These easy vegan spritz cookies are fun to make and always a holiday favorite. Spritz cookies are simple little butter cookies pressed into fun shapes. They're made with only a few ingredients yet the shapes and colors are endless.
Kids love to squeeze the cookie press into these fun little cookies that they can decorate with sprinkles. You can also color the dough to make the cookies any color that you want.
My kids think that the cookie press is fascinating, and I like that they make little cookies that go a long way. They're perfect for a Christmas cookie platter along with vegan sugar cookies, snickerdoodles, and vegan haystacks just to name a few.
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🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Vegan Butter - use a high-quality vegan stick butter. I find that Country Crock brand plant butter or Earth Balance Sticks work well. You can also use the stick version of my vegan butter recipe.
- Vegan Sugar - any granulated organic sugar will work. (Organic sugar is vegan.)
- Flour - all-purpose flour works best for these cookies.
- Corn Starch - this is to make the cookies slightly soft and chewy. You omit it if you want a crunchier cookie.
- Salt - for flavor. You can omit it if you choose.
- Extracts - for flavor. I like to use vanilla extract or almond extract for a different flavor.
- Vegan Sprinkles - to decorate the cookies. Many brands of sprinkles have confectioners' glaze in them which is not vegan. Be sure to look for sprinkles or sanding sugars that don't contain confectioners' glaze.
🔪 Helpful tools
Electric Mixer - this can be a hand mixer or a stand mixer. You can use a wooden spoon and stir a lot if you don't have a mixer.
Cookie Press - you will need a cookie press for making spritz cookies. You can also pipe these cookies with a very large piping tip and make a danish butter cookie instead. I have this cookie press and it works well for me, but any high-quality one will work.
🥄 How to make vegan spritz cookies
Step 1 - Take butter out of the fridge about 45 minutes before baking to allow it to come to room temperature.
Step 2 - Preheat your oven to 375° F (190° C).
Step 3 - Cream the butter and sugar by adding 1 cup softened vegan butter, 1 cup of sugar, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract to a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes until the butter and sugar are light and fluffy.
Step 4 - Slowly add 2 cups of spoon-measured flour, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, and 1/4 tsp of salt to the butter and sugar mixture and beat on low until combined.
Step 5 - Fill your cookie press with the cookie batter pressing it down to try to avoid air pockets.
Press the spritz cookies
Step 6 - Press the cookies onto an ungreased baking sheet about 1 inch apart (don't line it with parchment paper). (Hold the cookie press firmly on the cookie sheet and squeeze the lever, then pick the press straight up. The first cookie or two never come out right.)
Step 7 - Decorate with vegan sprinkles or sanding sugars before baking.
Bake the cookies
Step 8 - Bake the cookies at 375°F (190° C) for 8-10 minutes. (They will still look doughy on the top but will be slightly brown on the bottom. If you start to notice the edges turning brown, take them out of the oven immediately.)
Step 9 - Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet before moving to a flat surface.
❔ What type of vegan butter is best for cookies?
Vegan spritz cookies can be a little tricky since there is a big variation in the quality of vegan butter. Depending on the type of butter you use, the cookies will come out a little differently. I highly recommend a stick version like Country Crock Plant Butter, Mikayo vegan butter, or Earth Balance sticks. Tub butter has higher water content and can make the dough too soft for pressing.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- Since the butter can change the dough a lot, I highly recommend pressing 2-3 cookies and baking them to test and make sure that they hold their shape before pressing out a whole batch.
- If your cookie dough is too soft your cookies will flatten when cooked, if this happens add 1-2 tablespoons more flour to the dough.
- Be sure to spoon-measure the flour so that you have the proper flour-to-butter ratio.
✨ Decorating spritz cookies
Decorate your pressed cookies with sprinkles or sanding sugars before you bake them. This way they will stick to the dough. You can also decorate them with vegan royal icing or my vegan eggnog icing after they have baked and cooled.
If you want your pressed cookies to be different colors, add some vegan food coloring to the dough and mix well before putting it into the press.
🥡 How to store spritz cookies
Countertop: These vegan spritz cookies will keep well on the countertop for 1 week in a sealed container.
Freeze: These cookies freeze well and can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Vegan spritz cookie recipe
Vegan Spritz Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegan butter (2 sticks)
- 1 cup vegan sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour (240 grams by weight)
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons vegan sprinkles or sanding sugars
Instructions
- Take butter out of the fridge about 45 minutes before baking to allow it to come to room temperature.
- Preheat your oven to 375° F (190° C).
- Add 1 cup softened vegan butter, 1 cup of sugar, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract to a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes until the butter and sugar are light and fluffy.
- Slowly add 2 cups of spoon-measured flour, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, and 1/4 tsp of salt to the butter and sugar mixture and beat on low until combined.
- Fill your cookie press with the dough pressing it down to try to avoid air pockets.
- Press the cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. (Hold the cookie press firmly on the cookie sheet and squeeze the lever, then pick the press straight up. The first cookie or two never come out right.)
- Decorate with vegan sprinkles or sanding sugars before baking.
- Bake the cookies at 375°F (190° C) for 8-10 minutes. (They will still look doughy on the top but will be slightly brown on the bottom. If you start to notice the edges turning brown, take them out of the oven immediately.)
- Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet before moving to a flat surface.
Notes
- Vegan spritz cookies can be a little tricky since there is a big variation in the quality of vegan butter. Depending on the type of butter you use, the cookies will come out a little differently. I highly recommend a stick version like Country Crock Plant Butter, Mikayo vegan butter, or Earth Balance sticks. Tub butter has higher water content and can make the dough too soft for pressing.'
- I highly recommend pressing 2-3 cookies and baking them to test and make sure that they hold their shape before pressing out a whole batch.
- If your cookie dough is too soft your cookies will flatten when cooked, if this happens add 1-2 tablespoons more flour to the dough.
- Be sure to spoon-measure the flour so that you have the proper flour-to-butter ratio.
Nutrition
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click the stars above or leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you!
Do you have any gluten free suggestions?
These cookies are a little tricky because slight changes can cause the batter to not squeeze through the press as well. My gluten-free flour mix usually works wonders in most of my recipes to convert them to gluten-free, but I have not yet tested it with these cookies. Here is the link to the flour... https://thehiddenveggies.com/gluten-free-flour-recipe/ Let me know if you try it.
This recipe worked perfectly with my cookie press! I was worried that they wouldn't bake up the same without egg, but they were perfect!
I'm so glad that you liked the recipe, Megan!