Gluten-free, vegan sugar cookies that taste like sugar cookies. No chilling and no spreading. Perfect for decorating.
Whew! That’s quite a mouthful of a title! But guys, this recipe is like the holy grail of “safe” sugar cookie recipes. No eggs. No milk. No wheat. No nuts or peanuts. Easily made soy-free. Use a different flour blend if you have issues with legumes or potatoes. And no chilling the dough, because who has time for that? We just want cookies! Take me to the recipe!
AND THEY TASTE LIKE SUGAR COOKIES! Because they are sugar cookies!
They’re soft and chewy and just crumbly enough. They hold their shape through baking. They make an amazing base for my super allergy friendly royal icing, but are great even without!
This recipe is DELICIOUS and everyone in my house loves it – and they usually don’t like my vegan/gluten-free creations just for the mere fact that they’re vegan and gluten-free. 
Even my mother in law who is very cautious of my “weird food” loved them and asked for more – she said they taste just like the ones from the store! Lol.
So without further ado, here it is! Please let me know if you make it!
No Chill, No Spread, Vegan, Gluten-Free Rolled Sugar Cookies
The most delicious sugar cookies you could ever put in your mouth - and they just so happen to be vegan and gluten-free, as well as unbelievably easy to make.
Ingredients
Sugar/Fat Mix
- 1 cup sugar Bone char free
- 3/4 cup vegan margarine Country Crock Plant Butter sticks or Earth Balance Soy-Free if avoiding soy
- 1/4 cup vegetable shortening Use palm oil if avoiding soy
Dry Mix
- 4 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
Liquids
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 6 tbsp aquafaba Water from a can of beans – we use garbanzo, but you can use any legume
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350ºF
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Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats
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In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the margarine, shortening, and sugar on low, until just combined
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While the fats and sugar are creaming, sift together dry ingredients in a separate bowl
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Beat aquafaba, one tablespoon at a time, and vanilla into the sugar mixture on low just until incorporated
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Add the dry ingredients while mixer is on low, a half a cup at a time until it is no longer sticky and resembles Play-Doh.
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Separate your dough into equal halves, and wrap one in plastic wrap to keep it moist for when you're done rolling and cutting the first half
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Flour countertop and top of dough, and roll out the uncovered half of your dough – 1/4″ for crispy cookies and 3/8″ for soft cookies.
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Cut out cookies with your cutters of choice
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Place cookies onto parchment or silicone mat lined cookie sheets, and bake for 10-12 minutes (they should not be browning but should look dry on top if you want a soft cookie)
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Let the cookies rest for 4-5 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack
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Feel free to re-roll the scraps as many times as needed until all your dough has been used! We did a total of six times and all the cookies came out great!
Recipe Notes
We prefer the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour
I use Zulka sugar because it’s bone char free, very inexpensive, and found in all of my major grocery stores.
The amount of flour you have to add may vary. It’ll depend on what butter you use and its moisture content, as well as how humid it is where you are. It’s very humid here, so we may have added more than what you’ll need. Judge the batter on how it looks and feels. Once it has a velvety playdoh-like texture, it’s ready to roll!
Also, if your cookies taste “beany”, they’re underdone. Give them a couple more minutes and the taste should fade. If they still taste beany, try adding a touch of lemon or topping with lemon icing.
DO NOT JUDGE THE COOKIES BY THE SMELL OR TASTE OF THE RAW DOUGH. GARBANZO FLOUR TASTES AND SMELLS HORRIFIC RAW.
Please enjoy, and merry Christmas!
This recipe looks great and would love to try it. Just wondering what char free sugar bone is and where you get it? Thanks 🙂
Hi Marion!
Most sugars are filtered with charcoal made from incinerated slaughterhouse bones and are therefore not considered vegan. A few brands no longer use this practice, though! My preferred brand of granulated sugar that is bone-char free is Zulka. It’s available in most grocery stores and tastes amazing! Imperial brand has also moved away from using bone char to filter their sugar if you like them more.
If you are not concerned about that aspect and only want to avoid milk and eggs, feel free to use whichever your normal granulated sugar is and it will work perfectly.
Cheers!
I cannot get the Bob’s GF mix anymore, is there another one you have tried or have you made your own mix? Thank you!
Hi, Amy!
I know we spoke on Facebook already, but I wanted to respond here as well for anyone who may have the same question:
I haven’t tried replicating this particular blend, but any cup for cup gluten free flour should work fine in the recipe. I, personally, hate rice-based cup for cup flours (I have an issue with the texture), so if you can find one that’s not rice-based that is what would make me happiest! Lol. But any cup for cup blend should be great in this. 🙂
Thanks for your question and best of luck!
Meggan
Thank you for the fantastic recipe! I made them using TJs gluten free flour mix which is primarily rice flour 😉 I used two pieces of wax paper to roll out dough so it didn’t stick since I didn’t have extra gf flour. The cookies turned out just as promised-it didn’t require refrigeration before rolling out and it didn’t spread while baking in the oven.
Yay! I’m so glad you love the recipe! Thank you so much for the feedback and your kind words. <3
Yoooo! That warning to not eat raw batter is no joke. 🤪
I rolled them a little thick and they weren’t very sweet and a bit crumbly. Should I just roll thinner to fix the texture or could I leave them thicker and reduce flour and up sugar? I thought they were cooked enough but maybe the lack of sweetness was just lingering bean flavor? New to vegan and GF baking as well as aquafaba.
Lol yes, the smell of the batter is enough to make me want to wear noseplugs while making them!
I tried to add a bit less sugar than what is normally called for as many people were complaining that sugar cookies are too sweet. You can add more sugar if you think the sweetness needs amped up, though! and rather than rolling them thinner (I’m guessing your cookies weren’t thicker than 3/4″), I would bake for a few minutes longer to get rid of the beaniness if you prefer thicker cookies. 🙂
If they were crumbly though, try adding a bit of aquafaba until it’s got a soft play-doh type texture.
hi could you use coconut oil in place of the vegetable shortening/palm oil? Thanks.
You should be able to, but they might come out a little greasier. Store them on top of paper towels or cardboard after baking and it should help.
Can’t wait to try these!!!
Re: GF flour. U mentioned garbanzo flour. Is that the main ingredient in Bob’s Red Mill GF mix? Not available here (France), although I brought back a bag of their egg replacer last time I was in the U.S. I have plenty of garbanzo and buckwheat flour. Thinking of trying 50/50. Whuddaya think?
You can always try it! Their flour blend also contains potato starch and sorghum flour though – so I would add a bit of your favourite starch to see how it works out. Also – I’m currently learning French! So merci beaucoup for stopping by and commenting! Bonne journée!
Thank you for the recipe. Will be trying soon! Can I use more vegan butter instead of vegan shortening? Why is shortening is important and you don’t use only vegan butter? Thank you
Hi, there! The shortening has no water in it, so prevents the cookie dough from steaming and spreading in the oven. You can use full butter, but will have to freeze the dough before baking if you don’t want them to spread. <3
Got it. Thank you so much for explanation!