These buttery vegan spritz cookies are a lot of fun to make, and they’re a lot of fun to eat, too. They’re cute and festive, but also rich, moist, and buttery. A perfect holiday cookie!

A pile of spritz cookies with various sprinkles on them, next to a bowl of green sprinkles and a bowl of yellow sprinkles

It’s not exactly a big secret that I love cookies. And these buttery vegan spritz cookies are some of my favorites. These cookies are super simple, and take less than an hour to make. But don’t let that fool you … the flavor is absolutely popping! With both vanilla and almond extract, these vegan cookies are sweet, nutty, and rich.

But my favorite thing about these cookies (other than how fun and cute they are) is the texture. Some vegan cookies are dry and crumbly, but not these spritz cookies. They’re moist and tender, and just soft enough to melt in your mouth, but just firm enough to hold their shape. These are one of my go-to vegan Christmas cookies.

Overhead view of the ingredients for vegan spritz cookies: two sticks of vegan butter, a bowl of flour, a bowl of sugar, a bowl vegan milk, a bowl of cornstarch, a bowl of salt, a bowl of almond extract, and a bowl of vanilla extract

Notes on Ingredients

These cookies only use a few ingredients, and they’re all items that you probably have in the pantry or fridge. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the article to see the exact quantities for each ingredient. 

  • Vegan butter – Make sure the butter is unsalted, and at room temperature.
  • Sugar 
  • Vanilla extract – You should use pure vanilla extract, not a product that uses artificial ingredients. 
  • Almond extract – Similarly, make sure you use an almond extract with no artificial ingredients.
  • Salt
  • Tapioca starch – You can also use cornstarch.
  • Vegan milk – Whatever vegan milk you prefer will work for this recipe, just make sure it’s unsweetened and not flavored. 

How to Make Buttery Vegan Spritz Cookies

Here’s how to make these soft and sweet cookies. 

  • Prep. Preheat your oven to 350F.
  • Mix the dry ingredients. Place the flour, tapioca starch, and salt in a mixing bowl, and whisk until well combined. 
  • Cream the butter. Add the vegan butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat until the mixture is fluffy, which should take about 3 minutes. 
A small bowl with flour, tapioca starch, and salt, mixed together, with a whisk in it
A mixing bowl with beaten vegan butter and sugar in it
  • Add the rest of the wet ingredients. Add the vanilla extract, almond extract, and milk to the bowl, and beat until smooth. This should take 1-2 minutes. 
  • Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and beat on the lowest speed until all the ingredients are combined. You want the dough to be soft, but not too sticky. Add more milk if the dough is too dry. 
  • Rest. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge for 30 minutes. 
  • Prepare your spritz gun. Follow the instructions to prepare your spritz gun for use, then fill it with the chilled cookie dough. 
A mixing bowl filled with vegan spritz cookie dough
A spritz gun filled with cookie dough, with various tips surrounding it
  • Dispense the cookies. Use the spritz gun to dispense cookies on a dry baking sheet. Leave about an inch between each cookie.
  • Decorate. Cover the cookies with the sprinkles of your choice.
  • Bake. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake until the bottoms of the cookies are golden brown, which should take 7-8 minutes.
  • Cool. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack, and let them rest until they’ve cooled. 

Tips for the Best Spritz Cookies

Here are a few tricks to use when making these vegan holiday cookies. 

  • Freeze the baking sheet. Occasionally the cookie dough will stick to the baking sheet. To keep that from happening, place the baking sheet in the freezer for 30 minutes before putting the cookie dough on it. 
  • Don’t overmix the dough. When you add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, make sure that you don’t overmix the dough. Overmixing will break down the gluten in the flour, and make the soft cookies hard and dense. 
  • Freeze the cookies before baking. This dough is fairly wet, so sometimes the cookies can spread out too much when baking. If this happens, you’ll lose the great shape of the spritz cookies. To keep this from happening, dispense the cookies onto the baking sheet, then place the baking sheet in the freezer for 15 minutes before baking. 
Overhead view of a pile of spritz cookies covered in different colors of sprinkles

Recipe Variations

Here are a few variations that you can try with this buttery vegan cookie recipe.

