Soft, chewy and full of sprinkles, these vegan sugar cookies are made in one bowl and are even gluten free! They have perfectly crispy edges with a soft and fluffy center.
I’ve been on a serious funfetti kick lately. You guys have loved my vegan funfetti cupcakes and funfetti blondies so much, and cookies are one of my favorite foods, so this was a recipe I couldn’t resist. I feel like a funfetti cake should be next, yes?!
Cookies from scratch are always best, and my favorite thing about these vegan sugar cookies is that they’re great all year round.
Add lots of sprinkles for a fun birthday dessert, decorate them with icing for the Holidays, or keep them plain if that’s more your thing!
All you need is one bowl, a few simple ingredients like sugar, butter and flour and you’re ready to go! These cookies are melt in your mouth delicious and I promise they’ll satisfy your sweet tooth as soon as you take a bite.
Plus, the dough is completely edible since there’s no egg! Try my vegan tahini cookies or vegan lemon blueberry cookies next!
Key ingredients
BUTTER. Since these are vegan sugar cookies, we’ll use vegan butter. I like Earth Balance butter sticks for this recipe.
APPLE SAUCE. Apple sauce will replace an egg and help bind all ingredients together.
FLOUR. These are vegan gluten free sugar cookies so we’ll use gluten free all purpose baking flour. I like Bob’s Red Mill here!
CORN STARCH. A little cornstarch will help absorb some more of the wet ingredients without drying out the dough.
SPRINKLES. I used half regular sprinkles and half non-pareils. You can use whatever you like!
How to make vegan sugar cookies
In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter and sugar.
If the butter was previously in the fridge, you can add it to the microwave (without the sugar) for about 20 seconds to soften.
Beat together for about 30 seconds. Beat in the vanilla and apple sauce until combined.
Add in all remaining ingredients aside from the sprinkles and beat just until combined. Use a wooden spoon to fold in the sprinkles until well incorporated. Place the dough in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Use a medium cookie scoop or about 1 1/2 tbsp and add the dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spaced about 2 inches apart. about 20 minutes.
Bake for 14-18 minutes or until the edges are just golden brown (I generally do about 15-16 minutes in my oven). They will continue to harden as they cool, so take them out a bit earlier than you think is necessary.
Let cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Can you make these into cut out cookies?
While I haven’t tested these as cut out cookies (yet!), I do think it would work really well!
The only thing about the recipe you will want to change is that you’ll need to omit the baking soda, because this will cause the cookies to spread. Keep the baking powder because it will keep them soft/fluffy.
What you’ll want to do is make the dough as usual, but then stick it in the fridge for about 30-45 minutes. Cold dough is much easier to work with when making cut out cookies.
Roll out the dough until it’s about 1/4 inch thick on a floured surface. It also helps to flour your rolling pin so nothing sticks.
Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out cookies and add to a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for only about 8-10 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Let cool before decorating!
Storage tips & substitutions
Once prepared, these vegan sugar cookies will store in an air tight container for about 5 days. I like to heat them up in the microwave for about 10 seconds before eating!
I do not recommend subbing the butter for oil, the butter is key for flavor! I like Earth Balance sticks. I used gluten free all purpose flour, but regular all purpose also works.
If you want to frost these cookies, try my vegan vanilla buttercream recipe! You won’t need a full batch to frost the cookies, just about 1/4 of what’s listed.
Note: The original recipe called for non-dairy milk instead of apple sauce. I have re-tested the recipe and prefer it with apple sauce, but either will work!
Try these next!
- Vegan Snickerdoodles
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Matcha Cookies
- Sprinkle Cookies
- Vegan Oatmeal Cookies
Lastly, if you want more recipes straight to your inbox, be sure tosubscribe to my email list. If you make this recipe, be sure to tag me oninstagramand leave a comment below!
5 from 44 votes
Vegan Funfetti Sugar Cookies
by: claire cary
Soft, chewy and full of sprinkles, these vegan sugar cookies are made in one bowl and are even gluten free! They have perfectly crispy edges with a soft and fluffy center.
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Prep: 10 minutes mins
Cook: 15 minutes mins
Chill Time 15 minutes mins
Total: 40 minutes mins
12
Ingredients
Wet:
- ½ cup vegan butter room temperature
- ¼ cup apple sauce see notes
- ¾ cup granulated cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry:
- 1 ¾ cups gluten free all purpose baking flour I used Bob's Red Mill, regular AP flour works too
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4-5 tablespoons sprinkles
US Customary – Metric
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, add the room temperature butter and sugar.
Beat together for about 30 seconds.
Beat in the vanilla and apple sauce until combined.
Add in all remaining ingredients aside from the sprinkles and beat just until combined. Be sure to spoon and level the flour into the measuring cup, don't scoop straight from the bag.
Use a rubber spatula to fold in the sprinkles until well incorporated. Place the dough in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Use a medium cookie scoop or about 1 1/2 tbsp and add the dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 11-15 minutes (mine are perfect at 13) or until the edges are just golden brown. They will continue to firm up as they cool, so take them out a bit earlier than you think is necessary if you want a really chewy center.
Let cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!
Notes
Once prepared, these vegan sugar cookies will store in an air tight container for about 5 days. I like to heat them up in the microwave for about 10 seconds before eating!
For best results, I do not recommend subbing the butter or the sugar for oil or other types of sugar.
The original recipe called for non-dairy milk instead of apple sauce. I have re-tested the recipe and prefer it with apple sauce, but either will work!
Serving: 1cookie / Calories: 168kcal / Carbohydrates: 26g / Protein: 2g / Fat: 6g / Fiber: 1g / Sugar: 12g
