Vegan baking doesn’t need to mean buying tons of hard-to-find, expensive ingredients from health food stores. It’s come a long way, and if you’re armed with some basic pantry staples like coconut oil, dairy-free milk (anything from almond to soy to coconut will do), and almond butter, you’re already in good shape. Our top 10 vegan cookies range from classics like sugar and gingerbread cookies to sweet variations on chocolate chip cookies. In one recipe, we added maple syrup and olive oil, and another calls for a sprinkling of flaky sea salt on top of each dough ball.
For years, dairy-free baked goods like vegan cookies and cakes got a bad rap for being dense, not sweet enough, not fluffy enough, and all-around not good enough. We guarantee that these recipes will prove the haters wrong and give them something satisfying to snack on. So, grab a baking sheet, a spatula, a couple of bowls, and let’s get baking!
1. Vegan Sugar Cookies
There are no eggs, butter, or any other dairy products in these delicious vegan cookies. Instead, use dairy-free baking staples like Earth Balance’s buttery baking sticks, which you can buy on Instacart, and Ener-G egg replacer for sugar cookies that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, just the way we like it.
2. Stress-Free Vegan Holiday Gingerbread Cookies
There’s a lot of stress around the holidays. A lot. Between shopping, hosting or attending numerous parties, and decorating, it’s enough to send anyone into a frenzy. The one thing you don’t have to worry about this holiday season is baking with this easy, peasy vegan gingerbread cookie recipe. Melted coconut oil, which is easily found on Instacart, and almond milk are the only vegan ingredients you need to make these perfectly spiced cut-out cookies.
3. Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies With Maple & Olive Oil
Offset the sweetness of chocolate chips and maple syrup with a hint of olive oil. The fruity richness of the oil is a lovely contrast to these healthier dairy-free cookies, and the best part is that they’re totally and completely vegan.
4. Vegan Dark Chocolate Gingerbread Thumbprint Cookies
Chocolate and gingerbread is a highly, highly underrated combination. There’s just something about the rich chocolate and warm spices that gives us all the cozy feelings and makes us want winter to last all year long (you know, until the blizzards strike). Bonus: They’re gluten-free! A duo of almond flour and oat flour are used as the base for these cookies.
5. Ovenly's Secretly Vegan Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
Hailing from the beloved Brooklyn bakery, this vegan cookie recipe calls for flaky sea salt, which is sprinkled on top of each cookie just before baking. The genius bakers at Ovenly recommend that home bakers chill the dough in a large bowl in the refrigerator, which will make the final product extra tender.
6. Chewy Vanilla Spice Cookies With Chocolate Chunks
“I wanted a cookie that merged the benefits of a chewy chocolate chip cookie with the fragrance of a holiday spice cookie,” says recipe developer and Food52’s co-founder Amanda Hesser of this vegan cookie recipe. The result is a vanilla-forward, chocolatey, spicy cookie that will disappear in a flash at a holiday party (or really, anytime of the year).
7. Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies With Flaky Sea Salt
A duo of regular all-purpose flour and oat flour makes this vegan chocolate chip cookie a little nutty. Our other secret? Almond butter, which is used in place of regular butter and is mixed with a combination of sugars to create a cookie with an extra-chewy center.
8. Vegan Peanut Butter Skillet Cookie Sundae
Every dinner party starts with great recipes. And your vegan friends will especially love sitting around the dining room table digging into this rich and fudgy crowd-friendly cookie.
9. Vegan Oatmeal Cookies
Upgrade a batch of oatmeal cookies by folding in dried blueberries, dried cranberries, and chopped almonds instead of the usual raisins. They introduce new colors, new flavors, and new textures to this classic cookie that all of your vegan (and non-vegan!) friends will love. Plus, the cookies will be on the table in 30 minutes—just don’t forget to serve it with a generous swirl of coconut milk whipped cream or a scoop of dairy-free vanilla ice cream.
10. Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
We’re calling this the perfect soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe. To make it vegan, use coconut oil instead of butter and combine that with cane sugar and brown sugar for the ultimate dairy-free cookie base.
The Food52 Vegan Cookbook is here! With this book from Gena Hamshaw, anyone can learn how to eat more plants (and along the way, how to cook with and love cashew cheese, tofu, and nutritional yeast).
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