10 Easy Vegan Cookie Recipes

These tried-and-tested cookies work beautifully every time — and are a fun introduction to vegan baking ingredients.

December 13, 2021

By: Michelle N. Warner

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How to Make Vegan Sweets

Vegan desserts showcase an array of clever ingredient swaps you won't always find in traditional baking — coconut oil may stand in for butter, almond milk takes the place of dairy, and even chickpea liquid can create a mean meringue. There's not much holding you back from making a truly satisfying cookie.

Plus, these days you can often find vegan versions for many favorite mix-ins, like chocolate chips. And when making vegan baked goods, make sure you look for sugars and molasses that are vegan. Though you likely won't see a package flat-out titled "vegan sugar," you should double-check your choice of brand. Some use processing techniques that involve animal products. For instance, some manufacturers process white sugar using animal bone char to help it turn white. Do an internet search to find out if the brand you'd like to use is vegan, or look for a certifed organic brand; they can't use bone char products.

New to vegan cookie-baking? Start with these vegan chocolate chip cookies — they make use of applesauce and coconut oil, and some other vegan swaps so you can get to know what you like. And they cook up crisp on the edges and chewy in the center without having to chill the dough.

Get the Recipe: Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Vegan Sugar Cookies

These cheerful sugar cookies are crisp and "buttery" without the butter — a store-bought vegan swap works wonderfully to mimic the texture of a more traditonal cookie. Mix up the sprinkles to celebrate any occasion on your calendar.

Get the Recipe: Vegan Sugar Cookies

Vegan Chocolate Cookies

This is a fun recipe to try when you've grown your vegan pantry — it has tapioca flour and xanthan gum to mimic the thickening qualities of eggs. The result is densely chocolaty with a nice chew. You’ll want a glass of oat milk to enjoy with these.

Get the Recipe: Vegan Chocolate Cookies

Vegan Vanilla Cookies with Walnuts

These nutty treats have a great chewy texture, augmented by the tapioca flour and xantham gum, plus applesauce for moisture. And with a few extra mix-ins, you can turn these into bonus recipes like Vegan Rocky Road Chocolate Whoopie Pies — check out the Cook's Note for instructions.

Get the Recipe: Vegan Vanilla Cookies with Walnuts

Vegan Meringues

With the magic of aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas that's a fascinating egg-white substitute) you can have meringues and leave the eggs out. Take these to the next level by adding your favorite flavor extract, such as almond or peppermint.

Get the Recipe: Vegan Meringues

Ree's No-Bake Cookies

These no-bake cookie balls from Ree can come together in a pinch — they're chock full of pantry staples and flavor-packed mix-ins like dried cherries and pistachios (just make sure your brown sugar is vegan).

Get the Recipe: No-Bake Cookies

Giada's Spiced Pumpkin-Raisin Cookies

The pumpkin in these cookies keeps them chewy and structured without any egg. They are just the right amount of sweet. Plus, the recipe calls for raw sugar and most brands are vegan, so it's an easy ingredient to find.

Get the Recipe: Spiced Pumpkin-Raisin Cookies

Duff's Vegan and Gluten-Free Fruit and Almond Shortbread Bars

A cross-between a cookie bar and a sandwich cookie, Duff's recipe can be filled with any fruit preserve you like. And since they're also gluten-free, you can serve these to an even bigger crowd.

Get the Recipe: Vegan and Gluten-Free Fruit and Almond Shortbread Bars

Glazed Gingersnaps

Food Network recipe developer Melissa Gaman notes how this gingersnap recipe is served well by coconut oil instead of butter. In a traditional gingersnap cookie, you might need as much as 1 cup of butter, but this cookie only needs 2/3 cup of oil, giving the spices even more room to shine through.

Get the Recipe: Glazed Gingersnaps

Coconut Biscotti

Oil makes cookies crisp, which is one reason biscotti are often the perfect "accidentally" vegan cookie. This recipe gets extra flavor from macadamia nuts, coconut cream and coconut extract, to boot.