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These Vegan Strawberry Sugar Cookies are soft, chewy, and packed with a naturally sweet strawberry flavor. The perfect cookie for Valentine’s Day, birthday parties, baby showers, or Spring and Summer. No one will guess these perfectly pink treats are made without eggs or dairy.
Table of Contents
If you’ve been looking for a vegan-friendly strawberry pink cookie that’s made without food coloring, this is the perfect vegan dessert for you! It’s made naturally pink with freeze-dried strawberries and rolled in granulated cane sugar for the perfect, sparkle that makes them taste like a cross between a Classic Sugar Cookie and a Snickerdoodle!
These vegan strawberry cookies are also easy to freeze baked or unbaked – prep a double batch and put half in the freezer. You’ll never want to be without these cookies again!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Wet Ingredients
- Vegan butter: Butter sticks are better for baking compared to vegan butter spreads because they typically have a higher fat content compared to the buttery spreads and act more similarly to dairy butter in vegan baking recipes. We typically use Country Crock Plant Butter or Earth Balance Butter and highly recommend both brands.
- Sugar: You’ll need granulated, white sugar for the cookie batter as well as rolling the cookie dough balls. To ensure your sugar is vegan-friendly, opt for organic sugar. While sugar itself is defined as sugarcane or sugar beets and is vegan, it is often produced using refining processes that utilize animal products. Organic versions, however, do not use these same refining processes and are therefore vegan-friendly.
- Non-dairy milk: Any unsweetened or lightly sweetened non-dairy milk will work well in this recipe. We typically opt for our Homemade Almond Milk, but oat milk, coconut milk, or soy milk are all great alternatives.
- Flaxseed meal: The vegan egg substitute in these vegan strawberry sugar cookies. Make sure to use ground flax seeds, not whole flax seeds. Or, if necessary, use ground chia seeds. The cookies will have a few darker specks in them, but they will still taste delicious!
Dry Ingredients
- Freeze-dried strawberries: Adding freeze-dried berries not only adds the perfect sweet, tart strawberry flavor but also turns these cookies the perfect Barbie pink without the need for any food coloring.
- Flour: We have only tested these vegan strawberry cookies using regular all-purpose flour and have unfortunately not tested a gluten-free version. If you’d like to experiment with a gluten-free strawberry cookie recipe, we’d recommend using Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour. We’ve used it before in several of our recipes and it typically works well with a slight variation in texture and density.
- Leavening agents: This vegan cookie recipe uses both baking soda and baking powder to help the cookies rise and become light and fluffy!
- Cream of tartar: A classic ingredient in Snickerdoodles that is key to achieving their distinct texture and tangy flavor. It also reacts with baking soda and helps make the texture of the cookies soft and chewy.
See the full recipe at the bottom for full ingredient measurements and instructions.
Variations
- How to make bright pink cookies: As is, these vegan strawberry cookies are a super pretty, naturally pink color. If you want to make these cookies even brighter add a couple of drops of Pink Food Coloring into the cookie batter when the flax egg mixture and vanilla extract are added.
- Add extra freeze-dried strawberries: If you want to enhance the strawberry flavor even more, fold up to 1/2 cup of crushed freeze-dried strawberries into the batter. Fold them in at the very end before scooping them into individual cookie dough balls!
- Add white chocolate chips: For an extra sweet twist on these fruity cookies, fold up to 1/2 cup of your favorite vegan white chocolate chips into the batter. Fold them in at the very end before scooping them into individual cookie dough balls!
Equipment Needed
- Mixing bowls
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment
- Small blender or food processor
- Spatula
- Plastic wrap or reusable wrap
- 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop
- Baking sheet
- Cooling rack
How to Make Vegan Strawberry Cookies
The Cookie Dough Batter
- Soften the vegan butter. Remove the vegan butter from the refrigerator about 30 minutes to 1 hour before starting this cookie recipe. When ready, you should be able to press your finger into the butter and make an indent, yet keep its shape.
- Make the flax egg. In a small mixing bowl, add the non-dairy milk and flaxseed meal. Mix until combined, then set aside to thicken, about 10 minutes.
- Process the freeze-dried strawberries. Place the freeze-dried strawberries into the bowl of a food processor or small blender. Process until a powder is formed. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar. In a separate bowl with an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter and sugar. Cream together for 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
- Add flax egg and vanilla. In the same bowl with the creamed butter and sugar, add the flax egg and vanilla. Beat again until uniform.
- Add in the dry ingredients. Add 1/4 cup of the freeze-dried strawberry powder, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Beat together until well combined. Add in the flour, then fold in by hand using a spatula until a uniform strawberry cookie dough forms.
- Chill for at least 2 1/2 hours. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or reusable wrap and set it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 1/2 hours.
Baking
- Scoop the cookie dough into smooth dough balls. Using a 1 1/2 tablespoon-sized cookie dough scoop, scoop the strawberry cookie dough into dough balls. Roll the ball between your hands until smooth.
- Coat in sugar. Immediately place the smooth cookie dough balls in a bowl of sugar and toss until well coated.
- Bake. Spread the sugar-coated vegan cookie dough balls on a baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes in a preheated oven, or until cracks begin to form on top of the cookies and the bottom of the cookies become lightly golden brown.
