Sugar Cookies
Easy go-to vegan sugar cookie recipe for all your celebrations
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups flour (384 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg optional
- 1 cup vegan butter or shortening (or a combination of both)- at room temperature (227 grams) (or use 1/2 cup butter plus 1/2 cup vegan sour cream)
- 1 cup organic sugar (200 grams)
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seed (meal)
- 6 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
Vegan Royal Icing
- 3 cups confectioners sugar -sifted (360 grams)
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup Make our corn syrup substitute recipe or use store-bought.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- few drops food color optional
Instructions
Cut-Out Sugar Cookie Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Mix together flax meal with water in a small bowl and set aside for about 5 minutes to gel.
- In a medium-size bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.
- In a large bowl, cream together room-temperature butter (or butter and sour cream) with the sugar until mixed well. Add flax mixture and vanilla (and almond extract if using) and beat until light and fluffy.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and combine into a dough.
- Divide dough into 3 parts, wrap each one in cling wrap, shape into disk shape, and chill in the refrigerator for 1-3 hours. (overnight is okay, too. Or freeze the 3 wrapped dough pieces together in a freezer bag for up to 3 months, until ready to use.)
- Have two sheets of parchment paper ready. Remove chilled dough. Sprinkle a little flour on one sheet of parchment paper to prevent dough from sticking to the surface. Then place dough on the parchment and sprinkle a little more flour onto the top of the dough before adding the top sheet of parchment. Roll dough with a rolling pin, between the two sheets, to approximately 1/4-inch thick or a little thinner. Thinner than that will make a crispier, more fragile cookie.
- Next, remove the top sheet of parchment from the dough and set aside. Have a shallow bowl or plate with a little flour to dip your cookie cutter in so it doesn't stick to the dough. After dipping, start cutting out shapes in the rolled dough.
- Dip a thin and flexible spatula into a little flour, then gently lift cut cookie shapes onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. (Do not use wax paper in the oven.)
- Re-roll scraps of dough and repeat the process until it's all used. Then repeat the process with the other two disks of chilled dough.
- Bake cookies in the preheated oven for about 8-10 minutes depending on the size and thickness of your cookies. You should start to see a little light golden shade around the rim. After taking them out of the oven they will continue cooking on cookie sheets so don't overbake.
- When done, cool the baking sheet of cookies on a wire rack for a few minutes, then carefully transfer them off the baking sheet to the wire rack with the thin spatula to finish cooling.
Royal Icing Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir warm water, corn syrup, and extracts until all are dissolved together. Add the food coloring now if using only one color.
- In a large bowl, sift your confectioner's sugar.
- Add the liquid mixture to the large bowl with the sugar and beat together until smooth. Frost cookies and let dry overnight.
- * If using more than one food color, divide icing into separate bowls according to how many colors you are using. Add a few drops of individual colors to each bowl and mix well.
- ** If using decorations like sprinkles, add to iced cookies while the icing is still wet so they will stick to the frosting.
- *** Icing can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature, away from heat and light, for up to a week. Stir well before using.
Notes
Make our Corn Syrup/Honey Substitute Recipe.
Our favorite spatula to use in this recipe is the OXO Flexible Turner.
Our favorite store-bought light corn syrup is Wholesome Light Corn Syrup.