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If you’re a fan of baklava, you’re going to love these easy vegan baklava cookies! They’re made with a rich, buttery cookie dough, then topped with a sweet, and sticky nut filling and baked until golden. You won’t be able to eat just one of these Mediterranean-inspired cookies! 

vegan baklava cookies on a plate with dates and nuts on blue background

As much as we love our classic vegan cookie recipes, we also love recreating our favorite desserts in handheld cookie form. After developing Cinnamon Roll Cookies, Cannoli CookiesApple Pie Cookies, and Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookie recipes, it was time to put a new spin on one of our favorite Middle Eastern desserts: baklava! 

Our traditional Vegan Baklava recipe is such a crowd favorite that we knew it would make an equally delicious cookie. The cookie dough is adapted from our classic vegan sugar cookies, recreating the same buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture as the flaky layers of phyllo dough. Then, the center of each cookie is filled with our date-sweetened baklava filling for a thumbprint-style cookie to remember. Get ready to enjoy the flavors of baklava in a fraction of the time!

Ingredients: Brown sugar, orange zest, sugar, baking soda, all-purpose flour, flaxseed meal, non-dairy milk, vanilla extract, salt, vegan butter, cardamom, cinnamon

Ingredients You’ll Need 

  • Vegan butter: Just like in our traditional baklava, we swapped the dairy butter with vegan butter in this cookie recipe. We typically use vegan butter sticks from brands like Country Crock or Earth Balance, but any vegan butter of choice will work. If you are using salted butter, we recommend omitting the added salt. 
  • Flax egg: In most of our vegan cookie recipes, we use a flax egg as the egg replacer. It’s one of the easiest homemade vegan eggs to make and binds cookie dough together beautifully. 
  • Sugar: Our original vegan sugar cookies are made with granulated cane sugar to keep them light in color. To make these cookies more moist and rich in flavor, we opted for brown sugar. If preferred, feel free to opt for coconut sugar or white sugar in a pinch! 
  • Orange zest: Fresh orange zest adds a boost of fresh, unique flavor that compliments the sweetness of the baklava filling. If you have it, you can also substitute orange blossom water or try lemon zest for a similar, citrus twist. 
  • Flour: Instead of phyllo dough, this baklava dessert is made with all-purpose flour as the main ingredient. We have not tested a gluten-free version of these baklava cookies, and unfortunately can’t confirm a gluten-free flour blend will work well. If you decide to give it a try and have success, please leave a comment down below for others! 
  • Baking soda: The leavening agent of choice in this cookie recipe. In addition to helping the cookies rise and spread properly, baking soda also helps to encourage browning, making the cookies perfectly golden. 
  • Spices: Ground cinnamon and ground cardamom add warmth and sweet, citrusy, notes to the cookie dough that complement the cinnamon and sweet syrup in the filling. 
Ingredients: vegan honey, vegan butter, dates, pistachios, almonds, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon stick

For the Baklava Topping

  • Vegan honey: Real honey isn’t vegan, but vegan-friendly honey exists! Try this brand or make your own from scratch using this easy Vegan Honey Recipe. You can also swap the vegan honey syrup with date syrup or agave if needed or preferred! 
  • Sugar: Granulated sugar adds sweetness without overpowering the flavor in the vegan honey and Medjool dates. 
  • Cinnamon stick: Adding a cinnamon stick into the syrup as it simmers helps to infuse warm, aromatic cinnamon flavor into the dessert! 
  • Nuts: We used a mix of almonds, walnuts, and pistachios, but any combination of chopped nuts will do. 
  • Medjool dates: While not traditionally found in baklava, finely chopped, fresh Medjool dates add stickiness, and natural sweetness, and perfectly complement the rich, caramel-like notes in the cookies. 

Equipment Needed

baklava cookies on a cooling rack

How to Make Vegan Baklava Cookies

  1. Soften the butter. Make sure to set the butter at room temperature 30 minutes before starting. This will help soften the butter to room temperature. 
  2. Prepare the flax egg. In a small bowl, combine the non-dairy milk and ground flaxseed meal and mix to combine. Set the mixture aside for 10-15 minutes to thicken.
  3. Cream the butter and sugar. In a large bowl with an electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the vegan butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and orange zest until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. 
  4. Add wet ingredients. Next, add in the flax egg and vanilla, and cream again to combine. 
  5. Sift in the dry ingredients. Using a fine mesh strainer, first sift in the baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom and salt and mix to combine. Lastly, sift in the flour. Switch to a spatula, and fold the flour into the cookie dough gently by hand, until well combined. 
  6. Chill the cookie dough. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or reusable wrap and place the bowl in the refrigerator for 2 1/2 hours, or up to overnight. 
  7. Prepare the simple syrup. While the cookie dough chills, prepare the topping. In a small pot or small saucepan over medium heat, melt the vegan butter. Once melted, add the vegan honey, sugar, and a cinnamon stick. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer the syrup for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. After 3-4 minutes, remove the cinnamon stick and mix in the nuts and dates. Set aside. 
  8. Scoop the cookie dough into balls. After the dough has sufficiently chilled, scoop the dough using a 1 1/2 tablespoon-sized cookie scoop. Roll the dough between your hands until a smooth ball forms, and transfer each dough ball to the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Using your thumb or a tablespoon, make an indent in the middle of each cookie. 
  9. Add the filling. Once all of the dough is rolled, scoop a heaping teaspoon of the nut mixture into the indentation of each cookie. 
  10. Bake. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake the baklava cookies for 13-15 minutes, or until cracks begin to form around the edges and the bottoms are golden brown. 
  11. Enjoy room temperature. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Then serve immediately while fresh and enjoy! 

