10 Favorite Vegan Christmas Cookies
When the holidays come to call, it’s officially time to head into the kitchen, pull out my vintage cookie cutters (some are from my mother’s youth) and dog-eared recipes, and get to baking. While I don’t always make time to bake sweet treats during the year, the cool, festive days of the Christmas season always get me inspired to don an apron, grab a wooden spoon, and start mixing up a fun batch of cookies. That’s why I’m sharing my own classic set of my very favorite 100% plant-based, vegan, Christmas cookies, from my kitchen to yours. I have made these recipes, time and time again—some of them since my children were little. In fact, I remember helping my mother roll out sugar cookies when I was little, and I handed down that tradition and her recipe to my own kids, too. While these vegan Christmas cookies are absolutely delicious, many have a lighter, healthier, plant-based touch, starring some whole grains, dried fruits, nuts, seeds, and dark chocolate. Plus, they are a tad lighter in sugar and fat, so you can feel better about what you are making for your friends and family.
My son Nicholas (pictured above, licking the spoon) always loved to roll out the cookie dough and decorate each cookie, using my classic sugar cookie recipe (below). Go ahead, and create some of your own holiday traditions this year. Take time out to bake up some cookies for the office, a party, a gift basket, or to munch on at home. Enjoy the season with my favorite vegan Christmas cookies.
Wishing you the happiest and healthiest of holidays!
Sharon
10 Favorite Vegan Christmas Cookies
This is my mom’s 50-year old recipe for sugar cookies, which I gave a vegan update. Take your time with these cookies—roll them out, cut them with fun cookie cutters, and decorate them. Let your children or friends help out as a great activity.
Christmas is here, and it’s time for Peter to dust off his favorite Swedish recipe to make pepparkakor, a traditional Swedish ginger cookie. These crisp, thin little cookies are just packed with gingery-spices.
Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
Call upon the flavor of seasonal, fresh cranberries for these festive, tender Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies. With a touch of zesty orange and crunchy almonds, these treats are perfect for your next party.
These easy Tollhouse Pan Cookies are completely plant-based. Just pat the dough into a baking sheet and slice them into irregular squares for a simple, delicious treat. They’re super served warm fresh out of the oven!
I just love a soft, chewy molasses cookie, rich with the burnt amber goodness of molasses, and the sweet aromatic appeal of baking spices. I turned to aquafaba—bean liquid—to provide a fluffy texture to these moist Soft Molasses Cookies. In addition, some of the flour is swapped out with nutrient-rich almond meal.
This is a classic recipe from the 60s, which I gave a modern, plant-based update. You can make these crunchy cookies as healthy as you like by playing with how much whole grain flour you use, too.
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie
Yum! These golden, flavorful cookies disappeared in seconds in my house! A plant-powered spinoff from the classic White Choc Macadamia cookie, my cookie recipe is modest in sugar, and packed with the power of chia, flax, coconut, and almond flour!
Dark Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti
I love the simple, rustic quality of biscotti, that twice-baked Italian treat that elevates everything from espresso to seasonal fruit to sorbet. This recipe for Dark Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti is vegan, moderate in sugar, and even packed with whole grains. Make up a batch in advance to enjoy for entertaining. I like to bake these up and store them in the freezer, then pull them out for treats. All you have to do is make the dough, shape into a log, bake the dough log, slice it into thin strips, and bake it again.
Indio Date, Walnut, and Dark Chocolate Cookies
I borrow from the natural sweetness of dates, along with the rich flavors of walnuts and dark chocolate, to flavor these slightly healthier cookies. They are a perfect addition to your Christmas cookie platter!
These 100% plant-based classic snickerdoodles are filled with the aromas and flavors of cinnamon sugar. Plus, they are quick and easy—get them done in 35 minutes!
For more holiday inspiration, check out:
40 Plant-Based Ruby Red Holiday Recipes
4 Tips to Build Your Own Holiday Food Traditions
20 Plant-Based Sparkling Holiday Party Recipes
Check out this collection of vegan cookies from The Kitchen Community for more delicious vegan Christmas cookies!
good idea..