- Cool to room temperature. Once baked, remove the vegan strawberry sugar cookies from the oven, then immediately bang the cookie sheet on the kitchen counter 3 times. Allow the cookies to rest for 5 minutes, then transfer the strawberry cookies to a cooling rack until cooled completely. Enjoy!
Storage Instructions
Fresh cookies will keep for 3-4 days when stored at room temperature in an airtight container. If you live in a warm or humid climate, store leftover cookies in the refrigerator (this method will last for up to 1 week).
These vegan strawberry cookies can also have a couple of options for freezing:
- Freezing strawberry cookie dough: Raw cookie dough can be frozen after being scooped into individual cookie dough balls (with or without the sugar coating). To freeze strawberry cookie dough balls, spread them on a baking sheet and flash freeze until frozen, 1-2 hours. Once frozen, transfer the cookie dough balls to a freezer-safe container such as a silicone Stasher bag or an airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Bake frozen vegan strawberry cookies as usual directly from frozen. 1-2 additional minutes may be required, but when the cookies develop cracking on the top they are ready!
- Freezing baked cookies: Allow the baked strawberry cookies to cool completely on a wire cooling rack. Then, once completely cool, transfer them back to the baking sheet, leaving enough space between each cookie so they are not touching. Place the baking sheet in the freezer and flash freeze until frozen, 1-2 hours. Once the baked vegan strawberry cookies are frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
vegan baking tips
- Avoid tough cookies: When ready to mix the all-purpose flour into the batter it is important to switch from the electric mixer to a spatula. This method gives you control over the speed and allows you to prevent excess gluten development. If the dough is over-mixed, the strawberry cookies will be tough and chewy!
- Prevent the cookies from over-spreading: Cookies can over-spread for a couple of reasons, but it typically happens when the dough is too warm going into the oven. For best results, make sure to chill this dough for at least 2 1/2 hours before scooping, rolling, and baking. If you are baking in batches, keep the remaining batter in the fridge in between bakes.
- Prep your cookies in advance: This cookie dough can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours before baking. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months and baked directly from frozen.
- Adjust the bake time as needed. If you opt to make smaller cookies, these cookies will require a shorter baking time. Similarly, large cookies will need a longer bake. Adjust accordingly.
More Vegan Strawberry Desserts You MAy Enjoy:
Make sure you tag us on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan and @consciouschris and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you recreate these strawberry sugar cookies, we love to see your photos!
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Vegan Strawberry Sugar Cookies Recipe
- Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 14 cookies
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These Vegan Strawberry Sugar Cookies are soft, chewy, and packed with a naturally sweet strawberry flavor. The perfect cookie for Valentine’s day, birthday parties, baby showers, or Spring and Summer. No one will guess these perfectly pink treats are made without eggs or dairy.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup+ 2 tablespoons (¾ stick) vegan butter, softened
- 3 tablespoons non-dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
- ½ cup + 4 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 31.25 grams freeze-dried strawberries (or 5 tablespoons ground freeze-dried strawberries)
- 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ + ⅛ tsp baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Remove the vegan butter from the refrigerator and allow it to soften to room temperature, for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- In a small bowl, add the non-dairy milk along with the flaxseed meal and mix until combined. Set aside for about 10 minutes to thicken.
- In a small blender or food processor, add in the dried strawberries and pulverize until a powder is formed. Don’t open it just yet as it will be dusty. Set aside until step 6.
- In a large bowl with an electric hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and ½ cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar, on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the flax egg and vanilla extract, and beat until uniform.
- Add in ¼ cup freeze-dried strawberry powder, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt, and beat together. Add in the flour and work in with a spatula until uniform.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set it in the refrigerator for 2 1/2 hours (or up to 24 hours before baking).
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 325°F. Line your baking sheet(s) with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar into a small bowl and set aside.
- Scoop the dough using a 1 1/2 tablespoon-sized cookie scooper, and roll it between your hands until a smooth ball forms, and then transfer the dough into the sugar bowl to toss until covered.
- Transfer to the baking sheet, spacing the dough about 2 inches apart, and continue until you have rolled out all of the dough.
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until cracks begin to form on the cookies and the bottoms are golden. We suggest chilling the extra dough in the refrigerator if it is not being baked.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and immediately bang it onto the counter 3 times. Allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, and then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dessert, Cookies
- Method: Oven
I made these lovely cookies with a few variations. I bake a lot of vegan cookies, so have found my own shortcuts. I subbed aquafaba (the liquid in a can of chickpeas) for the milk and flax seeds, just because I have it around. I used turbinado sugar instead of organic granulated sugar. Turbinado is not filtered, so is vegan, and it’s cheaper than organic sugar. I run it through the food processor to get it to the same texture as granulated. It tastes a bit different (a little molasses flavor) but usually isn’t detectable. Once baked, these cookies were awesome–but too sweet for me. I tried them without rolling the dough in sugar, and the sweetness level was perfect, although it lost a bit of the crunch. The kiddos I bake these for looooooved them!
Digging around on the internet, I found I could buy freeze dried strawberries–and other fruits–already ground. Next, I’m going to try these using raspberry powder. If those turn out, I’ll try them with candied lemon peel, or maybe with choc chips!
The original recipe is really, really good–my substitutions didn’t really change the final cookie, just tweaked it a bit. Now I’m using it to take off and make a bunch of variations!
I do have one question: What does banging the cookie sheet on the counter do for the cookies?
These are sooooo good!