These festive vegan sugar cookies are classic Christmas cookies, but you can make them for any holiday or occasion! This fail-proof recipe has the buttery, vanilla-scented dough you know and love, and it bakes up crisp on the edges and perfect for decorating.

Overhead view of decorated Christmas vegan sugar cookies

Sugar cookies are a year-round treat, but if you’re like most people, you probably associate them with Christmas. No other cookie is so well-suited for cutting into Christmas trees, wreaths, and snowman shapes, or for decorating with colourful icing! If you’re on a plant-based diet, there’s no reason sugar cookies have to be off-limits; vegan sugar cookies have everything you love about the original, minus the eggs, butter, and milk.

  • Authentic sugar cookie flavor. Yep, you can even nail that buttery sugar cookie flavour by using a high-quality vegan butter. These cookies are sweet, crispy, and have the perfect texture for cut-outs.
  • Easy to make. I’m sharing my never-fail vegan sugar cookie dough that’s ideal for cut-out cookies. It comes together with just a few pantry ingredients and minimal chilling time.
  • Your ultimate blank canvas. I decorated my sugar cookies for the holidays. You can also cut them into rounds using the rim of a glass or cup and add a simple, colourful glaze, or use cookie cutters to make shapes for any holiday, occasion, or interest. Easter, Valentine’s Day, you name it.
Overhead view of vegan sugar cookie ingredients

Notes on Ingredients

Please note that this is important information on the ingredients and instructions, and the FULL recipe with amounts and details can be found DOWN BELOW (scroll to it) in the recipe card.

  • Vegan butter – You can make vegan butter from scratch if you’re not able to find it at the grocery store. If using store-bought (like I usually do), I recommend Earth Balance Sticks for this or Miyokos butter. Quality counts, since we’re after that authentic buttery flavor.
  • Organic white granulated sugar – White sugar is a classic choice for sugar cookies, though you can also make brown sugar cookies if you’d like.
  • Vanilla extract – The vanilla flavour really shines through in sugar cookies, so choose a high-quality extract or an equal amount of real vanilla paste.
  • Vegan milk – Use an unflavoured non-dairy milk like soy, oat, almond, or whichever kind you like or have on hand.
  • Dry ingredients – These are your baking staples, like all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Check the expiration dates on your leavening agents to make sure they’re fresh.

The vegan icing for these frosted sugar cookies couldn’t be easier. All you need is powdered sugar (confectioner’s sugar), non-dairy milk, and lemon juice. I like to use lemon juice in my icing as it brightens up the flavour and adds a hint of tanginess, reminiscent of cream cheese frosting. You can add vanilla extract if you prefer. I recommend sifting the powdered sugar before you make the icing, so it’s free from lumps.

To make the icing, combine the ingredients in a small bowl and stir until the mixture is smooth. That’s it! You can do this in advance of making your cookies or whip up the icing while the cookies bake. It’s up to you.

Closeup of star sugar cookie decorated with white frosting and sprinkles

If you don’t have a large block of time to make and frost the cookies, you can bake the cookies a day or two in advance and frost them later. The sugar cookie dough also stores well for 2-3 days in the fridge if you wrap it tightly with plastic wrap.

  • Prepare a baking sheet. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat and dust it with flour. Unlike traditional cookie dough that gets shaped into discs for chilling, you’ll roll this vegan dough out flat before you refrigerate it. Vegan cookie dough can be a bit stickier than traditional cookie dough, so the extra flour makes rolling and handling the dough much easier.
Butter and sugar being creamed in glass stand mixer bowl
Cream the btuter and sugar.
Sugar cookie dough in stand mixer bowl
Add the dry ingredients.
  • Next, mix the wet ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar for about 3 minutes on medium-low speed. Then, beat in the vanilla and milk for about 30 seconds.
  • Add the dry ingredients. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt into a separate small bowl, and whisk to combine. Now, add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Beat slowly, then increase the speed to fully incorporate the flour; this should take about 2 minutes at most. The dough will be slightly sticky to the touch.
Overhead view of sugar cookie dough after forming into a ball
Turn the dough out into a ball.
Overhead view of rolled out sugar cookie dough
Roll out the cookie dough.
  • Roll out the dough. Use your hands to shape the dough into a ball, and turn it out onto your prepared baking sheet. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to about ¼-inch thickness. Lightly dust the top of the dough with additional flour, and place another piece of parchment paper on top.
  • Chill the dough. Place the baking sheet with the rolled out dough in the refrigerator. The sugar cookie dough needs to chill for at least an hour, or up to overnight, before you cut out and bake your cookies.

How to Cut Out and Bake Sugar Cookies

  • Get your sugar cookie dough ready. Start preheating your oven to 350ºF. Meanwhile, take out your chilled cookie dough and peel away the top layer of parchment paper.
Overhead view of cut sugar cookie dough on parchment-lined baking sheet
Cut out the cookies.
Cut sugar cookie dough on parchment-lined baking sheet
Bake, and cool.
  • Cut out the cookies. Next, use your choice of cookie cutters to cut the sugar cookie dough into shapes. Collect the scraps, roll them out again, cut, and repeat until you have no more dough left. Leave the cut cookies on the parchment-lined baking sheet, arranging them so there’s at least an inch of space between each cookie.
  • Bake the cookies. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the cookies for about 10 minutes. Cool on the sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
Overhead view of vegan sugar cookies decorated for Christmas

