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Home » Recipes » Desserts

Vegan Christmas Cookies

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Super crisp and easy vegan Christmas cookies - perfect vegan sugar cookies with a hint of almond, topped with festive almond buttercream.

vegan christmas cookies

Marvel at the wintery majesty of these vegan Christmas cookies, aka the most perfect little vegan sugar cookies! Oh how you'll be the envy of every Christmas party you attend this year! I mean, LOOK at them! They're the most light, crisp vegan sugar cookies except they're in the shape of Christmas trees. Just try to tell me these don't make you feel festive!?

I've really gone all out this year with the Christmas cookies - see also my vegan crinkle cookies, which will blow your mind with their fudgy realness! But these ones simply must be the tip of the tree! They're topped with almond flavour buttercream and there's even a sprinkle of edible gold lustre! Phwoar!

vegan christmas cookies
Jump to:
  • What's in these vegan Christmas cookies?
  • How do I make vegan Christmas cookies?
  • Subs and swaps
  • Customise your vegan Christmas cookies!
  • Vegan Christmas cookie equipment!
  • Bonus Tip!
  • Vegan Christmas cookies FAQs

What's in these vegan Christmas cookies?

Essentially these cookies are a simple vegan sugar cookie, but I've tweaked the standard sugar cookie recipe to make sure they're not only crisp, but also LIGHT and flavoursome! They're also obviously topped with my vegan buttercream, so they're a true delight to eat!

Here's a little breakdown of the ingredients:

vegan christmas cookies ingredients
  • Plain white flour - also known as all purpose flour
  • Cornstarch - also known as cornflour, this helps to keep the cookies nice and crisp and also helps to make them brown gently
  • Baking powder & bicarbonate of soda - also known as baking soda, both for giving the cookies a little *puff*.
  • Icing sugar - aka confectioners sugar. It's super fine so it sweetens the cookie without making it crumbly or dry.
  • Vegan butter - be sure to use a "block style" variety at room temp.
  • Soy milk - unsweetened and unflavoured if possible!
  • Vanilla extract & almond extract - for big flavour!

As always, the full recipe is at the bottom of the page, so check there for quantities.

Now, the method itself is super simple and actually bonkers enjoyable to make, so let me talk you through it!

vegan christmas cookies

How do I make vegan Christmas cookies?

I've simplified things down to four steps to make the recipe easier to digest since I imagine you'll be doing a whole bunch of digesting this Christmas...

butter and sugar

1. Make the dough! It's a simple vegan sugar cookie dough, so nothing fancy, but I would advise really creaming your vegan butter and icing sugar together before adding the soy milk. This introduces tiny air bubbles and keeps your cookies light!

refrigerating the dough

2. Chill the dough! This dough is super soft at room temperature. I'm talking like cake batter soft! So make sure it's thoroughly chilled before trying to roll it out, otherwise it'll be a sticky disaster, Of and be sure to flour the counter!

cut out cookies

3. Bake the cookies! Once your cookies are all cut out, arrange them on a cookie sheet and bake away! It'll only take 8 mins per batch, so you will find yourself with a bunch of cooling vegan Christmas cookies in no time!

decorating the cookies

4. Decorate the cookies! Now for the magic bit! Use my vegan buttercream recipe to make an ombre effect, starting with dark green, then light green, then white for a snowy Christmas tree vibe!

Hint: I can't over-emphasise how soft this cookie dough is at room temp. If you have the time, I'd even advise freezing your cookie sheet, before topping with unbaked cookies. This will keep the cookies chilled for longer and stop them from spreading so much in the oven as they bake.

baked cookies

Subs and swaps

So you wanna party like it's the first Christmas of ya life, but you're dubious about the cookie ingredients. Don't worry! Here are my recommendations for ingredient swaps:

  • Flour - Dodging gluten? Don't worry! Just use a gluten free flour blend and the cookies will turn out great regardless! Freee or Bob's Red Mill are my favourite brands, but use one you trust already!
  • Vegan Butter - Don't fancy using vegan butter? Or perhaps you can't get hold of it? Try using coconut oil instead - deodorised works best if you can find it.
  • Soy Milk - I always say that soy milk works best for baking, because it naturally contains lecithin, which stops batters and doughs from splitting. However, if you have an allergy, any plant milk will do!