  • Make it gluten-free. These cookies have just one ingredient in them that has gluten: all-purpose flour. If you want to make gluten-free cookies, simply replace the all-purpose flour with gluten-free 1:1 flour blend. 
  • Add some colors. These cookies are super cute, and they look great when they’re colored. Add wet food coloring to the wet ingredients, or dry food coloring to the dry ingredients, to make these spritz cookies whatever color your heart desires. 
  • Change up the flavors. I like the subtle flavor of vanilla and almond extract in these cookies. But if you want, you can add some different flavors quite easily, either in place of or in addition to these extracts. You can add other extracts, such as coconut extract, orange extract, or maple extract. You can add spices, like cinnamon or nutmeg. Or you can add citrus zest, such as lemon or orange. If there’s a flavor you want in these cookies, add it! 
A plate filled with spritz cookies covered in blue sprinkles, with cookies in the background with different sprinkles

How to Store Buttery Vegan Spritz Cookies

You can store these vegan Christmas cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can also store them in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. 

Can I Freeze This Recipe?

You can absolutely freeze this recipe. Keep the cookies in an airtight container, and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months. Defrost in the fridge or at room temperature before eating. 

Lots of spritz cookies covered in sprinkles, next to a bowl of yellow sprinkles

More Cookie Recipes to Try

If you liked these buttery vegan spritz cookies, then try some of my other favorite cookie recipes.

Enjoy friends! If you make these buttery vegan spritz cookies, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!

Overhead view of a pile of spritz cookies covered in different colors of sprinkles

Buttery Vegan Spritz Cookies

Servings: 72 cookies
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Chilling time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 48 minutes
These buttery vegan spritz cookies are fun to make, fun to eat, and perfect for the holidays. They're soft and will melt in your mouth, and are flavored with vanilla and almond extract.
5 (from 2 ratings)
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Ingredients

  • 1 cup vegan butter, room temperature
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon tapioca starch, or cornstarch
  • 2-3 tablespoons vegan milk

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
  • Combine the flour, salt and starch in a small bowl. Whisk well to mix. Set aside.
  • Add butter and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl.
  • Add the vanilla, almond extract and 2 tablespoons milk. Beat for 1-2 minutes more until smooth. Scrape down the bowl.
  • Turn to lowest speed and add the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. The dough should be soft but not sticky and you should be able to easily make a fingerprint in the dough. If the dough is too dry, add the additional 1 tablespoon of milk.
  • Remove the bowl from the mixer, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 30 minutes.
  • While the dough is chilling, prepare your spritz gun according to the manufacturer's directions.
  • Grab a portion of the chilled dough and roll it into a log shape and slide it into the tube of the spritz gun.
  • Replace the top and pull the lever until the plunger has pushed all the dough to the bottom.
  • Place the nozzle of the gun directly on an ungreased, unlined baking sheet at 90 degree angle. Pull the trigger to dispense a cookie. Repeat leaving about an inch between the cookies.
  • Decorate the cookies with your choice of sprinkles.
  • Bake in a preheated oven for 7-8 minutes, until the bottoms are just beginning to be golden brown. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

  • To keep the cookie dough from sticking to the baking sheet, place the baking sheet in the freezer for 30 minutes before using.
  • To keep the cookies from spreading too much in the oven, place the cookies on the baking sheet in the freezer for 15 minutes before baking.
  • Don’t overmix the cookie dough.
  • Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week, in the fridge for 2 weeks, or in the freezer for 6 months. 
Calories: 42kcal, Carbohydrates: 6g, Protein: 0.5g, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Sodium: 37mg, Potassium: 6mg, Fiber: 0.1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 120IU, Calcium: 1mg, Iron: 0.2mg

Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.

Cuisine: American
Course: Dessert
Author: Jessica Hylton