This is the only recipe for Vegan Sugar Cookies you’ll ever need! Easy to make and with soft, melt-in-your-mouth bites, these perfect cookies are almost as much fun to eat as they are to decorate with vegan icing and sprinkles.
More sugar cookie-themed desserts you’ll love: Vegan Lofthouse Cookies, Vegan Sugar Cookie Bars and Chocolate Sugar Cookies!
My Vegan Sugar Cookies are a holiday staple and for good reason! These cookies are soft and buttery with delicate flavors and elaborate icing decoration. My family and I have a ton of fun every holiday season cutting them out with different cookie cutters and playing around with the easy vegan icing and sprinkles!
They’re truly the vegan Christmas cookies of my dreams not only because they’re too sweet and delicious to resist, but also because they’re easy to make. The cookie dough comes together in a pinch and stays soft from beginning to end. Say goodbye to dry and crumbly cookies!
Saving the best for last, the easy vegan icing in this vegan sugar cookie recipe is as shimmery and sweet as traditional royal icing. Customize it with as much food coloring as you like, then pipe it onto the cookies. Just like me and my family, I know you’ll have a ton of fun and make new memories with all of the fun decorations you like.
Why these are the best vegan frosted sugar cookies
- The ultimate vegan Christmas cookie recipe – Just like classic sugar cookies, my vegan sugar cookies are delicate, soft, and a must-have treat for the holiday season. Plus, they keep their shape in the oven.
- Fun to decorate with icing – Make the easy royal icing dupe, add food coloring, and pipe it onto the cookies to make each one more eye-catching than the last.
- Easy to make – This vegan sugar cookies recipe comes together easily using less than 10 ingredients!
- 200+ 5-star ratings! It’s official–these cookies are a hit! Here’s what my readers have been saying…
“I absolutely LOVE this recipe & have made it again & again & again. The cookies are so buttery & delicious, almost like a shortbread, but better!” – Julianne
“I’ve made this recipe now for two years – Holiday cookies, Halloween cookies, Easter cookies … you name it. Perfect. It’s the best Vegan sugar cookie adaptation I’ve found. THANK YOU NORA! Huge for us!” – Karin
”I’ve made these a few years in a row now and they’re so soft and delicious every time! Best sugar cookie ever!” – Sarah
How to make vegan sugar cookies
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
Beat the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy and smooth. Beat in the sugar until the mixture is fluffy. Next, mix in the plant milk, cornstarch, vanilla, and almond extract until combined.
Slowly mix 1 cup of flour along with the baking powder and salt into the wet ingredients. Add 1 more cup of flour and continue to mix until the dough feels like play dough in your hands (it will still look crumbly).
If the dough feels too wet to roll, mix in another 1/4 cup of flour. I always end up using the full 2 1/4 cups of flour.
Scoop the dough out of the bowl and push it together with your hands. Divide it into two balls.
Place a sheet of parchment paper on a flat surface and sprinkle a little flour on top. Add one dough ball to the parchment paper, sprinkle some flour on top, and roll it out with a rolling pin to ¼-inch thickness. Cover with another sheet of parchment on top.
Repeat this step with the second ball of dough, then chill the flattened dough in the fridge.
After chilling, use your favorite cookie cutters to cut fun shapes out of the sugar cookie dough. Lay the cookies onto the lined baking sheets.
Continue re-rolling the scrap dough and cutting it into shapes! Nothing goes to waste here.
Bake the cookies until they’re just starting to turn golden.
Set them aside to cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. Make sure they’re completely cool before decorating with icing.
How to decorate sugar cookies
You can either get really fancy and pipe the icing onto the cookies with a piping bag and fine tip or keep things simple by spreading my Vegan Buttercream or another frosting on the cookies with a spatula! Below, I’ll show you how to decorate the prettiest sugar cookies:
- Make a thick batch of icing by only using 1 tablespoon of milk so the icing doesn’t spill over the cookie edges.
- Scoop the icing into several bowls and stir 1 to 3 drops of gel food coloring into each portion.
- Transfer the colorful sugar cookie icing to one or multiple piping bags (I used Wilton Bags) fitted with a fine tip.
- Trace the cookie edges with your icing, wait for it to set, then fill in the center with more icing. Add some sprinkles as well and have fun!
Check out this helpful video for more guidance and sugar cookie decorating tips.
