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These vegan sugar cookies are egg-free and dairy free plus they are easy to make, don’t require chilling, and taste DELICIOUS. And, they hold their shape without much spreading while baking. It’s our go-to sugar cookie recipe and the boys love being able to help roll out the dough and press their favorite shapes for cookies.
Back in October, when we discovered that our littlest had a severe egg allergy, I immediately began researching substitutions we could make in our cooking – and especially in our baking. I knew that I wanted him to be able to enjoy the treats we have around here – especially for holidays and birthdays!
If you have been around here for a while, you know that I have a major sweet tooth as does our oldest (we call ourselves the treat masters around here). And while we try to reserve yummy baked goods as “sometimes foods”, we definitely indulge for special days.
Sugar cookies are one of my favorite things to make for parties. I love that I can make them ahead of time and store them in the fridge or freezer depending on when I need them, and they still taste delicious. And Little had the best time helping me press the shapes with our cookie cutters.
For the last few years, I’ve been using an adaptation of this recipe – but with our food allergies, I’ve adapted it even more to make it safe for everyone in our family to enjoy.
And I’m glad to report that they still taste just as good as they always have! But, an added bonus of vegan cookies (or any baked good) – being able to lick the spoon without salmonella risk. Always looking for the silver lining over here.
*Note, this recipe is for vegan sugar cookies, so there aren’t any dairy or egg products, but you can also use regular butter if you don’t have dairy allergies – we use regular, unsalted butter for this recipe, too, but for a while, we didn’t because I wanted to be sure we didn’t have any dairy allergies or intolerance.
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Ingredients
- 1 cup of dairy free (vegan) butter, softened, but not melted
- We use Earth Balance when making these dairy free
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- I always do 1 teaspoon plus a little more.
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 3 cups flour
- 1 flax egg
- Mix 1 Tablespoon of flaxseed meal + 3 Tablespoons of water and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
- Handful of rainbow sprinkles (totally optional, but we love sprinkles around here so…)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a small bowl, mix flax seed meal and water to make your flax egg.
- Mix softened butter and sugar until smooth.
- As a reminder – don’t melt the butter. It changes the consistency and will require that the dough need to be chilled. So, just save yourself sometime. Don’t melt it and you don’t need to chill the dough.
- Mix in vanilla extract and flax egg until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder.
- Add a little at a time (I usually add about 1/2 cup at a time) to wet ingredients.
- Add in your rainbow sprinkles.
- Once dough becomes solid, knead with your hands into a workable ball.
- If the dough seems too wet and sticky, add flour to your hands.
- If it’s too dry and crumbly, wet your hands a little before kneading.
- Roll out your dough to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut into desired shapes.
- I roll our dough out on parchment paper because it’s less messy, but you can also roll it out on a floured surface to prevent it from sticking.
- Another option, is to roll it out on a silicone rolling mat. This is on my wish list since it’s reusable so I don’t have to buy parchment paper as often.
- You may also try flouring your roller to prevent sticking.
- Round up the extra dough, roll and repeat until you’ve used all the dough.
- Bake on a non-stick pan (or parchment paper or silicone baking sheets…we use these and love them) for about 8 minutes until the bottoms start to look lightly golden.
- The tops will still look soft – and that’s perfect. Allow them to cool completely on the pan before transferring to a cooling rack or platter.
We’ve made these cookies for our Christmas cookies, for parties, and most recently for Valentine’s Day (hence the heart shape in these photos). We also add in rainbow sprinkles, because they’re our favorite – but they are totally not necessary.
While these sugar cookies won’t work for someone with a wheat allergy, they are great for egg and dairy allergies and we have been thankful to have found something we can all enjoy!
A Few Notes
- You can make these cookies (or even the dough) ahead of time if you need. The dough should keep for a day or two in the fridge, tightly wrapped, but you’ll need to let it sit out and get back to room temperature for it to easily roll out. I’ve made the cookies about a week and once even two weeks ahead of time and stored them in the fridge and freezer, respectively in an airtight container until I was ready to ice them.
- Prior to our food allergies, I used a basic royal icing recipe to frost our sugar cookies, but have avoided it since it requires meringue powder. We actually really like these sugar cookies as they are, too, even without the icing.
FAQs
Ingredients. Sugar, Enriched Flour Bleached (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), Palm Oil, Water, Canola Oil. Contains 2% or less of: Eggs, Baking Powder (baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate), Salt, Artificial Flavor.