How to Decorate Sugar Cookies

Mix and colour the icing, if desired, and use it to decorate your cookies. You can be as simple or as creative as you’d like. Check out the photos for some Christmas cookie inspiration, and there are so many fun tutorials that you can follow online. These are some quick tips:

  • Get the right consistency for the icing. You can add the lemon juice a drop at a time and adjust its thickness by adding more powdered sugar or thinning with additional milk or lemon juice. If you’re adding liquid food colouring, I suggest starting with a thicker icing and adding a little less milk and lemon juice.
  • Use a Ziploc bag. If you don’t have piping bags or piping tips for the details, don’t worry. Simply add the icing to a small Ziploc bag and snip off the corner. You’ll be decorating like a pro in no time!
  • Can I use frosting? Yes. If you’d prefer to frost these cookies with buttercream instead, try my easy vegan buttercream frosting recipe that’s just as perfect for decorating cookies as it is for frosting cakes and cupcakes.
Closeup of Christmas tree cutout sugar cookie with frosting and sprinkles

Tips for Perfect Sugar Cookies

To avoid thin, misshapen sugar cookies, keep the following in mind:

  • Don’t over-beat the butter and sugar. Too much air in the butter mixture causes the cookies to spread.
  • Chill the cookie dough. Very important! The dough and the butter inside it need to be chilled before it goes in the oven. Without this step, the butter will melt immediately, deflating your cookies.
  • Keep it cold. If the dough warms up when you’re cutting the cookies, you can refrigerate it for another 15 minutes.
  • Prevent the dough from sticking. If you need to, you can sprinkle additional flour on top of the dough before rolling it out. 
Closeup of decorated snowman sugar cookie

Proper Storage

Vegan sugar cookies can be stored just like traditional sugar cookies, in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days. To keep the icing perfect, you can place parchment paper between the layers.

How to Freeze Sugar Cookies

Or, you can freeze the baked and frosted cookies, or you can freeze the sugar cookie dough before baking. This way, it’s on hand whenever you’re ready to bake.

  • To freeze the frosted sugar cookies, store them in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
  • To freeze the cookie dough, wrap the dough tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 2 months, and thaw the dough completely before rolling it out on the baking sheet as directed. Chill the dough and proceed to cut it out and bake as directed.

Enjoy friends! If you make this vegan sugar cookie recipe, 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!

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Overhead view of decorated Christmas vegan sugar cookies

Vegan Sugar Cookies

Servings: 12 servings
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
These vegan sugar cookies are perfect for cutting into shapes and decorating with colorful icing! They’re buttery and crisp on the edges, just like the original, but made without dairy and eggs.
5 (from 21 ratings)
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Ingredients

  • ½ cup vegan butter, 112g, room temperature
  • ½ cup organic white granulated sugar, 100g
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons vegan milk
  • 1 ½ cups flour of choice regular all-purpose flour, 180g
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • For the Sugar Cooking Icing:
  • 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon vegan milk
  • 1 teaspoon lemon Juice, fresh or processed

Instructions 

  • In a bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for about 3 minutes on medium low speed until creamy and incorporated. You don’t want to over beat and incorporate too much air which can cause the cookies to spread.
  • Add in the vanilla extract and vegan milk and blend for another 30 seconds until incorporated.
  • In a small separate bowl, sift together your flour, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt until thoroughly combined.
  • Add in your flour mixture into the wet mix. Start slowly then slightly increase speed to mix in the flour thoroughly into the dough, about 2 minutes max on medium low speed to thoroughly incorporate. Dough should be slightly sticky to the touch.
  • Roll/mold your dough together into a ball.
  • On a baking sheet, on a piece of floured parchment paper or a flour silicone mat, place the dough. Feel free to dust with a little bit of extra sifted flour on top. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to about ¼ inch thickness and no thinner than that. This helps so much when cutting out the chilled dough so you don’t over warm it trying to shape it properly. Dust with a little bit more flour, then cover the top with another layer of parchment paper.
  • Place the rolled out dough on the baking sheet in your fridge for at least 1 hour. You can also chill overnight if needed.
  • Remove the top layer of parchment paper. Cut out shapes with your cookie cutters. Re-roll the scraps and repeat the process to use up all of the dough. You want to ensure your dough stays cold during the process, otherwise refrigerate for another 15 minutes again.
  • Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F.
  • Bake for 10 minutes (the cookies will continue to cook as they cool – you don’t want to overbake them as they brown quickly if overbaked). Bake cookies of the same size together to prevent under or over baking.
  • Allow the cookies to cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • Once *completely cooled*, decorate as desired.
  • To make the sugar cooking icing:
  • Mix together the powdered sugar, vegan milk and lemon juice until fully combined (about a drop at a time). Feel free to thicken if desired with more powdered sugar or thin out with more milk or lemon juice depending on which flavor you prefer.
  • My top tip would be to outline your cookies first with a slightly thicker icing, then you can add a bit more milk for the inside to fill in the outline.
  • If you are using food coloring, definitely add a little less milk since liquid food colours can make the frosting more runny. If you’re using a gel food colouring you can usually leave your milk quantity as the same.
  • Use this icing recipe to decorate your cookies.

Notes

How to store: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days, separating layers of cookies with parchment paper to keep the icing intact.
How to freeze: You can freeze the sugar cookie dough so you have it on hand whenever you’re ready to bake, or you can freeze the baked and frosted cookies in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months.
Calories: 185kcal, Carbohydrates: 30g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 1g, Sodium: 173mg, Potassium: 21mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 18g, Vitamin A: 360IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 27mg, Iron: 1mg

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