Vegan Cut Out Sugar Cookies

These Vegan Cut Out Sugar Cookies are perfect for any occasion! NO CHILLING of the dough is required, so they’re super easy and quick to make.

The holiday season can be a challenging time of year for those with allergies, and having an egg allergy seems to be on the rise. This eggless sugar cookie recipe will make sure no one has to miss out on the fun of cookie decorating this year!

For more eggless cookie recipes, try these Vegan Shortbread Cookies, Vegan Snickerdoodles, and Vegan Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies.

For more easy recipes for your vegan holiday, try this Vegan Hot Chocolate, Gluten-Free Vegan Pecan Pie Bars, or Gluten-Free Vegan Holiday Roast.

Why You’ll Love These Vegan Sugar Cookies

• Allergy-friendly – These cookies are allergy-friendly for more than just egg allergies. They’re free of dairy, soy, tree nuts, and peanuts. They’re also easy to make gluten-free with just one swap to a gluten-free flour blend.
• Simple recipe – This vegan sugar cookie dough comes together in under 10 minutes with no chilling of the dough required. I don’t know why, but having to chill cookie dough is such a bummer to me, so I wanted to make sure this recipe didn’t need it!
• Blank slate, baby – These cut out cookies are perfect for any holiday or occasion. Just switch up which cookie cutters you use for fun shapes, or stick with basic shapes and have a totally blank canvas for your creativity!

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

• All-purpose flour – I use all-purpose flour in most of my baking, but you can swap for 1:1 gluten-free baking flour to make this recipe gluten-free.
• Flax seed – I use ground flaxseed as the egg replacer for this recipe. One flax egg is made with 1 1/2 Tbsp flaxmeal + 3 tbsp warm water, set aside for 5 minutes.
• Sugar* – I use cane sugar for this recipe. You can swap for white granulated sugar, just make sure to select a vegan variety (see notes)
• Salt – Just a pinch!

Wet Ingredients

• Vegan butter – Salted or unsalted butter are fine for this recipe. When selecting a vegan butter, you can choose either the stick variety or tub variety. You will want the butter to be soft enough to work, but not too soft. Make sure to select a vegan butter than suits your dietary restrictions.
• Vegetable shortening – I prefer Crisco for my vegetable shortening, just make sure to select a vegan variety. Only 1/2 cup shortening is used in this recipe. You can swap to use all vegan butter, just make sure the butter is COLD and firm instead of room temperature.
• Pure vanilla extract – You can swap this for lemon extract or almond extract if you want a bit of a different flavor for your cookies.
• Water – This is used to create the flax egg. You can swap this for any liquid like almond milk or soy milk if you want more flavor, but it isn’t necessary.
• Optional: Royal Icing, sprinkles, etc. – There are many store-bought vegan icing options. Just make sure to select a variety that meets your dietary restrictions (i.e. gluten-free, etc).

Helpful Equipment

In addition to measuring cups and spoons, the following equipment is helpful for this recipe:

• Large bowl – For mixing the dough. See ‘optional’ below for notes about using a mixer.
• Rolling pin
• Baking sheet – The full recipe usually gets me about 30-35 cookies and takes up 2 large baking sheets. This will depend on what cutters you use and what size you want your cookies.
• Cookie cutters – I used classic Christmas shapes (Christmas tree, candy cane, and star), but as mentioned before, you can use any shape you want!
• Optional: Hand mixer or stand mixer. If you want to be totally hands off with this recipe, you can use a mixer, but it is not necessary. I think the dough is easy enough to mix with a spatula or your hands.

How to Make Vegan Cut Out Sugar Cookies

This is a detailed step-by-step guide on how to make this recipe including photographs. For the quick version, skip ahead to the recipe card below!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Start by making your flax egg. Combine 1 1/2 Tbsp flaxmeal with 3 tbsp warm water. Set it aside for 5 minutes.

While the flax egg is setting, mix the cane sugar, vegetable shortening, and vegan butter in a large mixing bowl. Stir vigorously until everything is smooth and the mixture is slightly frothy.

Add the flax egg and vanilla extract mix again.

Add the flour and pinch of salt and mix until a cohesive dough has formed. The dough should stick together easily, but should not be wet. If the dough is too crumbly, add 1 tbsp water or plant milk and knead until you reach the right consistency.

Remove half of the dough and place it on a well-floured surface. You can work with all of the dough at once if you prefer, I just find it easier to work with smaller portions.

Shape the dough into a rough rectangle and flour the top of the dough. Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough. For best results, the dough should be no less than 1/4 inch thick. The thicker the dough, the easier it will be to transfer the cut cookies to a baking sheet without them breaking apart.

Use your cookie cutters to create shapes in the flattened dough. Return the excess dough to the bowl and repeat the process until all of the dough is used.

Place the cut cookies in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. These cookies will not spread, so you can leave as little as 1 inch of space between the cookies. If you crowd the baking sheet too much, the cookies will take longer to bake.

Bake the cookies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-13 minutes or until the cookies turn slightly golden brown. For a chewier cookie, cook for less time. For a crunchy cookie, cook for more time.

Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely on the baking tray.

Now the baked cookies are ready to be decorated! Choose your favorite store-bought icing, sprinkles, etc., and get creative!

That’s it! Enjoy!

Variations

There are so many easy ways to make this recipe your own!

You can swap for a gluten-free flour blend to turn these into gluten-free cookies.

If you don’t have flaxseed, you can swap for an “oil egg” which is 2 tbsp water + 1 tbsp oil. Try to use a neutral-flavored oil like canola or avocado.

How to Store

• Room temperature: Once fully cooled, you can store these cookies in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
• Freezer: These cookies are super freezer-friendly! Just store in a freezer bag for up to 3 months for best flavor.

More Tips

• Not Vegan? Use dairy butter or replace the flax egg with 1 regular egg.
• Gluten-Free? Swap with a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour.