These Easter egg sugar cookies are vegan and gluten-free but you won't be able to tell! Buttery and slightly soft, just like the classic sugar cookies we grew up eating.
They're decorated with vegan icing using evaporated oat milk and natural food coloring too! If you're looking for delicious vegan Easter treats, these are for you!
I'm so thankful to be collaborating with Nature's Charm. All opinions are my own.
This recipe was originally published on April 10, 2022. It was updated with new photos and information on August 14, 2023.
Table of contents
Vegan Easter Cookies
Move over tasteless cookies decorated with synthetic colors! These vegan sugar cookies are iced with a glaze icing that's colored using natural food color powders.
Although these Easter cut out cookies are plant-based, these cookies taste like classic sugar cookies! You know, the ones our moms and grandmas made; buttery, sweet, crisp edges and slightly soft in the middle.
The base of these vegan Easter treats is the gluten-free sugar cookie recipe that I use in my cranberry thumbprint cookies!
Ingredients
- Gluten-free flour blend - Make sure your 1-to-1 or measure-for-measure flour blend includes xanthan gum! If you don't eat a gluten-free diet, you can substitute this with regular all-purpose flour.
- Almond flour - Adding almond flour gives the cookies a tender crumb, as well as depth to the flavor.
- Salt - A little salt is necessary to balance the sweetness.
- Vegan butter - For best results, use vegan butter sticks rather than the butter spreads in tubs. If you consume dairy, you can substitute the butter and coconut oil with regular dairy butter. Use 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter to replace the vegan butter and coconut oil.
- Refined coconut oil - Make sure to use flavorless refined coconut oil, and not virgin or extra virgin coconut oil which has a strong coconut flavor.
- Granulated sugar - Essential in any sugar cookie recipe!
- Vanilla extract - Use pure vanilla extract, and not imitation or artificial extract.
- Evaporated oat milk - The oat milk goes into both the cookie dough and the icing!
- Powdered sugar - Be sure to sift it first to get rid of any clumps.
- Natural food coloring - I made four colors using matcha powder, butterfly pea powder, beet powder, and ground turmeric.
How to Make Easter Sugar Cookies
Step 1: Combine the gluten-free flour blend, almond flour, and salt in a bowl. Set aside
Step 2: Cream together the softened vegan butter, melted coconut oil, and granulated sugar in a large bowl with a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the evaporated oat milk, and vanilla extract, and mix again.
Step 3: Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until you don't see any dry bits of flour. Cover and let it rest on the counter for 30 minutes.
Step 4: Take the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper, cover that with another sheet of parchment paper, and roll it out to ¼ inch (½ cm) thickness. Put it in the refrigerator while you preheat the oven.
Step 5: Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 6: Cut shapes out of the chilled rolled-out cookie dough using an egg-shaped cookie cutter and place them on the baking sheet.
Step 7: Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. Re-roll any leftover cookie dough and bake more cookies, until you have no more cookie dough left.
Step 8: Let them cool completely on the baking sheet before taking them onto a wire rack.
How to Make Vegan Glaze Icing & Decorate the Cookies
Step 1: Mix together sifted powdered sugar and evaporated oat milk in a small bowl.
Step 2: Separate the icing into smaller bowls and mix in natural food color.
Step 3: Dip in the top surface of each cookie and set it on a wire rack to let it dry.
Step 4: Put the rest of the icing in individual piping bags with a small piping tip. Decorate the cookies by drawing lines and dots with the icing.
Recipe Pro-Tips
- Make sure your gluten-free flour blend includes xanthan gum. It is very important that the flour blend you use contains xanthan gum! Xanthan gum is what gives the cookies structure, so without it, the cookies won't hold together.
- Roll out the dough before you chill. If the cookie dough is at room temperature, the dough will be too soft and you won't be able to transfer it onto the baking sheet. For beautiful egg-shaped cookies, make sure to roll out the dough first, chill it, then use your cookie cutter to cut out the cookies and put them on the baking sheet.
- Cool the cookies completely before you decorate. If the cookies are warm, the icing won't set properly. Patience is a virtue, so make sure you let them cool completely!
- Adjust the recipe if you're using powdered food coloring. Powdered food coloring tends to soak up the moisture in the icing, so add ¼ teaspoon of extra evaporated oat milk at a time and mix it until it reaches its original consistency.