Serving Suggestions 

These rich and decadent cookies are the perfect dessert and pair well with a warm cup of coffee or tea, or a scoop of your favorite non-dairy ice cream. We particularly love them during the holiday season, but these baklava cookies are delicious any time of year! Serve them for any special occasion or celebration and watch them disappear! 

Storage Instructions

Leftover cookies will keep best in an airtight container at room temperature. Baked cookies may also freeze well, but we have not personally tested it and cannot confirm. 

up close image of baklava cookies on a cooling rack

Make sure you tag us on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan and @consciouschris and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you make this recipe. We love to see your photos!

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vegan baklava cookies on a plate with dates and nuts on blue background

Vegan Baklava Cookies Recipe


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  • Author: Sweet Simple Vegan
  • Total Time: 3 hours 39 minutes
  • Yield: About 15 cookies
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

If you’re a fan of baklava, you’re going to love these easy vegan baklava cookies! They’re made with a rich, buttery cookie dough, then topped with a sweet, and sticky nut filling and baked until golden. You won’t be able to eat just one of these Mediterranean-inspired cookies!


Ingredients

Cookie dough

  • ½ cup (1 stick) vegan butter, softened
  • 1 flax egg (3 tablespoons water or non-dairy milk and 1 tablespoon (13g) flaxseed meal)
  • ¼ cup (55g) brown sugar, firmly packed
  • ¼ (50g) cup granulated sugar
  • Zest of ½ of an orange
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • (210g) cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Topping

  • 1 tablespoon vegan butter
  • 1 tablespoon vegan honey, agave, or date syrup
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • ¼ cup chopped nuts (I used a mix of almonds, walnuts and pistachios)
  • ¼ cup finely chopped pitted Medjool dates

Equipment

 


Instructions

  1. Soften the butter. Make sure to set the butter at room temperature 30 minutes before starting. This will help soften the butter to room temperature. 
  2. Prepare the flax egg. In a small bowl, combine the non-dairy milk and ground flaxseed meal and mix to combine. Set the mixture aside for 10-15 minutes to thicken.
  3. Cream the butter and sugar. In a large bowl with an electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the vegan butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and orange zest until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. 
  4. Add wet ingredients. Next, combine the flax egg, vanilla, and cream again. 
  5. Sift in the dry ingredients. Using a fine mesh strainer, first sift in the baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt and mix to combine. Lastly, sift in the flour. Switch to a spatula, and gently fold the flour into the cookie dough until well combined. 
  6. Chill the cookie dough. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or reusable wrap and place the bowl in the refrigerator for 2 1/2 hours, or up to overnight. 
  7. Prepare the simple syrup. While the cookie dough chills, prepare the topping. Melt the vegan butter in a small pot or small saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add the vegan honey, sugar, and a cinnamon stick. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer the syrup for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. After 3-4 minutes, remove the cinnamon stick and mix in the nuts and dates. Set aside. 
  8. Scoop the cookie dough into balls and preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. After the dough has sufficiently chilled, scoop the dough using a 1 1/2 tablespoon-sized cookie scoop. Roll the dough between your hands until a smooth ball forms, and transfer each dough ball to the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Make an indent in the middle of each cookie using your thumb or a tablespoon. 
  9. Add the filling. Once all of the dough is rolled, scoop a heaping teaspoon of the nut mixture into the indentation of each cookie. 
  10. Bake. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake the baklava cookies for 13-15 minutes, or until cracks begin to form around the edges and the bottoms are golden brown. 
  11. Enjoy room temperature. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Then serve immediately while fresh and enjoy!

Notes

  • Storage: Leftover cookies will keep best in an airtight container at room temperature. Baked cookies may also freeze well, but we have not personally tested it and cannot confirm. 
  • Prep Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 19 minutes
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Oven and Stovetop

Meet The Bloggers

hey there! we’re jasmine & chris.

Hi, we’re Jasmine and Chris! We share fresh and fun recipes to show you that vegan cooking is easy, approachable and delicious. When weโ€™re not blogging, you will probably find us enjoying live music, tending to our backyard garden or playing with our dogs Berry and Louie

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