Let me know if you make any subs or swaps of your own - I'd love to hear how they turned out!

vegan christmas cookies

Customise your vegan Christmas cookies!

These are such a simple recipe, which means they're great for making with kids, but also for customising! Here are some fun ideas for next level vegan Christmas cookies!

  • Sandwich session!- This recipe makes a LOT of cookies, so why not consider making these into sandwich cookies? Use your colourful buttercream as the filling and double up that cookie stack!
  • Flip the flavour! - I've gone for almond flavour, since it's a crowd pleaser, but if you'd like to go more Christmassy, why not try some peppermint extract in your buttercream?
  • Shape Shifter! - Obviously these cookies work for whichever shape you fancy! It doesn't have to even be Christmassy! If you don't celebrate Christmas, feel free to get creative with the shape you make and way you decorate!

If you'd rather explore different cookie options, why not try my Vegan Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies! They're insanely delicious! If you're more of a classic cookie fan, why not bake a batch of Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies? There's also these Vegan Double Chocolate Coconut Oatmeal Cookies for the choc-curious!

vegan christmas cookies

Vegan Christmas cookie equipment!

In the words of my favourite gay uncle, Scar from Lion King: "be prepared"! Here's the equipment you'll need:

  • 1 x large bowl
  • 1 x sieve
  • 1 x electric mixer OR
  • 1 x stand mixer
  • 1 x oven
  • 3 x cookie sheets
  • 3 x piping bags
vegan christmas cookies

Bonus Tip!

My vegan buttercream is beautifully soft and smooth, which is great for a cake, but not always ideal for a cookie! If you'd like to store the cookies in a way which makes the buttcream actually SET, then here's how! Seal the cookies in an airtight container once decorated, making sure they're in a single layer, and place in the fridge to chill for an hour. The buttercream will set AND the cold fridge will make the cookies last longer.

vegan christmas cookies

Vegan Christmas cookies FAQs

Q: What kind of cookies do vegans bake?

A: Most homemade cookies can be made vegan. Just swap any dairy products for the vegan equivalents and replace each egg for 50ml of soy milk.

Q: How do I stop vegan cookies from spreading?

A: Firstly make sure you're using a solid vegan butter, rather than margarine. Margarine has a higher liquid content so is more liable to spread as it bakes. Secondly, be sure to chill your vegan cookies or dough before baking.

vegan christmas cookies
vegan christmas cookies

Vegan Christmas Cookies

Richard Makin
Super crisp and easy vegan Christmas cookies with a hint of almond, topped with festive almond buttercream.
4.77 from 21 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 8 mins
Total Time 18 mins
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 60 small cookies
Calories 28 kcal
Equipment
  • 1 x large bowl
  • 1 x sieve
  • 1 x electric mixer OR
  • 1 x stand mixer
  • 1 x oven
  • 3 x cookie sheets
  • 3 x piping bags
Ingredients
 
 
  • 170 g plain white flour (aka all purpose flour)
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch (aka cornflour)
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (aka baking soda)
  • 90 g icing sugar
  • 115 g vegan butter (room temperature)
  • 30 ml soy milk (at room temperature, unflavoured and unsweetetend)
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 batch vegan buttercream frosting (made in advance, covered with cling film/saran wrap and refrigerated)
  • natural green food dye
  • gold lustre spray (for decorating)
Instructions
 

