These vegan and gluten-free sugar cut-out cookies are easy to work with no matter what cookie shape you are using. This simple recipe yields sweet, tender, "buttery" sugar cookies that are perfect for decorating...and can be made in one bowl! Pair them with my vegan vanilla frosting or a refined sugar-free icing option. Happy baking!
No matter what you celebrate I love that the holiday season is all about family, food and all the holiday cheer. One of my favorite activities around the holidays is making Vegan Sugar Cookies with the kiddos. I set out to create an easy recipe that would work for everyone in our family and would be fun for the kids to decorate no matter the season. The goal was delicious cookies that are dairy-free, egg-free and gluten-free.
Mastering these cookies was definitely a challenge at first! After a handful of batches, I landed upon the perfect combination for easy cut-out patterns and now I'm SO happy to say...this recipe is foolproof! They turned out better than expected and I can't wait to share this recipe with you. I went with a dough that combines almond flour and oat flour for the perfect balance of both flavor and texture. Arrowroot powder gives them a fluffy height that's absolutely delicious!
Ingredients in Vegan Sugar Cookies
This ingredient list is surprisingly short, and it's made from mostly pantry ingredients! We'll be baking with coconut oil or vegan butter (such as Earth Balance Soy-Free Vegan Butter), pure maple syrup, vanilla extract, almond extract, almond flour, oat flour, arrowroot powder, and salt. You can make these cookies in one bowl, too! Less dishes is always my goal, especially when my kids get involved in the kitchen.
Nut-Free Sugar Cookies
This recipe uses almond flour and almond extract, but if you have a nut allergy in your house I made sure to add a substitution for you! Simply use all oat flour instead of almond flour. This may create a drier dough, so you can increase the amount of oil or vegan butter to compensate for that. We want everyone to be able to join in the cookie fun!
Sugar Cookies Made Healthy!
As far as sugar cookies go, this one might just be the healthiest recipe around. They are full of whole grains, plant-based protein and contain zero refined sugars (I sweetened them with pure maple syrup). The recipe uses either coconut oil or vegan butter, which don't contain trans fat or hydrogenated oils. They're still a treat, but a treat you can feel much better about eating over other holiday cookies!
When you make this recipe, snap a pic and use the hashtag #eatingbyelaine on INSTAGRAM to be featured in my stories! You can cut these cookies into any shape you like, or just use the top of a drinking glass to make circles. Every option is delicious and I can't wait to see what kind of sugar cookies you create!
Vegan Frosting for Sugar Cookies
After the cookies bake you want to let them completely cool before decorating. For frosting I use my homemade Vegan Vanilla Frosting or Vegan Vanilla Icing, both of which work great with these cookies. For a healthier version, try spreading sunflower seed butter on top instead of frosting. My daughter thinks this is the most delicious treat!
These photos of the snowflake cookies were taken using Dye-Free Sprinkles and refined sugar-free Vanilla Icing recipe! This is a thinner glaze-style topping that I think is really beautiful. I used these cookie cutters for the snowflake cookies.
We had so much fun decorating these Valentine's Day cookies with Pink Sprinkles and Pink Heart Sprinkles! Make sure you check ingredients if you'd like to avoid refined sugar. These are the cookie cutters we used for the Valentine's Day cookies!
Vegan & Gluten Free Sugar Cut-Out Cookies {refined sugar free option}
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 20 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These vegan and gluten-free sugar cut-out cookies are easy to work with no matter what cookie shape you are using. This simple recipe yields sweet, tender, "buttery" sugar cookies that are perfect for decorating...and can be made in one bowl! Pair them with my vegan vanilla frosting or a refined sugar-free icing option. Happy baking!
Ingredients
For the cookies
- ¼ cup virgin coconut oil or vegan butter, softened (such as Earth Balance Soy-Free Vegan Butter)
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 ¼ cups super fine almond flour from blanched almonds* (see notes below for nut-free version)
- ½ cup oat flour
- ¼ cup arrowroot powder
- ½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
Frosting/Decoration Options
- NEW! Vegan Vanilla Icing (paleo + refined sugar-free + gluten-free) [my current favorite]
- Vegan Vanilla Frosting or melted coconut butter (see notes below) - natural food dyes can be found here if you want colored frosting
- White dye-free sprinkles for snowflake decorating OR Valentine's Day pink sprinkles linked here OR Valentine's Day heart sprinkles linked here (these are all not refined sugar-free)
Instructions
- Place the coconut oil or softened vegan butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract and almond extract in a mixing bowl and use a hand mixer to combine on medium low speed until light and fluffy.
- Add the dry ingredients (almond flour, oat flour arrowroot powder and salt) and mix on low speed until combined.
- Divide the dough into two balls and wrap in plastic wrap, then flatten into a disc. Place in the refrigerator to chill for at least one hour or overnight.
- When you are ready to make the cookies, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two half sheet baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place one disc of dough on a piece of parchment paper. Place another piece of parchment paper overtop the dough.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it is ½-inch thick. Do not roll too thin or they will not be soft when baked and are difficult to handle when raw.
- Cut the dough into desired shapes. Or if you don’t have cookie cutters you can roll into small circles about 2 inches in diameter.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 8 minutes. Be careful not to over-bake smaller shapes or the cookies will be too dry. I like to do 8 minutes for a softer cookie. If you use very large cookie cutters or the dough is thicker than ½ inch, the baking time may vary. Check on the cookies toward the end as they can burn easily. You want them to look just slightly golden brown around the edges.
- Remove from oven and allow cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for a few minutes (this allows them to harden a bit before handling them). I sometimes stick the entire cookie sheet in my freezer on a silicone heat pad.
- Carefully move cookies to a cooling rack to cool fully (they will harden once fully cooled).
- Repeat with the other disc of dough.
- Once the cookies are completely cooled, decorate using my vegan and paleo vanilla icing OR melted coconut manna OR Vegan Vanilla Frosting. Add natural vegan sprinkles if desired before the frosting sets.
Notes
* For a nut-free version, you can substitute oat flour for the almond flour. The batter might be slightly drier. If so, you can add extra coconut oil or softened butter to the batter if needed. I recommend one tablespoon at a time. You can use store-bought oat flour or make it yourself by grinding up gluten-free oats in your blender until the oats become a very fine flour.
If using coconut butter (also known as coconut manna) for the icing you will want to melt it at 10 second intervals in your microwave stirring with a whisk between each round. You can sweeten with maple syrup and thin it out with almond milk (or any plant-based milk). I would recommend ¾ cup melted coconut butter + 3 tablespoons room temperature maple syrup + 3 tablespoons room temperature almond milk. I like to go with a thinner consistency and dip the top of the cookies into the icing. I then let it set at room temperature or in the refrigerator to allow the coconut butter to harden a bit. Be sure to use sprinkles soon after you frost the cookies so that they stick.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven Baked
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: sugar cut out cookies
Kori says
Hello! Great looking recipe! How big are your cookie cutters to be able to get 20 cookies?
Elaine Gordon says
Hi, Kori: I believe it was 2.5 inches in diameter. I hope that helps. Best, Elaine