Vegan Butter Cookies

Why We Love This Recipe

• 5 ingredients and super easy to make: Butter, sugar, flour, salt and vanilla. That's all you need to make these vegan butter cookies! They come together in just a few steps and only take about 10 minutes of hands on work.
• Perfect for the holidays: These are delicious on their own as a simple holiday cookie. You can also make them more festive by rolling them in festive sugar sprinkles like we did. Or, dip/drizzle in chocolate and top with crushed candy canes. So many options!
• Nobody would know they're vegan: Truly. We promise, these are absolutely as delicious as any non-vegan cookie. The perfect recipe to bring to a holiday party that everyone can enjoy!

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make these vegan butter cookies:

Ingredient Notes

• Vegan butter: We've tried this recipe with multiple brands of vegan butter. While they all seemed to work equally well texture-wise, we personally preferred the overall taste of Miyoko's vegan butter. We found it had the richest, most buttery flavor! That said, you can truly use any vegan butter you'd like. Just be sure to soften it to room temperature before using.
• Flour: Regular all purpose flour is best in this recipe. We haven't tried it with gluten free flour, but it should work just fine. We love using Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour – it's always a perfect substitute for regular all purpose flour.
• Vanilla: Be sure to use good quality vanilla extract in this recipe. Since there are so few ingredients, the flavor really shines through, so it's important to use the good stuff. For extra flavor, you can use vanilla bean paste.
• Salt: We always use fine kosher salt unless otherwise noted.
• Sugar: Regular granulated sugar is best in this recipe. We don't suggest using an alternative, otherwise the texture may be off.
• Coarse sugar/sprinkles for rolling: This is optional, but adds a delicious sugary crunch to the exterior of these vegan butter cookies that just can't be beat! You can use coarse sanding sugar for a classic version. For a more festive version, feel free to use sprinkles.

Instructions

(1) Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add in vanilla and salt. 

(2) Add in flour ½ cup at a time until the dough comes together. 

(3) Shape the dough into a log, then wrap in parchment paper or plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour. To keep the dough from flattening out on the bottom, we wrap a thick dish towel around the cookie dough log. 

Preheat oven to 400˚F/205˚C.

(4) Optional: spread out 2 tablespoons of coarse sugar on a large plate. Roll the cookie dough log in sugar to coat. 

(5) Use a sharp knife to slice the cookies, about ½-inch thickness.

(6) Transfer cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-11 minutes, until the bottom edges of the cookies just start to brown. Remove from oven and let cool. 

Tips and FAQs

• How to shape the dough into a log: The dough will be soft and pliable before it's refrigerated, so you can easily shape it using your hands. Shape it into a rough log, then wrap in plastic wrap or parchment paper and roll it again to smooth out the dough.
• Cut out cookie version: You can use this vegan butter cookie recipe to make cut out cookies in any shape you'd like. To do so, roll the dough into a ball, then refrigerate for 1 hour before rolling out to about ¼ inch. Cut and bake (but start checking at 8 minutes, as these will be a bit thinner).
• Freeze the dough and use it later on: You can freeze the cookie dough for up to 6 months before baking. Defrost for several hours (or overnight) in the refrigerator before using.
• Measure your flour correctly: To make sure these cookies have the right amount of moisture, it's important to correctly measure the flour. To do so, spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level off with a knife. For the most accurate measurement, use our automatic converter in the recipe card to measure the flour by weight (in grams).
• For a crispier cookie, leave them in the oven for an extra 1-2 minutes (as long as the bottom does not look burnt/too brown).
• Variations:
  • For a festive holiday peppermint version, add ½ teaspoon of peppermint extract to the dough. Once the cookies are cooled, dip half of each cookie in melted dark chocolate, then sprinkle with crushed candy canes.
  • Cranberry orange: Add up to one tablespoon of freshly grated orange zest to the dough (add it when you cream the butter in sugar). Once the dough comes together, add in ½ cup of finely chopped dried cranberries.
  • Chocolate chip: Add up to 1 cup of mini chocolate chips or chunks to the dough before chilling.

More Vegan Cookie Recipes to Enjoy

Tried this recipe? Leave a comment with a star rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ below. You can also snap a photo and tag @crowded_kitchen on Instagram. We can't wait to see what you're cooking!