar Cookies? Check out this recipe on our site. Want more Tips on How to Make Vegan Cookies? Check out our compilation post!
Ingredients
One of the best things about this recipe is how easy it is! The ingredients are mostly staples you'll already have on hand AND they can be mixed together using only 1 bowl. Your grocery list is below!
Cookie Ingredients
- Vegan Butter (1 cup): Provides fat for texture and flavor, creating a tender and buttery cookie.
- Sugar (1 ¼ cups): Sweetens the cookies and also helps with their texture, contributing to their chewiness and helping them spread during baking.
- Baking Soda (½ teaspoon) and Baking Powder (½ teaspoon): Act as leavening agents, helping the cookies rise and giving them a lighter texture.
- Sea Salt (½ teaspoon): Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavor of the cookies.
- Vanilla Extract (1 teaspoon): Adds flavor and aroma to the cookies, enhancing their overall taste.
- Almond Extract (½ teaspoon): Provides a subtle almond flavor that complements sweetness and adds depth of flavor.
- Nondairy Milk (2 tablespoons): Adds moisture to the dough, helping bind the ingredients together and creating a softer texture.
- All-Purpose Flour (2 ½ cups): Provides structure to the cookies, giving them their shape and texture. Do not substitute another flour.
Cookie Icing Ingredients
- Vegan Butter (½ cup): Forms the base of the icing, providing richness and creaminess.
- Powdered Sugar (2 ½ cups): Sweetens the icing and helps thicken it to a spreadable consistency.
- Nondairy Milk (1 tablespoon): Thins out the icing to achieve the desired consistency for spreading.
- Vanilla Extract (1 teaspoon): Adds flavor to the icing, enhancing its overall taste.
- Pinch of Salt: Balances the sweetness of the icing and enhances its flavor.
- Strawberry Powder (2 tablespoons, optional): Adds natural strawberry flavor and color to the icing. This is optional and can be omitted or replaced with vegan food coloring if desired.
Why You'll Love These Vegan Sugar Cookies
- Made with only 1 bowl
- No fancy methods or equipment necessary
- Nostalgia, nostalgia, nostalgia
- Soft, sweet AND chewy
- Gorgeous, tangy strawberry frosting
- Super colorful and fun
- Come together in under 1 hour
*Looking for gluten free? Check out these Fluffy Sugar Cookies from Minimalist Baker!
How to Make Vegan Sugar Cookies (with pictures!)
Please see the recipe card at the bottom of the page for full instructions and ingredient measurements.
Begin by creaming together the vegan butter and sugar together in a large bowl using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer. Add the leaveners, salt, nondairy milk and extracts to the bowl and beat again until ingredients are evenly distributed. Beat in the flour until just combined. Do not over-mix. Cover the bowl and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Scoop 2-3 tablespoon balls of cookie dough onto a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Space them out by about 2 inches. Bake cookies in an oven that has been preheated to 350 degrees F (175 C) for 12-13 minutes.
Allow cookie to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Prepare the frosting while the cookies cool. Whisk together all of the frosting ingredients together in a medium-sized mixing bowl until smooth.
Spread the frosting onto the cooled cookies using an offset spatula. Top with multicolored vegan sprinkles if desired.
Strawberry Powder vs Pink Vegan Food Coloring
Both strawberry powder and pink vegan food coloring can be used to add a pink hue to cookie icing but they have some key differences:
Strawberry Powder
- Natural Flavor: Strawberry powder is made from dried strawberries and provides a natural strawberry flavor to the icing. It adds a subtle fruity taste that complements the sweetness of the cookies.
- Natural Color: Strawberry powder imparts a pale pink color to the icing. The intensity of the pink may vary depending on the amount of powder used and the concentration of the strawberries.
- Nutritional Benefits: Since it's made from real strawberries, strawberry powder may offer some nutritional benefits, such as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Food Coloring
- Artificial Color: Vegan food coloring is typically synthetic and provides a wide range of vibrant colors. Pink food coloring specifically adds a bright pink hue to the icing.
- No Flavor: Vegan food coloring typically does not add any flavor to the icing. It only provides color without altering the taste of the icing.
- Consistency: Vegan food coloring offers consistent color intensity and can be adjusted easily by controlling the amount added to achieve the desired shade of pink.
Choosing between strawberry powder and pink vegan food coloring depends on your preference for natural flavor and color versus artificial color intensity. If you prefer a subtle pink hue with a hint of strawberry flavor, strawberry powder is a great choice. If you want a more vibrant pink color without any added flavor, vegan food coloring is the better option.
Tips for Making Vegan Sugar Cookies
- Measure your flour correctly! Sugar cookies are a little high-maintenance. Too much or too little flour and they don't turn out very well. To accurately measure your flour, fluff it up before measuring. Use a spoon to transfer it from its container to the measuring cup and then level with a knife. You can also weigh it with a kitchen scale. 1 cup of all purpose flour is 120 grams.
- Chill the Dough: Do not skip chilling! After preparing the cookie dough, chill it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before baking. Chilled dough results in better cookie texture, flavor and appearance.
- No peaking! While opening the oven door to check on your cookies may seem productive it is NOT! Every time you open the door (even just a crack) you are letting out a significant amount of heat which leads to large fluctuations in temperature. This will negatively impact your results.
- Get ahead! Sugar cookies are a great make-ahead recipe. The longer the dough is chilled (up to 48 hours) the better. I like to make the cookie dough the day before I plan to bake, frost and serve them. This guarantees the best results AND will ensure you serve the freshest cookies.
- Be patient! Your cookies need to cool completely before you frost them. I know it can be a pain to wait but it's super important. Sugar cookie icing is iconic for being wet when you spread it on and drying hard and shiny. If you want to achieve this effect, spread your icing on cool cookies.
