Vegan Earth Day Cookies (Gluten-Free)

These Vegan Earth Day Cookies are perfect for celebrating our planet Earth. Two blue and green tender lemon sugar cookies sandwiched with a protein yoghurt mousse and hidden jam filling.

Happy Earth Day, friends. This year I thought I’d celebrate with the cutest cookies I think I have ever made. Imagine your favourite sugar cookie crossed with a delicious cheesecake mousse with some jam and this is what you have. These are the most fun little baking project for little ones (and big ones, too) and they taste so delicious, despite the bright blues and greens.

How delicious are these cookies?

These earth cookies are truly a delight to make and eat. They are:

• Tender, sweet and lemony
• Sugary, crisp on the outside and soft in the middle
• Fun to make
• Easy to prepare in a few steps
• Naturally vegan and nut-free and easily gluten-free
• Great to make all year round

If you want to make these cookies straight away, please skip ahead to the recipe card below, or first let’s discuss the recipe in more detail.

What ingredients do I need?

The recipe for these Vegan Earth Day Cookies is based on my Easy Vegan Neapolitan Cookies which are so tender and sugary.

For the cookie dough we need:

• Chia seeds and water: this makes our egg replacer. I always grind my chia seeds (from Natures Heart) into a fine flour for a smoother consistency. You can use ground flaxseed, too.
• Vegan butter: allow the butter to soften slightly so you can beat it more easily. I like the Naturli block of butter, but other brands are great too. The block of butter is better here than margarine spread in terms of taste and texture.
• Caster or coconut sugar: both are great although coconut sugar lends a richer colour which may cause the blue and green to not be as bright.
• Vanilla essence: for the flavour.
• Lemon: as these are lemony sugar cookies, a little lemon zest goes a long way.
• Plain or GF plain flour: keeps the cookie dough light and pliable.
• Bicarbonate of soda: just a little to help the cookies rise in the oven and then fall back on themselves slightly for the lovely crinkled top.
• Salt: for the flavour.
• Food colourings: read below for more information on the options here.

As for the filling:

• Thick dairy-free yoghurt: it is important the yoghurt is thick so that the mousse filling holds together. My favourite to use is Cocos Organic but other dairy-free Greek-style yoghurt works well.
• Vegan vanilla protein powder: this thickens the yoghurt to a mousse texture and makes it lovely and light. I use the Awesome Supps protein and love the sweet vanilla flavour (NOURISHINGAMY10 saves you 10% off everything).
• Lemon: a little more lemon zest goes well with the lemon sugar cookies.
• Strawberry jam: these cookies really come alive with the hidden jammy middle. You can use other berry jam, too, like raspberry or blueberry or try cherry jam, too.

What food gel or colouring can I use?

I tested these cookies out so many times using different powders and gels. While I love using natural colours like blue spirulina and green matcha powder, the colour dulled quite a lot while baking and you cannot add too much without affecting the flavour. My other option is to use blue or green food gels which are very concentrated in comparison to food colouring liquids, and much better to use. You only need a few drops of each to colour the dough and it stays a rich colour even after being baked. If using gels, I suggest to use gloves as they do stain your fingers for a day.

How do I make these Vegan Earth Day Cookies?

These cookies are easy to make in a few steps:

• Prepare the chia gel: stir together the chia seeds and water.
• Beat together the butter and sugar: till pale and fluffy.
• Beat in the vanilla, lemon and chia gel: to a smooth mix.
• Add in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt: and beat to a smooth and thick cookie dough.
• Divide the mix into two: and colour one blue and one green.
• Separate the cookie doughs into smaller pieces: I used 1 tsp or 5g mini pieces.
• Use 5 pieces of cookie dough to make one cookie: alternate between 3 green and 2 blue and vice versa.
• Roll the cookie dough pieces together to create swirls: and then flatten the balls slightly onto a tray.
• Leave room for the cookies to expand slightly: and continue to make all the cookies:
• Bake for 7 to 8 minutes: until crisping at the edges and still slightly tender in the middle.
• Allow to cool slightly before touching them: then cool fully.
• Make the filling: beat together the yoghurt and protein till smooth.
• Pipe the frosting over half the cookies: and fill the middle with jam.
• Sandwich the cookies together: and enjoy.

Are these cookies gluten-free and nut-free?

Yes, these are easily gluten-free if you use GF flour with xantham gum in and then they are naturally nut-free, just check that your butter contains no nuts.

Can I make these into regular cookies?

You do not need to make the filling to turn these into Vegan Earth Day Cookie Sandwiches you can simple make cute little earth-shaped cookies. Finish at step 7 and store them at room temperature for 3-5 days.

I love cookies, what others can I make?

I hope you will love these Vegan Earth Day Cookies and for more ideas, how about my:

• Vegan Monster Cookies
• Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Dark Chocolate Vegan Brownie Cookies
• Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Cookies
• Peanut Butter Stuffed Cookies

I look forward to hearing what you think of these Vegan Earth Day Cookies so please let me know in the comments below. If you do make these cookies, I’d love to see them so please tag me, I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With Earth Day love x