Whether you’re celebrating with a special someone or simply treating yourself, these Vegan Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies are sure to steal the show. With their perfectly crunchy texture, delicious flavor, and just the right amount of sweetness, these heart cookies maintain 100% their shape when baked!
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Why you’ll love this recipe
- Ideal for Valentine's Day celebrations or whenever you're in the mood for a yummy and cute heart-shaped cookie.
- Simple ingredients you probably already have, making it easy to whip up a batch anytime.
- Offers freezer convenience - simply freeze the dough and bake whenever you crave fresh cookies.
- Maintains their perfect shape once baked, ensuring beautiful and uniform cookies every time.
Tools
- Rolling pin
- Cookie cutters (heart-shaped)
- Baking tray
- Parchment paper or silicone baking mat
- Basic measuring cups and spoons and a kitchen scale
If you don’t have a heart-shaped cookie cutter, you can use a knife to carefully cut the cookies into heart shapes by hand.
Ingredients
As usual, you'll find the complete recipe card, including ingredient amounts and instructions, at the bottom of this post! Keep on reading for more details, or jump straight to the recipe.
- Vegan butter/margarine or refined coconut oil — Provides richness and flavor to the cookies.
- Powdered sugar — Adds sweetness and helps create a tender texture.
- Vanilla extract — Enhances the flavor of the cookies with its warm, aromatic notes.
- Plant-based milk — Adds moisture to the dough
- Salt — Balances the sweetness and enhances the overall flavor.
- All-purpose flour — Forms the base of the cookie dough.
- Cornstarch — Helps tenderize the cookies and creates a delicate crumb.
- Vegan red food coloring gel — Adds a colorful touch
How to Make these Vegan Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies
Mix the wet ingredients: In a large bowl, cream the vegan butter (or coconut oil) with the powdered sugar until smooth. Add the vanilla, salt, and milk, continuing to mix until well combined.
Mix the dry ingredients: In another bowl, sift together the flour and cornstarch.
Combine wet and dry ingredients: Incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, mixing until a uniform dough forms.
Mix the red dough: Take about ¼ of the prepared dough, add a little bit of vegan red food coloring gel and knead it into the dough until it's evenly colored.
Refrigerate both doughs: Shape each dough into a ball and wrap them in plastic or silicone wrap (you can also put them in a ziploc bag). Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Prep the oven: Once both doughs have chilled in the fridge, preheat your oven to 350°F (176°C).
Roll out the doughs: On a lightly floured surface, roll out each dough to a thickness of about 5 mm. For easier handling, consider rolling the dough between two sheets of parchment paper.
Cut out cookies: Using a small heart cookie cutter, cut small hearts from the red dough and arrange them creatively on the surface of the white dough. Next, use a larger heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out bigger cookies from the patterned dough. Repeat this process until all the dough has been used.
Bake: Carefully transfer the cookies onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper, ensuring they are slightly spaced apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to turn golden brown.
Cool the cookies down: Once baked, remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely on the baking tray.
Storage & Freezing
To keep your cookies fresh, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Alternatively, for longer storage or future baking convenience, you can freeze the dough in a freezer-safe container/ziploc bag for up to 3-4 months.
Top tips for these Fluffy Vegan Banana Oat Pancakes
- Chill the Dough Thoroughly: Before rolling out the dough, make sure it is thoroughly chilled. This helps prevent the cookies from spreading during baking, resulting in perfectly shaped cookies.
- Use Parchment Paper: When rolling out the dough, consider placing a sheet of parchment paper underneath and on top of the dough. This makes it easier to roll out without sticking and minimizes the need for excess flour, which can toughen the cookies. And you can re-use this paper many times for future recipes (that’s what I always do)!
- Keep a narrow cut of the cookies: Try not to leave too much space between each cookie when cutting them out. This maximizes the number of cookies you can cut and reduces the risk of dough scraps being rerolled multiple times, which can result in tougher cookies.
- Don’t overmix: Be sure not to overmix the dough to avoid tough cookies. Mix the ingredients just until they are combined and the dough comes together. Overmixing can lead to gluten development, resulting in a tougher texture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Whether it's almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk, rice milk, or your favorite plant-based option, feel free to use what suits your taste.
Yes, you can substitute gluten free flour for all-purpose flour in this recipe. Just be sure to use a blend specifically designed for baking.
Absolutely! Go for it. Adjust the amount to taste. But you can also just use oat flour to make them gluten free banana pancakes.
The cookies are done when the edges are just beginning to turn golden brown. They will continue to firm up as they cool.
Yes, you can freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months. Simply wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place it in a freezer-safe bag or container.
Yes, you can decorate the cookies with icing once they have cooled completely. Use your favorite vegan royal icing recipe or store-bought icing.
Yes, you can make the cookie dough ahead of time and refrigerate it until ready to use. Alternatively, you can bake the cookies ahead of time and store them in an airtight container until serving.
To determine if a food coloring is vegan, check the label for any animal-derived ingredients such as carmine (a red dye made from crushed cochineal insects). Look for plant-based or synthetic alternatives, which are typically vegan-friendly. Additionally, many brands now label their products as "vegan" or "plant-based" for easy identification. Alternatively you can just google the brand of your food coloring + “vegan” to see what comes up.
Recipe
VEGAN VALENTINE’S DAY SUGAR COOKIES
INGREDIENTS
- 84 g vegan butter/margarine or refined coconut oil
- 80 g powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tablespoon plant-based milk
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 160 g all-purpose flour
- 48 g cornstarch
- Vegan red food coloring gel
INSTRUCTIONS
- Mix the wet ingredients: In a large bowl, cream the vegan butter (or coconut oil) with the powdered sugar until smooth. Add the vanilla, salt, and milk, continuing to mix until well combined.
- Mix the dry ingredients: In another bowl, sift together the flour and cornstarch.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients: Incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, mixing until a uniform dough forms.
- Mix the red dough: Take about ¼ of the prepared dough, add a little bit of vegan red food coloring gel and knead it into the dough until it's evenly colored.
- Refrigerate both doughs: Shape each dough into a ball and wrap them in plastic or silicone wrap (you can also put them in a ziploc bag). Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Prep the oven: Once both doughs have chilled in the fridge, preheat your oven to 350°F (176°C).
- Roll out the doughs: On a lightly floured surface, roll out each dough to a thickness of about 5 mm. For easier handling, consider rolling the dough between two sheets of parchment paper.
- Cut out cookies: Using a small heart cookie cutter, cut small hearts from the red dough and arrange them creatively on the surface of the white dough. Next, use a larger heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out bigger cookies from the patterned dough. Repeat this process until all the dough has been used,
- Bake: Carefully transfer the cookies onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper, ensuring they are slightly spaced apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to turn golden brown.
- Cool the cookies down: Once baked, remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool completely on the baking tray.
NOTES
NUTRITION
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