- Let the base color set before decorating. If you don't let the base color set before adding dots and lines, the decorations won't be as crisp and clean. Make sure you wait about 15 to 20 minutes after dipping the cookies into the icing to let it dry, before going in with your piping tips to draw stripes.
- Fix the icing while it's still wet. If you see any air bubbles in the icing, you can poke it with the tip of a toothpick while it's still wet! If your icing starts dripping down the sides, you can easily wipe it off with your finger!
Storage directions
- Room temperature: Keep cookies stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.
- Freeze: Wrap each cookie individually and put it in a freezer bag or airtight container. You can keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let the cookies defrost in the refrigerator overnight to avoid condensation.
Dietary adaptations
These cookies are gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, egg-free, and soy-free!
You can make them nut-free by substituting the almond flour with more gluten-free 1-to-1 flour.
Tools and gadgets needed to make this recipe
- Measuring cups & spoons
- Mixing bowls
- Hand mixer or stand mixer
- Spatula
- Egg-shaped cookie cutter
- Mine was 2.5 x 2.75 inches (6.35 x 7 cm).
- Parchment paper
- Baking sheets
- Piping bags
- Piping tips
- I used the Wilton round piping tip 1 for all my decorations.
FAQs
The main difference between icing and frosting is fat. Frostings have some form of fat in them, usually butter, while icings do not. Icing is made from powdered sugar and liquid (e.g., milk, juice, egg whites, etc.), which is why it's runnier than frosting.
Royal icing uses whipped egg whites or meringue powder, while glaze icing does not. Royal icing is harder, thicker, and shinier than glaze icing. While royal icing makes cleaner and more detailed decorations, egg-free glaze icing is naturally vegan, making it perfect for vegan cookie decorating!
Absolutely! If you feel more comfortable working with buttercream frosting than icing, you can color your buttercream and use it to decorate your vegan sugar cookies.
To make sure your cookie dough is rolled out evenly, you can use measuring rings on the ends of your rolling pin.
Yes! You can use cookie cutters of any shape you want. Use a rabbit cookie cutter to make Easter bunny sugar cookies!
Yes! These cookies are delicious on their own, without any icing on them. If you want to skip the decorations because you feel intimidated by the idea of using piping tips, just dip the tops of the cookies into the icing and add some sprinkles!
More Easter Recipes
Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you loved this Dairy-Free Vanilla Cupcake Recipe. For more delicious dairy-free, gluten-free, and/or vegan dessert inspiration, make sure to follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also get all of my newest content delivered straight to your inbox by signing up for my email newsletter — I promise not to spam you!
Ester Egg Sugar Cookies (Vegan & Gluten Free)
Ingredients
Sugar cookies
- 2 cups gluten-free 1-to-1 flour
- ½ cup almond flour
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ⅔ cup vegan butter softened at room temperature
- ⅓ cup coconut oil melted
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon Nature's Charm evaporated oat milk
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons Nature's Charm evaporated oat milk
- ⅛ teaspoon matcha powder
- ⅛ teaspoon beet powder
- ⅛ teaspoon turmeric
- ⅛ teaspoon butterfly pea powder
Instructions
Sugar cookies
- In a bowl, combine the gluten-free flour blend, almond flour, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, cream together the softened vegan butter, melted coconut oil, and granulated sugar. Add the evaporated oat milk, and vanilla extract, and mix again.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until you don't see any dry bits of flour. Cover and let it rest on the counter for 30 minutes.
- Take the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper, cover that with another sheet of parchment paper, and roll it out to ¼ inch (½ cm) thickness. Put it in the refrigerator while you preheat the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Take the chilled rolled-out cookie dough out of the refrigerator and cut out shapes using an egg-shaped cookie cutter.
- Put them on the parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.Re-roll any leftover cookie dough and bake more cookies, until you have no more cookie dough left.
- Let them cool completely on the baking sheet before taking them onto a wire rack.
Icing
- In a bowl, mix together sifted powdered sugar and evaporated oat milk.
- Separate the icing into smaller bowls and mix in natural food color.
- Dip in the top surface of each cookie and set on a wire rack to let it dry.
- Put the rest of the icing in individual piping bags with a small piping tip. Decorate the cookies by drawing lines and dots with the icing.
Notes
- Storage instructions:
- Room temperature: Keep cookies stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.
-
Leave a Reply