Vegan Shortbread Cookies Recipe (2024)

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Easy vegan shortbread cookies recipe with dark chocolate chunks, vanilla and cultured vegan butter. Also known as European sugar cookies or Christmas biscuits, they make perfect treats to dunk in your coffee or to pack nicely as holiday gifts. Simple, delicious, perfectly crunchy, crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth dairy free treats!

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Vegan Shortbread Cookies

Only 4 ingredients, not counting the pinch of salt and optional chocolate, these old world Christmas cookies aka Biscuits are everything!

Shortbread Ingredients

  • The Flour: all purpose flour is the standard but If you are looking for a gluten free alternative or just trying to stay away from all purpose flour you can replace it with almond, oat, or rice flour.
  • Vegan Butter: Miyoko’s cultured European butter is the absolute best on the market. If you can’t find that one any vegan butter sticks will do here.
  • Sugars: a mix of granulated, coconut or brown sugars is my favorite way to go, that being said nothing wrong with just using granulated sugar if that’s what you have in the pantry.
  • Vanilla: extract or seeds, it’s optional but gives your cookies a really nice flavor.
  • Chocolate Chunks: totally optional but makes your shortbread a little nicer in my opinion, if you like chocolate of course. Remember this vegan pumpkin bread?
  • Fleur de Sel: a few flakes of this sea salt sprinkled over the top as soon as the cookies come out of the oven makes them extra special. Use it if you have some but don’t stress over it.

Cookie Flavor Variations

  • Nuts – You can swap the chocolate chunks in the recipe with equal parts chopped nuts: pistachios, pecans or walnuts are great additions.
  • Dried Fruit – Use 1/2 cup of dried cranberries or peanut butter chips.
  • Fancy – add in one teaspoon of lemon zest or orange peel, chopped rosemary or dried lavender flowers.

Topping Ideas

  • homemade jam
  • salted caramel sauce
  • creamy nut butter
  • chocolate drizzle
  • icing sugar.

How to Make Perfect Vegan Shortbread Cookies

  1. Use the best Vegan Butter you can find and make sure it is at room temperature. I’m obsessed with Miyoko’s cultured European style butter, absolute perfection for baking goods.
  2. Cream the butter and sugar together until incorporated well. This is why it’s super important that the butter is softened.
  3. Vanilla – add the extract if using, if vanilla bean is available that’s even a better option.
  4. Mix – use the paddle attachment to mix in the flour + chocolate chunks (if using) but take good care not to overdo this. We just want to make sure the dough comes together nicely.
  5. Chill the Dough! Form the dough into a log, wrap in parchment paper and refrigerate until completely chilled and set. This step is crucial to the final texture so please don’t skip it.

Vegan Shortbread Cookies Recipe (7)

5 from 1 vote

Vegan Shortbread Cookies

Easy vegan shortbread cookies recipe with dark chocolate chunks, vanilla and cultured vegan butter. Also known as European sugar cookies or Christmas biscuits they make perfect treats to dunk in your coffee or to pack nicely as holiday gifts.

Print Recipe

Prep Time:10 minutes mins

Cook Time:15 minutes mins

chill time:20 minutes mins

Total Time:45 minutes mins

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Bring the butter to room temperature until softened.

    8 oz cultured vegan butter

  • In the bowl of your stand mixer add the sugars and butter and cream together until incorporated using the paddle attachment. Start on low speed and gradually move up to medium.

    1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 8 oz cultured vegan butter

  • Add the vanilla extract then sprinkle in the flour, salt and chocolate chunks. Continue mixing until everything is incorporated.

    2.5 cups all purpose flour, 1.5 tsp vanilla extract, 3.5 oz dark chocolate bar, 1/4 tsp sea salt

  • Transfer the dough to a sheet of parchment paper and using your hands shape it into a long log. Roll it in the parchment paper to the size of a medium rolling pin. Twist the ends and refrigerate until set, about 20 minutes or so. (Alternatively you can place the dough between two large sheets of parchment paper and roll it out to 1/3 inch thickness. Chill 20 minutes then use a favorite cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. This method is recommended if you are doing a mix of dried fruit and nuts with the chocolate chunks).

  • Once the dough is set use a serrated knife (or cookies cutter ) and slice the dough into 1/3 inch slices. It should yield approximately 24 cookies. Place the cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet without touching one another. (Use two cookie sheets or work in batches if necessary.)

  • Meanwhile preheat your oven to 350”F. Bake your shortbread cookies for 15 to 17 minutes until lightly golden around the edges or done to your liking.

  • Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and sprinkle with a pinch of Fleur de Sel (sea salt flakes) if available. Allow to cool off completely before serving or drizzling with chocolate.

    Fleur de Sel sea salt flakes

Notes

  • Nuts - You can swap the chocolate chunks in the recipe with equal parts chopped nuts: pistachios, pecans or walnuts are great additions.
  • Dried Fruit - Use 1/2 cup of dried cranberries or peanut butter chips.
  • Fancy - add in one teaspoon of lemon zest or orange peel, chopped rosemary or dried lavender flowers.

Nutrition

Calories: 168kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 94mg | Potassium: 45mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 1mg

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Keyword: Christmas cookies, plant based, vegan cookies

Servings: 24 cookies

Calories: 168kcal

Author: Florentina

Vegan Desserts:

Vegan Shortbread Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the substitute for egg in shortbread cookies to make it vegan? ›

Flax eggs are my go-to vegan egg substitute.