They will look like this when they come out of the oven. See how they don’t puff up a bunch or spread like some sugar cookie recipes do? Cookie perfection.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, chilling is a must! If you skip this part, the sugar cookie dough will be too soft and sticky, which will make the cookies hard to work with and cause them to spread in the oven. Luckily, I found that rolling out the dough onto parchment paper is the secret to a quick chill time (about 1 hour) so you can cut the cookies and bake them as fast as possible!
Yes, I have had good results making these cookies with King Arthur’s measure for measure gluten-free flour. If you don’t use this brand, use another quality gluten-free baking flour.
My go-to food coloring brand is Watkins, which is vegan-friendly. Several Wilton brand gel food colorings are vegan, too. Always read the label carefully to ensure the brand you’re buying doesn’t contain any animal products. Or, you can try making your own vegan gel food coloring.
Absolutely! Once the dough has come together in a ball, wrap it in a layer of plastic and store it in the fridge for 2 to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Thaw the dough in the fridge overnight and set it on the kitchen counter for a few minutes so it can soften before you roll it flat.
Place the leftover vegan sugar cookies in an airtight container (or gift bags if you’re gifting them for the holidays) and store them at room temperature for 2 or 3 days or in the fridge for 5 days. The baked and unfrosted cookies freeze well for about 3 months, too.
Want more vegan Christmas cookies?
- Ginger Crinkle Cookies or Vegan Ginger Cookies
- Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
- Perfect Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Shortbread Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Vegan Snowball Cookies
The Best Vegan Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies
- 3/4 cup vegan butter, slightly softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened plant milk soy, almond or oat milk
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract optional, but good
- 2-2 1/4 cups all purpose flour, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Easy Icing
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract optional
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup (can omit, but it makes the icing very shiny)
- 1-2 tablespoons unsweetened plant milk
Instructions
Sugar Cookies
- In a large bowl either using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the vegan butter for about 1 minute until creamy and smooth. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 2-3 minutes until fluffy and light.
- Now add in the milk, cornstarch, vanilla and almond extract (if using). Beat on high until it is all fully combined, about 1 minute. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add 1 cup of the flour to the wet mixture. Sprinkle the baking powder and salt on top of the flour. Mix on low speed, until just combined. Now add 1 more cup of the flour and continue to mix on low until just combined; don’t over mix. The dough should feel similar to play dough when you work it in your hands, but it will look crumbly in the bowl. If it seems too wet for rolling, add another 1/4 cup of flour. You want the dough to be thick, but not dry. I always use the full 2 1/4 cups of flour. If the dough is too wet, your cookies will spread.
- Using a spatula, scoop all of the dough out of the bowl; use your hands if needed to push it all together. Divide the dough in half and roll into two balls.
- On a flat surface, add a sheet of parchment paper. Sprinkle a little flour on it, then add half the dough. Sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough, and roll it out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Place a sheet of parchment paper on top. Repeat for the second ball of dough, and then stack them with parchment paper. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- Once the dough has been chilled, set it on the counter for 10 minutes while the oven is preheating to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut into desired shapes using a cookie cutter and place them on the prepared baking sheets. Continue re-rolling the dough until it is all used.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, in the middle rack of the oven, until very lightly colored on top and around the edges. They will appear underdone, but they will firm up considerably as they cool. Let them cool for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to let cool completely before icing.
Easy Icing
- Whisk all icing ingredients in a bowl. If it seems too thick, add a little more milk. It should be smooth, glossy and not runny. If too runny, add more powdered sugar. You can dip the cookies in the icing, or use brushes, spoons or a squeeze bottle. See this helpful video on how to decorate sugar cookies with icing.
- *If you want really pretty cookies, first make the icing thicker, by using only 1 tablespoon of plant milk. Using a decorating tip, outline the cookies with the thicker icing. Then add a little more milk to thin it and flood the inside with icing. This way the icing doesn't spill over the cookie edges.
- Decorate with sprinkles as desired. The icing will take several hours to harden completely. The cookies will stay soft for about 5 days at room temperature.
Notes
- Try to get vegan butter sticks if you can; they are easier to bake with. I always use salted vegan butter; if you use unsalted, add a pinch more of salt. Any brand will work, though Miyoko’s is my favorite in terms of flavor.
- Almond extract is optional but it adds a very good flavor to both the cookies and the icing, so use it if you can.
- To correctly measure flour, make sure to spoon and level by scooping the flour into the measuring cup with a spoon and level it off with the back of a knife. If you don’t correctly measure the flour, you can end up with way too much flour and the dough will be dry!
- If you aren’t comfortable using corn syrup, you may omit it. I rarely use it, but it makes cookie icing pretty and shiny and it’s just 1 tablespoon.
