I ate two of these healthy sugar cookies, straight from the oven!
It’s officially December now, which means you have a great excuse to make cookies. Why not go ahead and bake a batch of these to find out if your self-restraint is better than mine?
(As if anyone needed an excuse to bake cookies.)
The perfect sugar cookie should be soft, buttery, and so incredibly delicious it makes you want to polish off the entire batch in a single sitting.
This healthy sugar cookie recipe fulfills all of the above requirements… and yet these cookies are whole-grain, lower in sugar, and cholesterol-free at the same time.
Yes, healthy sugar cookies!
Do you bake cookies during the holidays? My grandmother loved baking Christmas cookies more than anyone else I know. Each year, she’d make at least ten different kinds of cookies. Michelle and I liked to help: she helped by rolling out the dough… and I helped by eating all the finished cookies! My grandfather nicknamed me “Cookie Monster” because, even before my head was tall enough to reach the table, I was stealing cookies off the tray.
Some things haven’t changed much.
Healthy Sugar Cookies
Healthy Sugar Cookies!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup spelt, ww pastry, or all-purpose flour (Update! Click for Grain Free Sugar Cookies.)
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt (just under level)
- 1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup white sugar, or sucanat, coconut sugar, or evaporated cane juice (or xylitol for a sugar-free version)
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons milk of choice
- 1/4 cup butter-type spread, such as Earth Balance (Some readers say you can use coconut oil, but I haven't tried it. I wouldn't recommend using a low-fat buttery spread.)
Instructions
Healthy Sugar Cookies Recipe: Combine dry ingredients and mix very, very well. In a separate bowl, melt the vegan butter, then stir in vanilla and milk. Pour dry into wet and mix again. Form balls or roll out (not too thin), then use a cookie cutter to make shapes. If you want soft cookies, you’ll need to get the dough very cold. (So roll the balls first, then fridge until cold.) Cook in a 325F preheated oven for 9 minutes. They will look very underdone when you take them out, but that’s ok!! Just let them cool for 5 minutes before touching. (I know it’s hard!) These cookies will keep at least four days, in a lidded plastic container. As a general rule, you should store soft cookies in plastic containers and crispy cookies in glass ones.
These are the same vegan sugar cookies I decorated as baby animals and brought to the football party.
More Healthy Cookie Ideas:
Those look so good! I love sugar cookies and haven’t made them in so long, thanks for the reminder and a healthy one at that! Where is the icing recipe that you used? You rock BTW!!!
Katie, I love that you come up with such healthy recipes, I’m always trying to do so. It’s so easy to put on weight during this time of year, and this is a great recipe to make for the kids. Love it.
Btw… where is the icing recipe? 🙂
It was just storebought icing, as I didn’t have enough time (or energy lol) to make homemade. But I do have a few frosting recipes: https://lett-trim.today/chocolate-covered-recipes/nut-butters%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
ok so i just made these subbing with peanut flour!!!! (using a full cup and a bit more almond milk because it was a little too sweet) OMG not only are the cookies amazing and moist and indulgent (i made jam thumbprints), the dough tastes like the PERFECT base for peanut butter truffles. Next batch, I’m gonna roll them around in cocoa for at-work distribution!
this is a great recipe to get my creative juices working 🙂
Love all your recipes…so creative! I made these tonight and did it to a tee, but used the Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all purpose flour as suggested, Earth Balance & palm sugar. Everything else exactly as instructed. The dough was really sticky (enough that I couldn’t roll them). So I added about 1/4 cup more flour so I could roll them, but once they were chilled and baked, they tasted flour-y (probably cause I added the additional after the fact).
But then again, I’m not a super big fan of that flour anyway…tastes kinda beany to me…lol. I think I’ll sacrifice a bit of a tummy ache to try it with ww flour, cause they look AMAZING!
Just wanted to let ya know in case anyone tries with that particular flour and it doesn’t work out… 🙂
Yikes! I’d actually not tried that particular brand of gf dough :-?. I do know that someone used buckwheat flour, almond flour, and xantham gum for a gf version. (I really need to practice my gf baking skills more!)
If you use ww, make sure it’s the pastry flour :).
Duh, I just realized you posted Arrowhead Mills…my bad! Yah I saw that variation with the buckwheat, but its so strong tasting, not sure how that would be. I wouldn’t worry about practicing your gf skills unless you ‘had’ too. So darn finicky! I may give it another go with oat flour…usually have pretty good luck using that…when I’m in the mood to experiment.
Oh yes, I’d use the pastry flour…such a difference between that and regular ww.
I went to make these last night and I must of used too much liquid, my batter was super wet (but delicious, crazy good delcious) so instead of lots of little cookies I dumped the batter in a pie pan, spread it out, put it in the fridge for about 1/2 hour and then baked for 15 minutes. It still looked not-done, but when it cooled it looked really good. Tonight, I’m frosting it with your Vanilla (Tofu) Frosting and decorating it with lots of fruit. (Kiwi, strawberries and raspberries) to take to a holiday party. I’m so exicited to see how my ‘Katie’ inspired creation comes together. (I’ll send you a pic on twitter) I’m also thinking about taking the fruit bar batter and rolling it into a pie crust and then filling it with your chocolate mousse for “our” next creation. Thanks again for all the amazing recipes that inspire me to get my booty baking in the kitchen!
Ah, after I read all the other comments I realized I used the wrong flour. Ah well, I think I still have a success on my hands but I’ll know for future reference. I’m not worried, I mean who doesn’t like cookie pie or cookie pizza? I still haven’t decided how I’m going to display and transport it. Pie pan is easy, but its blue glass. (So not Christmasy) If I make it more like a pizza I can put it on a clear plate. I’m planning on precutting it before I frost it too regardless of how I display it.
Cookie pizza?! I was thinking of making bars, but I like your idea better!
Those are absolutely GORGEOUS!!! Katie, you are my favorite blog! 😀
Oh my goodness. I’m in love, and not just with the cookies. Keep doin your thing
What about coconut butter instead of vegan butter? Do you think that would work? I have never cooked or baked with it before.
I am excited to make these for my vegan friends for Christmas. :o) yum
I haven’t tried it, but I do know that a few others left comments saying they had success using coconut OIL in the recipe :).
Hi Katie, We just baked your delicious healthy vegan sugar cookies and they are “AMAZING!” We are always looking for healthy alternatives to baking, especially with having a 2 and 4 year old. Thank you so much! Wishing you and yours a very happy and healthy holiday. 🙂
I used coconut oil, which made the dough hard to work with too cold. So I cooked them for only 7 minutes and they puffed up so nicely. The teens I made them for LOVED them. They were so soft and tasty even using White Whole Wheat & Spelt flour.
Just made these using coconut oil and they are GREAT! Yummm! I also used self raising flour. Yum yum yum 😀
Can you sub brown sugar for white sugar in this recipe?
I haven’t tried it, but I think you could!
I did. They were great!
wow! so many comments but i can’t not leave one!
these cookies are fantastic. my husbands hardly ever impressed when i make vegan desserts (he’s not much of a dessert guy in general). but with these cookies he said “i could eat a lot of these cookies.” of course my kids love them too. and then we added frosting. they are amazing with or without frosting and sooooo easy to make! thank you!
Aww so excited you liked them!! 🙂
Question – why do you say that refrigerated dough makes softer cookies? I’ve never heard that and can’t find anything else about it anywhere on the web… Just wondering, because I LOVE softer cookies! Thanks
I’m not sure… my grandma taught me that trick. But it works! 🙂
Do these taste at all like the lofthouse sugar cookies that they sell in stores? That would seriously make my day 🙂