Cakes, cookies, quick breads, muffins, pancakes... I've gotten them all to work with flax eggs, and I can recall very few flax egg failures. Even though I don't use chia eggs quite as often, they're pretty much interchangeable with flax eggs.

What is the mistake in making shortbread? ›

The most common mistakes when making shortbread are over-working the dough, and incorporating too much flour.

What is the secret to making good shortbread cookies? ›

Tips To Make the Best Shortbread Cookies
  1. Choose High Quality Butter. No matter what brand of butter you buy, if it's real butter, you can rest assured that it's the best. ...
  2. Keep Ingredients Simple. ...
  3. Add Flavor. ...
  4. Don't Overwork. ...
  5. Shape Dough. ...
  6. Chill Before Baking. ...
  7. Bake Until Golden. ...
  8. Add Finishing Touches.

What is the difference between Scottish shortbread and shortbread cookies? ›

"Shortbread" is just Scottish shortbread; they're one and the same. While the recipe has changed throughout its history, and there is a version of shortbread from Ireland, the original shortbread you're familiar with comes from Scotland.

What do vegans use to bind instead of eggs? ›

Ground flax seeds

One of the most popular egg substitutes in vegan baking is a flax egg. This is made by combining ground (not whole) flax seeds with water and leaving to sit for 15 minutes until the mixture becomes thick, almost the same consistency as a regular egg.

What do vegans use instead of butter? ›

What are good vegan butter substitutes? In baking, you can use vegan butter, applesauce, dairy-free yogurt, coconut oil, coconut butter, olive oil, nut butter, mashed banana and mashed avocado. In cooking, you can use olive oil, coconut oil, vegetable stock, or avocado oil to replace butter.

Why is shortbread unhealthy? ›

However, lipids, which are a component to food such as shortbread cookies are considered unhealthy because they are the most energetic nutrients in food and are a source of saturated fatty acids (SFA) (usually 40%) and sometimes also trans fatty isomers (TFA) [4,5,6].

Should you chill shortbread dough before baking? ›

After shaping the cookies, don't rush to the oven! Instead, chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so (overnight is OK, too). A short stay in the fridge will firm up the cookies and solidify the butter. This will help keep them from spreading too much.

Why poke holes in shortbread cookies? ›

The word "bread" comes from "biscuit bread" which was made from leftover bread dough that was sweetened and dried out in the oven to make biscuits. Why do you poke holes in shortbread? The holes allow the moisture to escape during baking and more even heat distribution. This helps dry out and crisp up the cookies.

Is powdered sugar or granulated sugar better for shortbread? ›

Takeaway: look for recipes that use granulated sugar for a more crisp-style shortbread and powdered sugar for a more tender shortbread!

Why do you put cornstarch in shortbread? ›

Cornstarch provides the shortbread with structure, but its biggest job is keeping the cookies extra soft, tender, and light. I love adding a small amount to chocolate chip cookies too. Optional Coarse Sugar Topping: For an optional sparkly crunch on your shortbread wedges, add a sprinkle of coarse sugar before baking.

Why do you put shortbread in the fridge before baking? ›

It comes from using a high proportion of fat (or shortening) to flour and is also where shortcrust pastry gets its name. Why do you put shortbread in the fridge before baking? Chilling the dough before baking will help the shortbread keep their shape while cooking.

What is the new name for shortbread? ›

Shortbread is now Trefoils®! they're ABC cookies? always called them trefoils!

What are shortbread called in England? ›

In British English, shortbread and shortcake were synonyms for several centuries, starting in the 1400s; both referred to the crisp, crumbly cookie-type baked good, rather than a softer cake.

Why is shortbread called petticoat tail? ›

The triangles fit together into a circle and echo the shape of the pieces of fabric used to make a full-gored petticoat during the reign of Elizabeth I. The theory here is that the name may have come from the word for the pattern which was 'tally', and so the biscuits became known as 'petticoat tallis'.

How to replace eggs in vegan cookies? ›

9 Best Vegan Egg Substitutes for Baking
  1. Flaxseed Egg. 1 egg= 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed+ 3 tablespoon water. ...
  2. Chia Egg. 1 egg= 1 tablespoon chia seeds+ 3 tablespoon water. ...
  3. Applesauce. 1 egg= ¼ cup applesauce. ...
  4. Pumpkin puree. ...
  5. Mashed Banana. ...
  6. Baking soda and apple cider vinegar. ...
  7. Silken tofu. ...
  8. Plant-based yogurt (unsweetened)
Feb 24, 2021

What can you use as a replacement for eggs in cookies? ›

You can whisk 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons of water and 2 teaspoons of baking powder together to replace each egg in baked goods like cookies, brownies or quick breads. This substitution won't impact a recipes' flavor profile the way egg substitutions like mashed banana or flaxseed might.

What is a dairy free substitute for eggs in baking? ›

6 Egg Substitutes for Vegan Baking
  • Aquafaba. Unless you've been living under a rock, you've likely heard of aquafaba. ...
  • Chickpea Flour. I'm staying on the chickpea train because I like to be organized. ...
  • Flaxseed meal. ...
  • Tofu. ...
  • Ripe Bananas. ...
  • Applesauce.
May 9, 2020

What is a vegetarian substitute for eggs? ›

Silken tofu

Silken tofu has a high water content, which means it has a softer consistency. To replace 1 egg, substitute 1/4 cup (about 60 g) of puréed, silken tofu. Silken tofu is relatively flavorless, but it can make baked goods dense and heavy, so it's best used in brownies, cookies, quick breads, and cakes.

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