Vegan vanilla sugar cookies - these easy vegan vanilla biscuits are great for making cut-outs as they hold their shape really well.
Use this recipe as a base to decorate as you like. Perfect for birthdays, Christmas, Halloween, Easter or Valentine's day!
This vegan vanilla sugar cookie recipe is ideal for making all sorts of shapes of cookie as they don't spread as they bake and hold their shape perfectly.
Sugar cookies are very American, in the UK these would just be called vanilla biscuits. Whatever you call them though they are delicious and easy to make!
They are great plain, but this is also the ideal recipe for making decorated cookies for all occasions. I shall leave that bit up to you to decide!
What Do I Need To Make Vegan Vanilla Sugar Cookies?:
Vegan butter: Please, for the love of holy baking, use a block butter/margarine to make these sugar cookies, not the spreadable kind in a tub.
Spreadable will likely make the dough too soft to roll out properly, and the biscuits may be more tough as it contains more water. I recommend Naturli Vegan Block or Flora Plant Butter.
Caster sugar: Caster sugar is best for these as it dissolves easily, making the dough nice and smooth. Golden caster sugar will add a nice hint of caramel flavour. Granulated sugar will work if that is all you have.
Don't use brown sugar, coconut sugar, sweeteners or liquid sugars as that will affect the texture of the cookies.
Plain flour: Just regular plain (all-purpose) flour is best here. I haven't tried making these gluten-free.
Cornflour (cornstarch): Adding a little bit of cornflour (cornstarch) gives these cookies a great texture and also helps to stop them from spreading. If you don't have any then you can swap it for an equal weight of plain (all-purpose) flour.
Vanilla extract: Use a good quality vanilla extract for the best flavour. If you have it then vanilla bean paste would be amazing instead.
Milk: A dash of non-dairy milk replaces the moisture from the usual egg to bring the dough together. Any kind will work but I always use unsweetened soy.
Salt: A little bit of salt balances the sweetness and brings out the flavour.
How To Make Vegan Vanilla Sugar Cookies:
(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)
Cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy then whisk in the vanilla extract.
Sift together the flour, cornflour and salt and add them to the butter mixture. Stir until it starts to clump together.
Add the milk and mix to form a soft dough. If it seems like it will be too sticky to roll out then add a tablespoon of flour. Be careful not to add too much, the dough will firm up once it is chilled.
Knead the dough by hand very briefly, just until it is smooth.
Form it into a disc, wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until it is firm enough to roll out.
Roll the dough out on a floured surface or between two sheets of baking parchment to about 5mm / ¼ inch thick.
Dip your cookie cutters in flour and cut out as many shapes as you can. Re-roll the trimmings and cut out more cookies.
Place them slightly spaced apart on a couple of baking sheets lined with baking parchment.
Freeze for 15 minutes, or refrigerate for 30, then bake for 11-20 minutes depending on the size of the cookies and how crisp/soft you want them.
Top Tips:
As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
Don't overwork the dough as that will make the cookies tough. Just knead it very briefly until it is smooth and then stop.
Chilling the cookies before baking them helps to ensure that they don't spread. I don't recommend skipping this step!
For soft sugar cookies, bake them until there is just a hint of golden brown around the edges (the ones in the photos are soft baked). For crisper ones, bake until they are more uniformly golden. The bake time will vary depending on the size of the cut outs so keep an eye on them!
As all ovens vary and the bake time will be different depending on the size of your cookie cutters and whether you want soft or crunchy cookies, I suggest baking a couple of test cookies first to figure out the perfect bake time for you.
For extra flavour, you can add ¼ tsp of almond extract to the dough.
Make sure that the cookies are completely cold before decorating them.
Can I Make The Dough In Advance?:
To make the dough in advance, shape it into a disc, wrap with clingfilm and refrigerate for up to 4 days, or freeze for 3 months.
Frozen dough should be defrosted overnight in the refrigerator. Let it sit out at room temperature for about 30-60 minutes before rolling it out. It should still feel cool to the touch, but be pliable enough to roll out without cracking.
How To Store Vegan Vanilla Sugar Cookies:
The baked cookies should be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Make sure that they are completely cold before storing. They may become a little softer over time.
How To Decorate The Cookies:
There are several options for decorating these vegan vanilla sugar cookies:
Royal icing: royal icing can be used to decorate the cookies pretty much any way you like. You can find a recipe for easy vegan royal icing on my gingerbread cookies recipe. Or a maple version on my maple cookies recipe.
Buttercream: The cookies can either be topped with buttercream, or sandwiched together with it. The cookies will soak up some of the moisture from the buttercream and go soft, so ideally they need to be eaten on the day they are decorated.
Icing sugar: Just a dusting of icing (powdered) sugar is an easy (but classy) option.
Chocolate: Try dipping the tops of the cookies in melted chocolate, or drizzling it over using a spoon or a piping bag with a small writing nozzle.
More Vegan Cookie Recipes:
- Vegan gingerbread cookies
- Vegan peanut butter cookies
- Vegan shortbread fingers
- Vegan maple cookies
- Vegan chocolate pistachio biscotti
- Double chocolate almond cookies
- Vegan oatmeal raisin cookies
- Vegan biscotti with almonds and cranberries
- Olive oil chocolate chip cookies
If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess
All images and content on Domestic Gothess are copyright protected. If you want to share this recipe then please do so by using the share buttons provided. Do not screenshot or post the recipe or content in full.
Vegan Vanilla Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 150 g (½ cup + 2 Tbsp) vegan block butter (NOT the spreadable kind. I use Naturli Vegan Block) slightly softened
- 100 g (½ cup) caster (superfine) or granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 250 g (2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 20 g (2 packed Tbsp) cornflour (cornstarch)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp unsweetened non-dairy milk (I use soy)
Instructions
- Whisk together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy then whisk in the vanilla extract.
- Sift together the flour, cornflour and salt and add to the butter mixture. Stir until it starts to clump together.
- Add the milk and mix to form a soft dough. If it seems like it will be too sticky to roll out then add a tablespoon of flour. Be careful not to add too much, the dough will firm up once it is chilled.
- Knead the dough by hand very briefly, just until it is smooth.
- Form it into a disc, wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until it is firm enough to roll out. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.
- Roll the chilled dough out on a floured surface or between two sheets of baking parchment to about 5mm / ¼ inch thick.
- Dip your cookie cutters in flour and cut out as many shapes as you can. Re-roll the trimmings and cut out more cookies.
- Place the cookies slightly spaced apart on the baking sheets. Place the trays in the freezer for 15 minutes, or in the fridge for 30.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/ gas mark 4.
- Bake the cookies for about 11 minutes for soft ones, until they are just turning pale golden around the edges. For crisp cookies, bake for about 15-20 minutes, until they are more uniformly golden brown.
- Cool on the trays for a couple of minutes then transfer the cookies to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before decorating and storing.
Notes
- As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
- As all ovens vary and the bake time will be different depending on the size of your cookie cutters and whether you want soft or crisp cookies, I suggest baking a couple of test cookies first to figure out the perfect bake time for you.
- See post above for tips, details and step-by-step photos.
Jackie D
came out really good. will use this recipe again.
Thanks
Vanina
hi! do you think i can change the butter for coconut oil?
Hannah
Hi Vanina, it might work but it will affect the flavour and teexture of the biscuits and the dough may be more difficult to roll out.
julie
It was easy to roll out the cookies for sure, but the taste was not good
Hannah
Hi Julie, sorry to hear you didn't like them, which vegan butter did you use? A lot of the flavour comes from the butter so you need to use a good one.