To Make the Cookies

  • In a medium bowl, sieve together the plain white flour, cornstarch, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Set aside.
    170 g plain white flour, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat together the icing sugar and vegan butter for at least 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Slowly add the soy milk followed by the vanilla and almond extracts, beating as you go.
    90 g icing sugar, 115 g vegan butter, 30 ml soy milk, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat slowly until just combined into a dough. The dough will be very soft, unlike typical cookie dough - but don't worry! Scoop the dough out onto a sheet of cling film/saran wrap and wrap completely. Place in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
  • Once the dough is thoroughly chilled, preheat the oven to 190 °C and line three cookie sheets or baking trays with baking parchment.
  • Once the dough is thoroughly chilled, heavily dust a clean counter and unwrap the dough. Divide the dough in half and keep one half wrapped and refrigerated.
  • Roughly pat the other half of dough into a ball and dust the top with flour. Roll out into a ½ cm thick sheet and use a cookie cutter to cut out as many trees as you can. Transfer the cut-out trees to one of the lined baking sheets.
  • Gather the excess dough from the counter and push into a rough ball. Wrap again in cling film/saran wrap and place back in the fridge. Remove the other chilled half of dough from the fridge and repeat the process with this half, making sure you gather the excess dough trimmings, wrap them and refrigerate.
  • Place the two trays of cut out cookies in the preheated oven to bake for 8 minutes. While these cookies bake, rollout the chilled excess dough and repeat the process of cutting out as many cookies as you can. Transfer these last cookies to a sheet of baking parchment.
  • When the first batch of cookies are baked, remove them from the oven and allow
  • Divide the prepared vegan buttercream between three small bowls. Using the green food dye dye one of the bowls dark green, one of the bowls light green and leave one undyed.
    1 batch vegan buttercream frosting, natural green food dye
  • Transfer the buttercream into three separate piping bags and make a very small hole in the tip. Pipe a line of dark green blobs horizontally across the bottom of the tree. Use a knife to press down each blob and drag upwards. Repeat the process working your way up the tree, switching to light green half-way up the tree and white for the top of the tree.
  • Alternatively, put the two green buttercreams in a piping bag fitted with a decorative nozzle, try your best not to blend the two colours together. Decorate the tree cookies with the two tone buttercream and top with a white star. Once done, spray each tree with gold lustre spray and serve.
    gold lustre spray
  • To store, seal in an airtight container and place in the fridge. Best consumed on the day of baking.

Nutrition

Calories: 28kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 0.3gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.01gSodium: 22mgPotassium: 8mgFiber: 0.1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 75IUVitamin C: 0.04mgCalcium: 3mgIron: 0.1mg
Keyword vegan christmas cookies
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    Recipe Rating




  1. Andy G

    October 22, 2022 at 9:33 pm

    5 stars
    These are TOO ADORABLE

    Reply
  2. S MH

    October 22, 2022 at 10:30 pm

    5 stars
    OMG how cute are these??

    Reply
  3. beth Cater

    October 27, 2022 at 9:03 am

    5 stars
    Made these yesterday they were so easy and so delicious. I'll be making for christmas definitely

    Reply
    • Denise

      December 14, 2022 at 6:23 pm

      What brand of vegan butter do you prefer?

      Reply
  4. Beth

    October 29, 2022 at 11:21 pm

    5 stars
    Now I have a new favourite christmas cookie!

    Reply
  5. Heather F

    December 01, 2022 at 10:47 pm

    5 stars
    These work out perfectly every time

    Reply
  6. Eya

    December 16, 2022 at 7:02 pm

    5 stars
    Yummy cookies with lovely texture but very low yield, unfortunately! We were only able to get 18 cookies out of this recipe with typical size holiday cookie cutters.

    Reply
  7. Florian

    December 24, 2022 at 11:02 pm

    1 star
    The measurements are off. 170g of flour for 60 cookies is ridiculous. You would need at least 3X this amount.

    Reply
  8. Nina

    December 30, 2022 at 4:01 pm

    The best cookie recipe! Made them four times over Christmas!

    Reply
  9. Daria

    February 14, 2023 at 11:50 am

    Hi, I love and higly appreciate all your recipes. But this one made me really nervous, the dough was pretty hard to work with. Anyway, cookies are tasty 🙂 I have added also lemon zest and love this little tangy note.

    Reply

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Richard Makin is the School Night Vegan.

Richard has been exploring the world of plant-based cuisine since November 2017 when he switched from life-long vegetarian to full-time vegan!

More about me →

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