Delicious vegan shortbread cookies dusted with spiced sugar. Ideal for a vegan Christmas cookie party.
I wanted to write a vegan shortbread cookies recipe which was adaptable for YEAR ROUND joy, and guess what? I nailed it! This recipe is so simple and so foolproof but the cookies are consistently delicious.
They work perfectly as a simple vegan shortbread cookie, dusted with sugar. They also work brilliantly as a Christmassy spiced shortbread cookie, just add some spice to the sugar sprinkles. And finally they make INSANELY delicious vegan shortbread sandwich cookies, with a vegan buttercream frosting filling!
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🧈 Vegan Shortbread Cookies Ingredients
Shortbread cookies are traditionally very minimal on ingredients, and I've kept things simple for my vegan shortbread cookies. Here's a little breakdown of the everything you'll need from the pantry:
Plain white flour (aka all purpose flour)
Cornstarch (aka corn flour)
Icing sugar (aka confectioners sugar)
Fine sea salt
Vegan butter (the variety in a block works best)
Caster sugar (aka superfine sugar
Mixed spices (for the christmassy version)
As always, the full recipe is at the bottom of the page, so check there for quantities.
🥣 Method
This recipe couldn't be easier, but I've broken things down into four steps to give you a visual aid. Hey, some of us are visual learners *points at self* so let's get cracking!
1. Make the dough! Super classic vegan shortbread cookies only need vegan butter, flour and sugar. I've added a little cornstarch to this recipe, which helps the cookies to brown and also to stay super crisp after baking.
2. Roll out the dough! You'll need the dough to be super chilled before you start this step, so make sure you wrap the dough and place in the fridge. You're going to roll it out to about 5mm (½ a cm) and cut out some cute shapes.
3. Bake the cookies! The hands-off bit! These guys are rather thin, so be careful not to overbake these cookies. They should only take around 20 minutes at 170c. Ovens vary dramatically though, so keep an eye on them.
4. Dust with sugar! If making a batch of simple vegan shortbread cookies, you'll just sprinkle with sugar. If making the spiced version, use a mixture of sugar and spice. Either way do it immediately after baking or the sugar won't stick to the cookies.
Hint: Shortbread works best when made with cold hard vegan butter! Be sure not to use your hands too much (only very little kneading recommended) otherwise you'll melt the butter and activate the gluten in the cookies.
🔄 Subs and swaps
OK here's how to make these vegan shortbread cookies suit your diet! Shortbread for all! Huzaah!
- Flour - Are you gluten free? be stress free! Just swap the flour for a gluten free blend and you'll notice the shortbread cookies turn out great! 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.
Let me know if you make any subs or swaps of your own - I'd love to hear how they turned out!
🍪 Vegan Shortbread Cookies Variations
I've already talked about these three options a lot, but I know most of you don't actually read this stuff, so here goes again! Your three simple variations on this recipe are:
- Classic version! - Bake the vegan shortbread cookies as stated in the recipe then sprinkle with caster sugar when you remove them from the oven. SIMPLE!
- Spiced version! - While the cookies bake, mix together caster sugar and a bunch of spices (I'm more specific in the recipe below). Sprinkle the still-hot cookies and leave to cool!
- Sandwich version! - These cookies are lovely and thin, so they work great with a layer of vegan buttercream in the middle. Whip up a batch and pipe it in!
And hey, if these vegan shortbread cookies aren't your thing, why not try my Vegan Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies! They're very delicious! If you're more of a classic cookie fan, why not bake a batch of Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies? There's also this MASSIVE skillet cookie, ideal for sharing with your friends!
🔪 Equipment
Nothing special here - just your classic cookie kit! These vegan shortbread cookies are very low maintenance, that's why everyone loves them (especially lazy old me!)
- 1 x sieve
- oven
- 1 x medium bowl
- 1 x rolling pin
- 2 x cookie sheets or baking trays
- 1 x cooling rack
💅 Bonus Tip!