What is the secret to a good sugar cookie?
There are a few things you can do that will help you achieve perfect sugar cookies:
- Chill the dough! After the cookie dough is prepared you must chill it in the refrigerator. Overnight is best but 1 hour at the least will suffice. If you are rolling out your dough to cut out shapes, chill the dough for an additional 15-20 minutes on the baking sheet before placing it in the oven.
- Use almond extract in addition to vanilla extract. These two flavors together bring about the ultimate sugar cookie.
- Do not over-mix the dough! I know it can be difficult to hold yourself back sometimes but stop mixing as soon as the dough comes together. Failing to do so will result in tough, dense cookies.
- Bake sugar cookies on parchment paper. The parchment ensures the bottoms of the cookies will not burn or darken in the oven and it soaks up excess oil.
Frequently Asked Questions
While there are pros and cons to baking with both butter and shortening, butter wins out almost every time for one simple reason - flavor. While shortening can help your cookies hold their shape better than butter, its overall lack of flavor makes it the less appealing option.
Cookies get tough and hard due to a lack of moisture. This can occur in several ways. Sugar cookies can lose moisture in the oven if they are over-baked. They can also lose it if left to cool on the hot baking sheet for too long. Moisture loss can also take place over time as cookies become less and less fresh. This is how staleness begins to occur.
Sugar cookies will not hold their shape if the dough isn't cold when it enters the oven. If you are making spoon drop sugar cookies (round cookies), you need only to chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before baking. If you roll out your dough and cut in with cookie cutters, it is important to chill your dough once more on the baking sheet for 15 minutes.
The moment you take your cookies out of the oven, place the baking sheet on a level, heat-proof surface. Take a 3 ½ to 4-inch circle cookie cutter (or a 3 ½ to 4-inch glass or mug) and place it over the top of a cookie. Gently swirl is around the edges on the cookie until perfect roundness is achieved. Cookies will cool in this shape.
How to Store Vegan Sugar Cookies
To keep your vegan sugar cookies fresh and delicious, here's how to store them properly:
- Cool Completely: Allow the cookies to cool completely on a wire rack before storing them. If they're even slightly warm, condensation can form inside the storage container, leading to soggy cookies.
- Choose the Right Container: Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container. Use a container with a tight-fitting lid to prevent air and moisture from getting in and causing the cookies to become stale.
- Room Temperature: For short-term storage (2-3 days), store the container of cookies at room temperature in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight and heat sources.
- Refrigeration: If you need to store the cookies for up to a week, or if your kitchen is particularly warm and humid, you can store them in the refrigerator.
- Freezing: If you want to store the cookies for an extended period, they can be frozen unfrosted. They can be stored in the freezer for up to a month. Thaw the cookies at room temperature before serving.
By following these storage tips, you can keep your vegan sugar cookies fresh and enjoyable for as long as possible, ensuring they're ready to be enjoyed whenever you have a craving for a sweet treat! You can also check out this post on how to keep your cookies fresh!
If you make this recipe please tag @censoredbaker on Instagram and leave a review below!
PrintVegan Sugar Cookies
Soft, chewy vegan sugar cookies spread with pink strawberry icing and topped with multicolored sprinkles. Super easy and made with only 1 bowl.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Bake Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 16 3-inch Cookies 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
For the Cookies
1 c vegan butter
1 ¼ c sugar
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract
2 tbsp nondairy milk
2 ½ c all purpose flour
For the Icing
½ c vegan butter, softened
2 ½ c powdered sugar
1 tbsp nondairy milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
2 tbsp strawberry powder*, optional
a couple drops vegan food coloring (if not using strawberry powder)
vegan sprinkles, optional
Instructions
- Cookie Dough: Cream together vegan butter and sugar in a large bowl using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer until light and fluffy. This should take about 1 minute. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, vanilla extract, almond extract and nondairy milk to the bowl and beat until ingredients are well-distributed throughout. Beat in the flour until just combined. Do not over-mix.
- Chill: Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes. Cookie dough can keep like this for up to 48 hours.
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Bake: Drop 2-3 tablespoon balls of dough on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake on center rack of preheated oven for 12-13 minutes or until cookies begin to appear slightly golden around the edges. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare the Frosting: If you plan to frost your cookies, prepare the icing while they cool. Add softened vegan butter and powdered sugar to a bowl. Whisk together by hand until smooth. Add nondairy milk, vanilla extract, and salt to the bowl. Whisk again to distribute ingredients. If you would like to add color to the icing, add in the strawberry powder or pink vegan food coloring and whisk.
- Frost and Serve: Once cookies are completely cool, spread a thick layer of icing over the top of each. Sprinkle with multicolored vegan sprinkles if desired.
Notes
*Frosted cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. Unfrosted sugar cookies can be frozen for up to 1 month.
*If you can't find strawberry powder, it's very simple to make your own. Place freeze dried strawberries into a food processor and pulse until a pink powder forms. I like to run it through a fine mesh sieve before adding it to the icing to catch any seeds are larger clumps. This ingredient is optional here.
*If you want to roll out the dough and use cookie cutters you absolutely can! Prepare cookie dough and chill as recipe directs. Generously sprinkle flour over a clean surface and roll out the dough about ¼ inch thick using a rolling pin. Cut out shapes with your cookie cutters and transfer cookies to lined baking sheet using a spatula. Chill again for about 15 minutes. Bake as directed above. If you notice the dough starting to become too malleable during the rolling process place it back in the fridge to chill until firm. Repeat process until all dough is used.
More Vegan Cookie Recipes
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Double Chocolate Cookies
- Vegan Strawberry Crinkle Cookies
- Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
