Everything from vegan biscotti to vegan sugar cookies, vegan breakfast cookies to vegan salted caramel cookies, you’ll find something to please everyone on this list. I guarantee you will eat the cookie dough before it reaches the oven! You won’t find any basic vegan shortbread or chocolate crinkle cookies in my top 10. Instead, I am elevating your existing baking recipes to fill your Christmas cookie box with plant-based delicious treats.
Christmas is a wonderful time of the year! Part of the fun is getting creative in the kitchen, so if you are looking to celebrate as a vegan, you will be pleased to know that there are many plant-based recipes you can try. Each vegan recipe is hard to resist with wholesome ingredients and no compromise on flavor.
Vegan baking doesn’t have to be complicated. A vegan Christmas is a perfect time to start baking delicious vegan cookies no matter where you are on your plant-based journey.
Nothing is better than homemade, which is why we keep the tradition of baking Xmas cookies with a vegan twist.
What Are Vegan Christmas Cookies?
Vegan Christmas cookies don’t contain animal products such as eggs, gelatin, honey, butter, cream, milk, etc. Those following a vegan diet do not consume any animal or animal by-products. Many store-bought vegan cookies still contain preservatives, refined sugar, and refined flour and are usually highly processed.
Baking your own vegan Christmas cookies is not only a healthier alternative but more cost-effective. The advantage of baking your vegan cookies is that you know exactly what goes into them and can use your favorite wholesome ingredients.
You can find a vegan alternative to animal-derived ingredients, including butter, eggs, chocolate, and milk. For example, you can make an egg-free vegan meringue from aquafaba (chickpea water). Replace butter with vegan butter designed for baking, and try a variety of plant-based milk such as oat, soy, almond, hemp, coconut, and rice milk.
My 10 Favorite Vegan Christmas Cookies
1. Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies
These cookies are gluten-free, sugar-free, and 100% vegan. So decadent they could be a vegan dessert cuisine!
Everything tastes better with chocolate, especially at Christmas time, so these decadent vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies are sure winners. Dairy-free cookies can still bring that much-loved chocolate flavor without the cow’s milk. You won’t be able to tell the difference!
This recipe uses almond flour to create a vegan and gluten-free cookie that looks indulgent but is good for you. Imagine blending Medjool dates, cacao powder, and ground hazelnuts together to create a flavor profile that resembles Nutella; yum!
They take only 10 minutes to bake in the oven, and you can prepare the mixture in advance. These cookies tick all the boxes – vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and delicious.
2. Almond & Cranberry Christmas Cookies
These cookies are dairy-free, gluten-free, and 100% vegan. This recipe can be nut-free by swapping the almond butter for sunflower seed butter.
An odd pair at first sight, but almond and cranberry go together in this Christmas cookie recipe. Mixed with the unexpected sweetness of molasses, the richness of creamy nut butter, and the texture of oat flour, these Almond & Cranberry Christmas Cookies are a treat.
This recipe calls for a bit of cinnamon and ground ginger which are perfect for Christmas.
Molasses is a great ingredient to incorporate into plant-based baking because it contains iron, vitamins, and minerals.
Cranberries are regarded as a superfood because they contain high amounts of antioxidants.
These cookies make an ideal on-the-go snack to boost your energy during the holiday season.
3. Crunchy Chocolate & Almond Vegan Biscotti
These cookies are 100% vegan. Twice baked and perfect with a glass of Italian dessert wine.
A traditional biscotti from Italy will use butter and eggs in the recipe base and are usually coated in various toppings, including melted chocolate. Almonds make a wonderful addition to this recipe, but they are optional.
Still, this vegan version with dark chocolate and almonds is sure to impress even the most dedicated biscotti lover. Paired effortlessly with a glass of Italian dessert wine or sweet wine, you will be making this recipe long after the holiday season. Who said only the children could have fun at Christmas?
This one-bowl recipe requires just eight ingredients, and they will keep fresh in the fridge in an airtight container for up to one week.
4. Vegan Sugar Cookies With Pumpkin
These cookies are gluten-free, nut-free, and 100% vegan. The pumpkin puree can be substituted for apple sauce. Perfect for the kids or as a midnight snack for Santa.
Baking with the kids is a beautiful tradition, but it can get complicated fast. If you have been making the same basic vegan chocolate chip cookies for the kids, you can give these a try for something different. Perfect Vegan Sugar Cookies are fun to decorate too!
These sugar cookies are a great choice when baking with the family.
To make this recipe, you first need to prepare the cookie dough and let it rest in the refrigerator for 15 mins, but while that happens, you can make the frosting so it’s ready to go when the cookies are done.
Decorated sugar cookies look beautiful on the plate for Santa. If you don’t have time to decorate with icing sugar or frosting, don’t worry, you can dust these cookies with powdered sugar.
5. Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
These cookies are gluten-free, oil-free, and 100% vegan. A healthy snack any time of the day.
Christmas is a busy time, so what better way to start the day than with a healthy Vegan Oatmeal Breakfast Cookie?
Using a combination of whole oats and white rice flour as a base and adding cashew butter and maple syrup to bring the batter together, these cookies need a pinch of cinnamon, and baking soda is just about ready for the oven.
Super fast, healthy, and addictive, the Vegan Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies use wholesome ingredients and will quickly replace your store-bought granola bar!