Why don't you use egg whites in cookies? ›
Egg whites entrap more air while contributing more water, encouraging steam and gluten formation: perfect conditions for lean cookies that are thick and puffy. Cakey. Yolks cut the water and throw in fat, hindering both gluten development and aeration, producing cookies that are dense, tender, and rich.
What does adding milk to cookie dough do? ›
The moisture contributed by the milk will also increase spread and hydrate more of the starches in the flour. These hydrated (gelatinized) starches support the structure of the air pocket wall, keeping the cookies from collapsing once cooled. By holding more water, they also help keep the cookies softer over time.
What is the best egg substitute for cookies? ›
You can whisk 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons of water and 2 teaspoons of baking powder together to replace each egg in baked goods like cookies, brownies or quick breads. This substitution won't impact a recipes' flavor profile the way egg substitutions like mashed banana or flaxseed might.
Is cookie dough without eggs bad for you? ›
If you're thinking that choosing an eggless cookie dough recipe makes it safer, think again. It's not just raw eggs that come with a food poisoning risk. Uncooked flour can contain illness-causing bacteria, too. Indeed, eating raw flour was linked to two recent outbreaks of Shiga toxin-producing E.
Can Pillsbury sugar cookie dough be rolled out? ›
Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon flour onto work surface; coat all sides of dough with flour. With rolling pin, roll out dough 1/4 inch thick, adding additional flour as needed to prevent sticking.
Does Pillsbury sugar cookie dough have dairy? ›
SUGAR, ENRICHED BLEACHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), CANOLA OIL, WHEAT STARCH, DEXTROSE, CORNSTARCH, BAKING SODA, SALT, CELLULOSE, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS. Contains wheat, milk and soybean ingredients.
Why are my Pillsbury sugar cookies flat? ›
Cookies can spread when baked and lose their shape. To fix this, let your cookie dough rest in the refrigerator for an hour before you roll it out and cut out shapes. Our result: We didn't see a huge difference between chilled dough and room-temperature dough after baking.
Should I use baking soda or baking powder in cookies? ›
Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies. Since baking powder is comprised of a number of ingredients (baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, etc.), using it instead of pure baking soda will affect the taste of your cookies.
Can I use Egg Beaters instead of eggs for baking? ›
Can I use Egg Beaters in recipes? Egg Beaters are extremely convenient and versatile. They can replace shell eggs in most recipes, both as a recipe ingredient and as the base of an egg dish. Egg Beaters provide a great way to reduce the calories, fat, and cholesterol of a recipe without sacrificing taste.
Vanilla extract and how important is it for the baking process. The primary purpose of vanilla extract is to add flavour to baked goods. Lacking it, baked goods tend to have a bland and boring taste. Vanilla extract can also contribute moisture to create a soft and fluffy texture.
Why use milk powder instead of milk? ›
Milk powder lends an added level of tenderness while also helping to increase the item's shelf life. Meaning, your baked goods will stay fresher longer—something that can be a very welcome bonus, especially for smaller-sized households.”
What does adding more brown sugar to cookies do? ›
Brown sugar, meanwhile, is dense and compacts easily, creating fewer air pockets during creaming—that means that there's less opportunity to entrap gas, creating cookies that rise less and spread more. With less moisture escaping via steam, they also stay moist and chewy.
What happens if too much butter is in cookies? ›
Too much butter makes cookies turn out just as you'd expect: very buttery. This batch of cookies was cakey in the middle, but also airy throughout, with crispy edges. They were yellow and slightly puffy in the middle, and brown and super thin around the perimeter.
What happens when you bake with less eggs? ›
While seemingly simple, eggs perform a pivotal role in making baked goods from scratch. Forget an egg or two and you'll end up with hockey-puck muffins, dense cakes, runny custards, and dried-out cookies.
What happens if you only have one egg for cookies? ›
What to Do When You're Baking and Out of Eggs
- 1 egg = 2 tablespoons water + 2 teaspoons baking powder + 1 teaspoon vegetable oil.
- 1 egg = 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce or mashed banana.
- 1 egg = 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds and 3 tablespoons of water.
- 1 egg = 3 tablespoons aquafaba.
Using too few eggs will make your desserts dense, but using too many will make them rubbery. The explanation for this lies in the fact that eggs are made up of protein. As Fine Cooking explains, when the protein in eggs combines with the protein in flour, they produce the overall structure of the baked good.
Does egg size matter in cookies? ›
Whereas cookies and cakes made with small eggs can be dry, dense, and crumbly, those made with big ones can be heavy, wet, and rubbery. Some cookies could pancake, while others might turn out overly cakey. Dough that you need to roll out—like for sugar cookies—could be frustratingly wet and sticky.