- Baked sugar cookies freeze well. You can also freeze the dough.
For everyone asking about making these GF, I did and they turned out amazing! I’m not a big sugar cookie person but even I had a hard time resisting these!! I also made them with water instead of milk and turned out just fine.
Hi Rachel. Thank you for sharing your tips, and positive feedback!
Do you use the unsalted earth balance sticks or regular (with salt)?
Hi Naomi. I use salted butter. Enjoy!
These look amazing! Could we use 100% stone ground whole wheat pastry flour?
They will probably turn out quite a bit different, but it might work!
These cookies turned out perfect! I’ve tried several vegan recipes but this is the best by far!
Hi Claudine. I’m so glad you loved the cookies, and that they turned out great! Thank you for sharing your great feedback!
girl, is the earth balance unsalted? I’ve been looking for it and don’t see any that’s unsalted 🙁
Hi Kathryn. I use salted butter. Enjoy!
Hi Nora,
These tasted really great but it was so difficult to transfer the cut cookies onto the final baking sheet, they kept breaking. Maybe the dough was too wet? I tried to use metric measurements. Does 281 h correspond to 2 cups or 2.25 cups in your recipe?
Sorry to hear that, Anisha. 281g is about 2 1/4 cups of flour. Was the batter sticky as well? Did you add flour to the surface you were rolling them on? If not, it sounds like the batter was wet/not enough flour was used.
I made these *hesitantly* for a friend of mine who is vegan and who’s birthday we are celebrating tomorrow. She loves my normal cookies and is willing to “cheat” for them but I thought, what if she didn’t have to?!
Love how they baked up. I’m wary about the icing but only bc I’ve gotten so used to royal icing. My question, pertains to the icing. Should It be refrigerated bc of that little bit of almond milk??
I’m so glad you’re happy with how they turned out, thanks! They don’t need to be refrigerated, no. Hope she loves them!
Great recipe! I have never tried to make vegan cookies before, so was curious as to how this would work. Fantastic! My vegan coworkers appreciated being included in the treat and non-vegans didn’t miss the eggs or butter. No more difficult to make than sugar cookies with eggs and butter.
I was lazy-ish and did not roll the dough before chilling – was just fine to roll out and cut for me. Also was lazy on the icing and just mixed a bit of almond milk with powdered sugar and it was just fine for my purposes.
Hi Joan. I’m happy to hear you love the recipe! I’m glad your coworkers enjoyed the cookies as well! Sounds like you relaxed and had fun making the cookies! Thank you for sharing your fabulous feedback!
What is the reasoning for not freezing once frosted? Wondering because I was hoping to do this for prep!
The frozen cookies thaw really well, but the icing does not. The texture just isn’t the same and the colors may bleed once thawed (ruining all of your hard work!).
This recipe is amazing. My daughter is vegan and my grandson is allergic to eggs as well. I’m not a great baker but these were so easy and came out perfect. Decorating was a challenge for me. I don’t have a steady hand so I just dipped the cookies in the icing for the main color then used the piping bag for the details and found that to be the best way for me to decorate them.
Hi Amy. I’m glad you loved the sugar cookie recipe! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback and review! How fun that you made these for your daughter and grandson. I know they are beautiful!
Can the baking powder be left out for highly detailed cutters?
Sure, it probably could.
How do you think this would work as one big cookie? I’m looking to make one shaped as a cactus for my daughter’s birthday lol.
I haven’t tried it, so I’m not sure! One large cookie can be tricky because sometimes the edges cook but the middle is raw by the time it’s “done”.
I know this comment is probably too late to be useful to you, but I thought I’d reply in case it would be helpful to anyone else. I regularly bake this recipe as one big cookie to make the best fruit pizza crust! In my case, I lightly grease a Wilton 11” nonstick tart pan, press the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan, then bake at 325 for 18 mins until just beginning to turn pale golden all over. I then top with a cream cheese frosting made with 8 oz vegan cream cheese (I prefer Kite Hill), 1/4 c slightly softened vegan butter (I prefer Miyoko’s), 2 c sifted powdered sugar, and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Just drain any liquid from the cream cheese, then beat the cream cheese and butter for 30 sec- 1 min until just well combined. Add vanilla and beat to combine, then add powdered sugar 1 c at a time and beat on low until just combined. Top with sliced fruit and berries, then brush on a glaze made with apricot preserves diluted with a little water. It’s SO good!! Thank you, thank you Nora for this cookie recipe. I’ve made it time and time again as both cookies and fruit pizzas and everyone raves over both and requests them regularly. Your recipes are always outstanding!