If you're making my vegan shortbread cookies into sandwich cookies, here's how to guarantee all the vegan buttercream doesn't squidge out when you bite. Seal the cookies in an airtight container once sandwiched and store in the fridge. The buttercream will set but still have a lovely creamy texture.
🤷♀️ Vegan Shortbread Cookies FAQs
A: When making vegan shortbread cookies, use a firm block-style vegan butter, rather than soft margarine. I like to use Flora plant-based or just cheap baking block from the supermarket.
A: Yes! Unlike many cookies, which can contain eggs, milk and butter, the only non-vegan element to traditional shortbread is butter. If you're attached to an old recipe, find a good butter replacement and the recipe is veganised!
Vegan Shortbread Cookies
Equipment
- 1 x sieve
- oven
- 1 x medium bowl
- 1 x rolling pin
- 2 x cookie sheets or baking trays
- 1 x cooling rack
Ingredients
For the Vegan Shortbread Cookies
- 250 g plain white flour (aka all purpose flour)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (aka corn flour)
- 75 g icing sugar (aka confectioners sugar)
- pinch fine sea salt
- 175 g vegan butter (the variety in a block works best, chilled)
For the Spiced Sugar
- 2 tablespoon caster sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- pinch ground nutmeg
- pinch ground ginger
Optional (If making sandwich cookies)
- ½ batch vegan buttercream frosting
Instructions
To Make the Vegan Shortbread Cookies
- In a medium bowl sieve together the plain white flour, cornstarch, icing sugar and sea salt. Mix well to combine.250 g plain white flour, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 75 g icing sugar, pinch fine sea salt
- Cut the vegan butter into cubes and add to the flour mixture. Using your finger tips, pinch the vegan butter into the flour mixture until the mixture is coarse, sandy and crumbly.175 g vegan butter
- Tip the mixture out onto a counter and knead a few times to form a rough ball (don't worry, it will be very crumbly at this stage).
- Slice the ball of dough into two and wrap each ball in cling film/saran wrap. Place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 170 °C and line two cookie sheets or baking trays with baking parchment. Lightly dust a counter and unwrap one of the balls of dough. Roll out the dough to around half a centimetre thickness and use a cookie cutter to cut out as many cookies as you can. Transfer the cut cookies to the lined cookie sheet.
- Gather any off-cut dough into a ball and wrap again in cling film/saran wrap. Place in the fridge to chill. Meanwhile remove and unwrap the second ball of dough and repeat the process, rolling out to half a centimetre and cutting out as many cookies as possible. When the two baking sheets are full of cookies with a little gap between each one, place in the preheated oven to bake for 20 minutes.
- While the cookies bake, make the spiced sugar by mixing together all the ingredients in a small bowl. As soon as the cookies are removed from the oven, sprinkle with the spiced sugar while they're still hot. Alternatively just sprinkle the still-hot cookies with caster sugar, for plain cookies. Allow the cookies to cool fully on a wire cooling rack before serving.2 tablespoon caster sugar, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon allspice, pinch ground nutmeg, pinch ground ginger
- Optional - If you'd like to make sandwich cookies, transfer the vegan buttercream to a piping bag and pipe a small amount of the vegan buttercream onto an inverted cookie. Sandwich with another cookie. Place in an airtight container and chill in the fridge until the buttercream is set firm before serving.½ batch vegan buttercream frosting
Jeroen
I have made two batches of these already and will probably make many more before Christmas. They are that good!
Gemma
I made these with my young daughter and let her take the lead. It was simple enough for her and they turned out brilliantly. We will make these whenever we need a little treat now. Fantastic recipe thank you.
Rebecca
These. Are. Amazing! I didn't like shortbread cookies before I went vegan so I wasn't sure about these, but they looked so good in the pictures and taste even better! We gobbled them up in no time and would definitely make them again.