Vegan Easter Sugar Cookies (GF-Options)

Simple and delicious crispy golden sugar cookies cut out into easter shapes and decorated with coloured icing – these are so fun to make and a great easter activity! Naturally vegan with gluten-free options, these cookies are great with a cup of tea.

Until last year, I hadn’t had a sugar cookie for a very long time and Halloween changed all that when I made my Chocolate Covered Mummy Sugar Cookies – which is the base for this recipe today. The sugar cookie recipe is such a staple that I rely on it for so many other things. It’s great for any shape cut-out cookies, or Linzer cookies, sandwich cookies, or for a bit of fun to practise my icing skills. The base is golden brown, slightly crisp on the outside, slightly chewy and soft in the middle, they are simple and delicious.

I have kept the ingredients the same but wanted to share them with you again today in case you’re looking for Easter Vegan Sugar Cookies and I hope that these will tempt your (Easter) fancy.

Here is what we need for the sugar cookies:

• Vegan butter or margarine: I prefer this to coconut oil and would suggest sticking with either of these. Make sure the butter is slightly softened or use margarine which is naturally softer.
• Sugar: coconut sugar will forever be my favourite to bake with, but I appreciate that it isn’t quite as common, and it is more expensive than other sugars. So, I have also made this many times with caster or light brown sugar, too. They all work really well!
• Vanilla essence: for the classic sugar cookie sweetness. Try almond extract for a fun twist.
• Plant-based milk: any milk will work here for example oat, almond, soya, hemp or coconut (from the carton).
• Plain flour: or your favourite GF flour blend. It keeps the cookies really light and chewy but crispy. I can imagine spelt flour would also work.
• Baking powder and bicarbonate of soda: for a little rise and texture.

Roll out the dough for these Easter Vegan Sugar Cookies straight away, no need to chill them beforehand. Then cut out any shapes you like. I went for quite traditional Easter shapes and then icing colourings, too. Here are my shapes and colours:

• Carrots: decorated with one orange icing mix and one green icing mix.
• Chicks: decorated with a pale-yellow icing mix, orange beaks and wings and chocolate eyes.
• Bunnies: white bodies with pink icing sugar ears and chocolate eyes and whiskers.
• Marbled Eggs: these were so fun. Make up the plain icing, swirl in some pink and then dip each cookie into the icing sugar and allow to the excess to drip off.

For these Easter Vegan Sugar Cookies, you could also make flowers, other little animals, plain circles or stars… whatever you have to hand!

Now, let’s talk colours. Wherever possible I try to use more natural colourings but it’s not always possible, so here is what I used. Also, just a note that not all food colourings are vegan, so just watch out and do some research.

• Green: with matcha powder.
• Orange: with orange food colouring.
• Yellow: with turmeric powder.
• Pink: with freeze-dried strawberry powder and/or pink food clouring.

Use whatever you have to make these Easter Vegan Sugar Cookies as fun to make as thy are to eat. Once made, allow the icing to set fully (this will take a few hours) otherwise the decorations will smudge, but if you’re not bothered about that, don’t worry and enjoy them straight away. As this makes quite a few cookies, they do last for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container. 

While these Easter Vegan Sugar Cookies were definitely a labour of love for me spread over about 3 days, it was definitely worth the while. Plus, if you’re not photographing them and worried about the edges smudging, they only take about 30 minutes of effort plus the cooling time.

I hope you will love these simple, delicious and fun Easter Vegan Sugar Cookies – they are slightly chewy yet crisp with a lovely vanilla sweet aroma and a great crunch. Fully vegan, nut-free, soya-free and easily gluten-free, they are a great activity for little (and big) ones, too. Cut out any shapes you like and decorate them however pleases you this Eastertime and beyond.

If you are looking for more Easter recipes, how about my:

• Easter Chocolate Cream Tart
• Chocolate Hot Cross Buns Scones (No-Yeast)
• Chocolate Hot Cross Buns
• Easter Egg Chocolate Tart
• Dark Chocolate Raspberry Fudge Banana Bread

Easter Vegan Sugar Cookies (GF-Options)

• Servings: 20-30
• Time: 30 minutes plus cooling
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Simple and delicious crispy golden sugar cookies cut out into easter shapes and decorated with coloured icing – these are so fun to make and a great easter activity! Naturally vegan with gluten-free options, these cookies are great with a cup of tea.

Ingredients

• 100g vegan butter or margarine
• 100g coconut or caster or light brown sugar (or a mix)
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 tbsp plant-based milk
• 250g plain or GF plain flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• A pinch of salt
To decorate:
• 200-300g icing sugar
• Water
• Melted chocolate for whiskers and eyes
• Colourings e.g. matcha powder, turmeric powder, beetroot powder or colouring gels

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 160Fan/180*C and line a few cookie sheets with baking paper.
2. Add the butter and sugar to a mixing bowl and beat together until creamy. Add in the vanilla and the milk and mix again.
3. Pour in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and the salt and stir together to form a ball of dough. You may need to bring it together with your hands.
4. Divide the dough into 2 and transfer one piece to a surface covered in flour-dusted parchment paper and roll out to about 1cm thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and transfer to the cookie sheet (use a pallet knife to loosen them). Repeat with the second ball of dough.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden and allow to cool fully on the tray on a wire rack (smaller shapes will take less time to cook)
6. Depending on how many colours you want to make for the icing and what shapes you have, divide the icing sugar into bowls, add enough water to make a thick icing and colour them accordingly. I used matcha powder for the green, orange food colouring for the orange, beetroot/strawberry powder for the pink swirls (don’t fully mix the pink into the icing to create the swirl effects and then dip the cookies in face down and allow thee excess to drip off), turmeric for the yellow and melted chocolate for the whiskers and eyes.
7. Allow the icing to set fully and store in airtight containers for up to 2 weeks.

I look forward to hearing what you think of these cute Easter Vegan Sugar Cookies so please let me know in the comments below! And if you make the cookies, please tag me on social media as I love seeing your creations – I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With Easter sugar cookie love x