6. Christmas Cinnamon & Orange Star Cookies
These cookies are 100% vegan. Substitute the whole wheat flour for gluten-free or oat flour if you require a gluten-free cookie dough.
If there is one recipe that makes your home smells like Christmas, this is it. The combination of cinnamon and orange is divine, and they taste better. You can use cookie cutters to create any shape of cookies without any decoration.
This recipe calls for whole wheat flour, but you can substitute this with gluten-free or oat flour. The fresh orange juice balances the sweetness of the brown sugar, and you can add a little fresh orange zest.
Once the dough is ready, they take just 5-7 minutes to bake as they are best served with a soft center; they are delicious. They will be gone before the cookies cool on the kitchen bench.
7. Decadent Chocolate & Cherry Vegan Cookies
These cookies are 100% vegan. The perfect Christmas Day vegan treat.
There is perhaps no better dessert pairing than chocolate’s sweetness and dried cherries’ tart sourness. Chocolate and cherry flavors create decadent and rich cakes, tortes, and cookies, but these are not typically vegan. The good news is that cherries are incredibly good for you and are high in Vitamin C.
You won’t believe these Decadent Chocolate & Cherry Vegan Cookies are plant-based and vegan friendly. The secret is the organic raw cocoa powder which gives the cookies a delicious chocolate flavor without the dairy products.
The choice of flour is organic sprouted spelt flour which is high in nutritional value and easier to digest than wholemeal or white flour.
Best served fresh out of the oven after Christmas dinner or any time of the day for true chocolate lovers.
8. Simple Peanut Butter Cookies
These cookies are 100% vegan. This recipe contains peanuts.
There’s something about crunchy peanut butter in cookie dough that makes sense. These Simple Peanut Butter Vegan Cookies are a classic cookie recipe that requires just one mixing bowl and six essential ingredients. They make a great snack and can keep in the freezer for up to 2 months!
This recipe calls for natural peanut butter, but it can be substituted with natural almond butter or sun butter, depending on your preference. Furthermore, you can use pure cane sugar if you don’t want coconut sugar.
These cookies also work with various flours, such as spelt, almond, or all-purpose flour.
9. Apple & Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
These cookies are gluten-free, and 100% vegan. Raisins can be substituted for cranberries, and almonds can replace walnuts.
Christmas morning is a busy time so having a healthy snack ready to go is a great way to start the day. These Apple & Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies combine wholesome, natural ingredients that keep you feeling fuller for longer.
They are deliciously chewy, with the sweetness of apple sauce and the addition of raisins, walnuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon. You can use either Gala apples or Granny Smith apples, and this recipe can easily be adapted to incorporate more spices such as ground ginger, nutmeg, or cardamom.
Are you looking to make them extra festive? Add some chocolate chips to the dough just before baking.
This vegan Christmas cookie recipe makes up to 25 cookies, perfect for feeding the whole family or sharing as gifts with friends.
10. Salted Caramel Dessert Cookies
These cookies are 100% vegan. Gluten-free flour can be used to replace all-purpose flour. This recipe can be nut-free by swapping almond milk for soy milk.
Last but certainly not least, these Salted Caramel Dessert Cookies taste divine and are surprisingly vegan! They take some work because you need to make a salted caramel sauce, but they are worth it.
The vegan salted caramel sauce is only three ingredients (maple syrup, almond butter, and coconut oil), but you can also go for a store-bought caramel if you prefer. The sea salt balances out the sweetness of the sugar and vanilla.
To create a gluten-free version, swap the self-raising flour for gluten-free flour.
Either way, this vegan Christmas cookie recipe can be served with ice cream, drizzled with salted caramel sauce, or paired with a cup of coffee.
Baking Tips
- Trial and error is part of baking, so practicing vegan Christmas cookie recipes is a good idea.
- If the recipe uses plant-based milk, make sure you use the unsweetened version so the cookies don’t turn out too sweet.
- Dark chocolate is not always dairy-free, so check the label for milk solids or milk fat.
- Vegan cookie recipes usually require vegan butter, margarine, or coconut oil, so it is important to note that swapping these out can change the way the dough holds and bakes.
- Don’t overbake your vegan Christmas cookies plant-based ingredients are safe to eat raw and don’t take as long as traditional recipes that use eggs.
- Much like any other kind of baking, it is important to follow the recipe with the correct measurements and baking time.
Plant-Based Ingredients
- Vegan butter
- Soy milk
- Almond milk
- Cacao powder
- Almond butter
- Raspberry jam
- Almond flour
- Coconut oil
- Dark chocolate (vegan chocolate)
- Powdered sugar
- Vegan royal icing
- Cocoa powder
- Maple syrup
- Coconut sugar
Recommended Baking Tools
- Stand-up mixer or Electric hand mixer
- Baking sheets
- Cookie cutters
- Mixing bowl
- Measuring utensils
- Cooling rack
- Parchment paper
Final Thoughts
Vegan baking is not as complicated as it seems. Vegan baking, raw desserts, gluten-free cake, and plant-based desserts are trending, with more people now looking for healthier options free from dairy, eggs, honey, and refined sugar.
With a selection of vegan alternative ingredients readily available at the supermarket, you can create plant-based recipes in no time.
So, which of my Vegan Christmas Cookies will you bake first this holiday season? Let me know in the comments.