I’m wondering if these could be made gluten free? We made them last year and we’re delicious but now need to be gf and wanting to try them that way maybe with oat flour or a normal gf 1:1 flour?
Hi Aren. I haven’t tested them with gluten free flour, but a 1:1 gluten free flour mix should work!
This will be my first attempt with non dairy butter. Can you use the spread or does it have to be stick?
Sticks are much better if possible. The tub is really difficult to measure especially with something like these cookies. Hope you enjoy!
Hi! I’m so excited to try this recipe! Wondering if it could be used for a fruit pizza? Do you think this dough would work well for a pizza-sized cookie? Thank you so much. 🙂
Pizza-sized cookies can be a little tricky because sometimes the outside is done baking before the middle is ready. You could try it out, but I’m not sure it will work.
Hi Nora! I am wondering if it’s possible for your Royal icing recipe to be “painted” onto after it’s dry, with a watercolor type method of using vegan food coloring + water? (Or if you recommend using a different combo for the watercolor “paint” effect). Thank you!
Hi Kara. Yes, you can paint on the icing after it’s on the cookies! It hardens well and should be an excellent canvas for the food coloring + water mix. Sounds like these are going to be some gorgeous looking cookies!
can oat milk be used for the Almond milk?
Yes, you can use oat milk.
Hello from Greece! My daughter loved your cookies! I have a question, how many days do they stay fresh? I want to make them for a party, and put fondant on them. If I bake them on Friday and put them in bags, will they be ok on Tuesday? Thank you very much!
Hello! How fun my sugar cookies are being baked in Greece! I’m so glad your daughter loves the cookies! The cookies will stay good for 3-5 days at room temperature. You can also freeze them, unfrosted, to keep them fresher. They do start to get stale around day 4. If you freeze them, ensure they are at room temperature before decorating them. I hope this helps!
What size cookie cutters works best?
Any standard size cookie cutter will be just fine.
How many cookies does this recipe make?
Hey Kim, this recipe makes about 24 cookies.
These are the best!! Question: can I use oatmilk instead of almond?
Sure! Thank you!
Wow I am terrible baker, but these directions were so easy! Cookies came out great! I wonder can you add other flavors to the icing or to the cookie dough? Thanks!
That’s wonderful to hear, Laura! Thank you for the great feedback! If you want to customize the flavor, you can use replace the almond and/or vanilla extract with a different flavored extract in the dough or icing, or even add up to 3/4 cup of cocoa powder to make chocolate sugar cookies. Hope this helps!
Hi there,
This recipe is amazing thank you!
I always have cookie dough left over, could you tell me how I could freeze it and also how long it lasts in the fridge unbaked?
Thank you,
Rachel
Hi Rachel, I’m so happy you loved the cookies! You can wrap the leftover dough tightly in plastic and freeze it for up to 3 months.
Hi , would these work with gluten free flour ? Thanks
I haven’t tested them with gluten free flour, but a 1:1 gluten free flour mix should work!
Could I let the cookie dough chill in the fridge for about 24 hours before I cut them out and bake them? Or would that not work??
Hi Bekka. If you chill the dough overnight without rolling it first, the dough will be a bit crumbly and hard to roll out after chilling. It will go much more smoothly if you first roll it out, then chill it. It would be best if you could find a little space, temporarily, for the dough to chill flat. I do stack the dough so it doesn’t take up too much space. You want the cookies going into the oven cold, which helps them not spread or puff up too much. I hope this helps!
I figured after making these cookies at least ten times (or more, I’ve lost count!) in the past few years I should review them. These are the BEST sugar cookies I have ever eaten or made. These do not spread out and hold their shape perfectly, they are soft on the inside and firm on the outside. I always get asked where I got my recipe and people are floored when I tell them it’s vegan! I am set to make a batch right now for Valentine’s Day and can’t wait to gobble them up with my daughter.
Hi Rachel. Thank you for your positive review and feedback! It made my day! I am so glad you are loving the sugar cookies! Have fun making the cookings for Valentine’s Day, and happy cooking!
For the sugar cookies can I use a different milk than almond? I prefer NotMilk brand – which is pea protein based.
Yes, that should work just fine. Thanks!
What flour do you use?
Regular all purpose flour. I use a variety of brands, and always unbleached.
Nora,
I have a cookie order to make next week. Trying to get my ingredients. Can I use Gold Medal all purpose flour?
Hi Michelle. Yes, this all purpose flour should work fine. Happy cooking!