Vegan Vanilla Sprinkle Cookies
Delightful vegan cookies bursting with colorful sprinkles and a rich vanilla flavor!
Jump to ingredients ↓
- Total time
- 30 minutes
- Makes
- 12 cookies
- Oven
- 350°F
- Ingredients
- 8
About these cookies
These are soft, chewy vanilla cookies with crisp golden edges and plenty of rainbow sprinkles in every bite. Melted coconut oil and brown sugar give them a rich, caramel-tinged chew. The dough comes together in two bowls with no mixer, and they bake in under 15 minutes. They're a good pick for birthdays, bake sales or any time you want a cheerful cookie fast.
Steps
- Tap a step to check it off.
Tips for success
- Let the melted coconut oil cool for a few minutes until it's warm, not hot, before mixing it with the sugars. Hot oil makes the dough greasy and can make the sprinkle colors bleed.
- This dough has no added liquid, so it can look sandy at first. Keep stirring and pressing it against the bowl and it will come together. If it still won't hold when you squeeze it, stir in 1–2 teaspoons of plant milk.
- To get 12 cookies, use a generous, heaping tablespoon of dough for each one. Leave the full 2 inches between them, because the coconut oil makes them spread.
- Use rod-shaped sprinkles (jimmies) rather than tiny round nonpareils, which tend to bleed color into the dough. For a bakery look, press a few extra sprinkles onto the tops of the dough balls before baking.
- Take the cookies out as soon as the edges turn lightly golden, even if the centers look soft and underdone. They firm up during the 5 minutes on the baking sheet.
Swaps
- Coconut oil: Use 1/2 cup melted vegan butter. The cookies will taste more buttery and spread a little more because vegan butter contains water. Refined coconut oil works if you don't want any coconut flavor, while virgin coconut oil adds a light coconut taste.
- Brown sugar: Use the same amount of coconut sugar for a deeper caramel flavor and a slightly drier, less chewy cookie. You can also use all granulated sugar (3/4 cup total) for a paler, crisper cookie.
- All-purpose flour: Use a 1:1 gluten-free baking blend that contains xanthan gum, in the same amount. The cookies will be a bit more tender and crumbly, so let them cool fully on the rack before you move them.
- Vegan sprinkles: Check the label for confectioner's glaze (shellac), carmine/cochineal or beeswax, which make many sprinkles non-vegan. If you can't find vegan sprinkles, use 1/2 cup of dairy-free mini chocolate chips instead.
Storing
Keep the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. The coconut oil makes them firm up as they sit. To freeze, wrap the baked cookies well and freeze for up to 3 months. To soften them again, warm thawed or room-temperature cookies at 300°F (150°C) for 3–4 minutes.
