Vegan Shortbread Cookies
These easy vegan shortbread cookies are flaky, buttery, and delicious. With just 3 simple ingredients, these dairy-free cut-out cookies are perfect for any holiday or event!
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This cookie recipe came from an old family friend who used to have a catering business. She always made these cookies at Christmas time. I was about 10 years old when I first had one, and I had never had a cutout cookie that tasted so good! We always made sugar cookies to frost and decorate, but they were kind of bland and didn’t have the delicious texture that the shortbread cookies did. From that day on these are the only cut-out cookie that I ever made.
They’re a little more brittle than traditional vegan sugar cookies, but the difference in taste is worth it! You can frost them like a sugar cookie or just sprinkle them with a little colored or powdered sugar for an elegant shortbread that will make your mouth water!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- It’s easy to make with only 3 ingredients and there’s no need to wait and chill the dough before rolling.
- They’re perfect for any holiday like Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, or Halloween since you can cut them into any shape you wish.
- These cookies are vegan and can easily be made gluten-free with a gluten-free flour blend.
- They’re not too sweet with just a hint of sugar.
- These cookies are great for sprinkling with a little sugar or frosting with buttercream or royal icing.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Flour -regular all-purpose flour works best, but you can use my homemade gluten-free flour mix to make them gluten-free.
- Vegan Butter – you can use any type of vegan butter. My homemade vegan butter (stick version) works great. You can also use Earth Balance or other high-quality vegan margarine. (Add a dash of salt if using unsalted butter.)
- Sugar – to sweeten the cookie. Any white or light-colored granulated sugar will work.
Helpful tools
- Pastry Cutter – or just a large fork to mix up the dough.
- Rolling Pin – to roll out the cookies.
- Cookie Cutters – to make your cookies in any shape that you wish.
- Cookie Sheet – any baking tray on which to bake your cookies. A heavy cookie sheet or an Airbake cookie sheet will help your cookies bake evenly and not burn.
How to make vegan shortbread cookies
Preparing the dough
Step 1 – Mix the flour, softened vegan butter, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. (You can use a pastry mixer, a large fork, or your hands).
Step 2 – Mix until it forms a firm dough that can be rolled out. (Splash 1 tsp of cold water on the dough and mix it in to help soften the dough if needed).
Step 3 – Spread a layer of flour on a flat surface and your rolling pin.
Step 4 – Roll the cookie dough out, dusting the top and rolling pin with flour when needed.
Step 5 – Make sure the dough is flat, even, and about 1/4 inch thick, then cut it out with cookie cutters.
Baking the cookies
Step 6 – Use a flat metal spatula to carefully pick the cookies off the countertop and put them on a cookie sheet, no need to use parchment paper.
Step 7 – Sprinkle with colored sugar if desired before baking.
Step 8 – Bake at 375° F (190° C) for 10 minutes until golden brown.
Step 9 – Allow cooling for about 10 minutes on the cookie sheet before moving them to a flat countertop to continue cooling further.
How to make vegan colored sugar
Did you know that most of the colored sugar is not vegan? Most sprinkles and colored sugars have confectioner’s glaze in them. Confectioner’s glaze is food-grade shellac that is made from the resin of beetles. Because of this, I make my own colored sugar with sugar in the raw and food coloring.
Simply mix 1/4 cup of vegan sugar (the type with large crystals works best) with about 2 drops of vegan food coloring and stir. It takes a few minutes of stirring and mixing the color in with the sugar before the lumps get out and it turns into perfectly colored sugar ready for decorating.
Pro Tips
- Make sure to use vegan butter that has been removed from the fridge and allowed to warm up to room temperature before making the dough.
- Add just enough water to make the dough easy to roll out. The less water you use the better the taste and texture of the cookies.
- Try not to overwork the dough. The cookies will have a lighter and flakier texture the less you mix and roll them.
- Use a heavy baking sheet or an AirBake cookie sheet to allow the cookies to bake evenly.
Customizing your cookies
- Don’t use cookie cutters with skinny details. These cookies will break easily, so little details may break off.
- Decorate the top of the dough with colored sugar before baking.
- To frost the cookies: bake plain and then frost with vegan buttercream frosting or vegan royal icing.
Gluten-free shortbread cookies instructions
If you need these to be gluten-free, use my gluten-free flour mix. For this, you will need 1 1/2 cup oat flour, 1/2 cup of tapioca starch, and 2 tsp of xanthan gum. (For most recipes I say you can make your own oat flour, by grinding and sifting it, but for these cookies, I recommend using the store-bought oat flour since it is much finer and smoother.
Storage
Store your vegan shortbread cookies in an airtight container on the countertop for 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
These desserts all taste great with a mug of my homemade vegan eggnog or some vegan hot chocolate.
Vegan shortbread cookies recipe
Vegan Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour, (plus a little extra for rolling out the dough)
- 1 cup vegan butter, or any vegan margarine (stick versions work best).
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon water, if needed to work the dough
Equipment
- rolling pin
- cookie cutters
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Mix the flour, softened vegan butter, and sugar in a mixing bowl. (You can use a pastry mixer, a large fork, or your hands).
- Mix until it forms a firm dough that can be rolled out. (Splash 1 tsp of cold water on the dough and mix it in to help soften the dough if needed).
- Spread a layer of flour on a flat surface and your rolling pin.
- Roll the dough out, dusting the top and rolling pin with flour when needed.
- Make sure the dough is flat, even, and about 1/4 inch thick, then cut out with cookie cutters.
- Use a flat metal spatula to carefully pick the cookies off the countertop and put them on a cookie sheet.
- Sprinkle with colored sugar if desired before baking.
- Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 10 minutes.
- Allow cooling for about 10 minutes on the cookie sheet before moving them to a flat countertop to continue cooling further.
Notes
- Make sure to use vegan butter that has been allowed to warm up to room temperature before making the dough.
- Add just enough water to make the dough easy to roll out. The less water you use the better the taste and texture of the cookies.
- Try not to overwork the dough. The cookies will have a lighter and flakier texture the less you mix and roll it.
- Don’t use cookie cutters with fine details. These cookies will break easily, so small details may break off.
- Use a heavy cookie sheet or an AirBake cookie sheet to allow the cookies to bake evenly.
- Decorate with colored sugar before baking.
- To frost the cookies: bake plain and then frost with vegan buttercream frosting or vegan royal icing.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review below!📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
It needs a little bit of vanilla extract or almond extract to make them taste good, the shaping and baking is great, chewy and soft.
Found on Pinterest. I’m so proud that these came out. So yummy and light! Paired with her buttercream recipe for extra sweetness.
*Note – use stick butter as suggested. My tdough was very soft. But I did use butter from a tub vs stick which is probably why. i just had to add a little extra flour to dough. It was very soft and hard to lift with spatula. But I was able to roll and cut out a snowflake shape. I just cut them on parchment paper then tipped upside down so I could transfer to hand then flip onto baking sheet. Because my butter was roo soft, the buttercream never thickened up even after adding more powdered sugar and cooling. Super delicious 10/10.
I’m so glad that you liked the recipe, Natasha.
These were so buttery and delicious! I couldn’t stop eating them! Thanks for the recipe!
They are super buttery and flaky. One of my favorite cookies!
I just made these to share at a Christmas party this weekend. They are so rich and buttery! I can’t stop eating them! I am going to have to make another batch before the party! Thanks so much for this great recipe! I missed real buttery tasting shortbread!
I do the same thing with those cookies. We have already made 3 batches for Christmas, but they keep disappearing.