Best Vegan Christmas Cookie Recipes

Every semester, once I submit my last assignments and finals, I love to relax for a couple of days and unwind from such a stressful semester. Baking is one of my favorite ways to do so. I also recently have started to try to eat more plant-based. I’ve been a vegetarian for almost three years, and now I’m starting to lean more towards veganism. With that being said, I wanted to look up some vegan recipes to get into the spirit of Christmas, and I have found five that looked simple and delicious! So without further ado, here are five vegan recipes for different types of Christmas cookies!

Vegan Gingerbread Cookies (Gluten Free) 

A Christmas classic with a warm flavor that is not too sweet! This recipe looks super delicious and easy to make and can be made gluten free as well! The ingredients you will need are:

• 1 ¾ cup of flour

• ¾ cup of sugar

• Spices: 1 tsp of ginger and 1 tsp of cinnamon

• ½ cup vegan butter or soft coconut oil

• ¼ cup molasses

• 2 tbsp ground flax seeds mixed with ⅓ cup water

• For icing: 2 tbsp non-dairy milk, 2 cups of powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, and sea salt and set aside.

3. In another bowl, beat together the vegan butter or coconut oil and sugar until combined. Add in the molasses and ground flaxseed, and continue to beat until completely combined.

4. Add wet ingredients into dry and combine into a stick dough. Round dough into a ball, and wrap with plastic wrap. Place the dough into the fridge and chill for 30 minutes.

5. When the dough is chilled, roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thick. 

6. Choose your cookie cutters, lightly flour the side that is going to be cut into the dough, and press the cookie cutter into the dough. Repeat until all of the dough is gone. 

7. Place the gingerbread men cookies onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place the cookies in the oven for 12-14 minutes or until slightly puffy to touch.

8. Let cool while you mix the non-dairy milk and powdered sugar for the icing.

9. Add the icing once cookies are cooled, and enjoy! 

Super Easy Sugar Cookies  

These cookies are so soft, chewy, and sweet that you won’t even know that they’re vegan! They are also super easy to make and only take about 20 minutes to do! For your ingredients you will need:

• ¾ cup baking flour

• 1 ¼ cup almond flour

• ½ vegan butter or coconut oil, softened

• 2 tbsp ground flaxseed with 4 tbsp water

• ½ cup of  sugar 

• 2 tbsp vanilla extract

• 1 tsp almond extract

• For icing: 2 tbsp non-dairy milk, 2 cups of powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.

2. Whip the vegan butter and sugar together until creamy and smooth.

3. Add in the flaxseed, vanilla and almond extract, and flours and continue to beat until it is a sticky dough.

4. Let the dough chill for ready minutes. Then, on a clean surface, roll the dough to about ¼ inch thick.

5. Use cookie cutters to cut into the dough until there is no remaining dough.

6. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes or until golden.

7. Let cool while you mix the non-dairy milk and powdered sugar for the icing.

8. Once they’ve cooled down, decorate as you’d like and enjoy!

Gluten Free Vegan Homemade Samoa Cookies 

Who doesn’t like Girl Scout Cookies? This recipe takes a vegan twist on one of the best types of cookies to ever exist, and it’s composed of a shortbread base topped with homemade caramel, toasted coconut, and dark chocolate! For this recipe you will need the following ingredients:

For the base:

• ¾ cup coconut oil – solid but softened

• ⅓ cup sugar

• ½ cup maple syrup

• 1 tsp vanilla 

• 2 ¼ cups of all purpose flour

For homemade caramel:

• 1 cup coconut cream

• 1 cup coconut sugar

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 2 tbsp coconut oil

• 1 tbsp arrowroot powder

For toppings:

• ½ cup coconut flakes

• 8 oz dark chocolate, melted

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.

2. In a bowl, mix together coconut oil, sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, and flour until well combined.

3. Knead dough until it forms into a ball and roll it out to ¼ inch thick. 

4. Cut cookies using a circular cookie cutter until all dough is used.

5. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until slightly brown. Take them out of the oven and let cool.

6. Reduce temperature to 325 F and spread coconut flakes evenly in a pan. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until toasted and brown.

7. To create the caramel sauce: Add all the ingredients to a saucepan over medium heat, whisk well, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

8. To assemble the cookies: Dip shortbread base in melted dark chocolate. Let harden for a few minutes then add a layer of caramel on top of cookie and sprinkle with coconut and more dark chocolate.

9. Continue the process until you’ve run out of ingredients and enjoy!

Vegan Peanut Butter Blossoms (Gluten-free!)

Peanut Butter Blossoms are a personal favorite since I love all things peanut butter and chocolate! These cookies are soft and sweet with a healthy twist and are topped with vegan chocolate! For this recipe you will need to following ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour

• ½ coconut oil, slightly softened

• ½ cup of coconut sugar

• ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce

• ¾ cup smooth peanut butter

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• ½ tsp sea salt

• Decorative powder sugar

• Pouch of vegan chocolate chip

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.

2. Cream together peanut butter, applesauce, coconut oil, and vanilla extract.

3. Add the flour, coconut sugar, baking soda, and sea salt, and mix until it forms a thick dough.

4. Roll dough into small dough balls onto a cookie sheet. Dip each cookie dough ball into the decorative sugar and coat it all around.

5. Lightly flatten the cookies and bake for 10 minutes.

6. Immediately press a chocolate chip into the cookie lightly and immediately place cookies into the freezer to cool them down.

7. Enjoy!

Soft and Chewy Chocolate Peppermint Cookies (Vegan!)

Saved the best for last! What even is Christmas without peppermint? These cookies are extra soft and gooey and basically taste like a brownie with a kick of peppermint. These are super easy to make and take about 20 minutes to bake! The ingredients you will need are:

• 1 ⅓ cups of baking flour

• ⅔ cup raw cocoa powder

• ¾ cup coconut sugar

• ½ cup of softened vegan butter

• ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

• ½ cup of crushed vegan peppermint candies

• ½ cup bittersweet vegan chocolate chips

• For chocolate coating: ½ cup of crushed vegan peppermint candies

• ½ cup bittersweet vegan chocolate chips, melted

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F.

2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour and cocoa powder. In a larger bowl, mix the coconut sugar, butter, applesauce, vanilla extract until creamy.

3. Mix the wet and dry ingredients while stirring until mixtures are well combined and you have a thick and sticky dough, then add in the peppermint candies and chocolate chips.

4. Roll the dough into balls (approximately 20), and place them on the baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes. 

5. Let cool for 15 minutes and then dip each cookie halfway into the melted chocolate and sprinkle with the extra crushed peppermint candies.

6. Enjoy!

I hope these treats make your holidays a bit sweeter! Happy holidays to everyone, and if you are interested in more vegan recipes, the ones featured in this article are from The Banana Diaries and Crowded Kitchen! Happy eating (:

• christmas
• food
• HC MSU
• holiday