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:
Just tried these today, warm out of the oven: OHMYGOSH. My vegan sister loved them:) all of your recipes that I’ve tried out have been a success so far! Thank you, you make it easier to be healthy. 🙂
Hi there,
I just found you & am so excited to try your recipes…my little boy is allergic to eggs & peanuts, so baking has become quite challenging for me!
Anyway, i was curious which type of nondairy milk is your favorite to use in baking? Is there much of a taste difference?
Thanks!!!
JoAnn
Hi JoAnn!
I really like Blue Diamond almond breeze. Yes, there definitely is a difference among nondairy milks. Coconut milk has a sweet aftertaste, ricemilk is thin and watery, soymilk is thicker, etc. Try out different types until you find a favorite… or maybe you’ll find that you like a certain type best depending on the recipe you’re making :).
Katie, I tried these and they flattened out like paper. 🙁 Any ideas??? But BOY did they taste great!!!! We still ate them!!! Any ideas would be helpful! I want to try them again.
Hmmm… did you chill the dough balls first? And what flour did you use? Can you tell me any other specifics?
I did chill them…and I used regular flour. I am determined to try them again. I did bake them longer than you suggested, so now I’m wondering if that was it! They looked undone, so I added cooking time. I do typically need to do that in my oven, but perhaps I really over-did it. They were not burned at all. Thanks!!! And sorry I just now saw that you replied. 🙂 My husband said they tasted awesome, which they did, but they fell apart picking them up and were flat as paper. haha!
Oh my goodness these are the best sugar cookies I’ve ever had! I’ve been searching for one with my gluten-free veganism, and these didn’t even crumble with gluten-free flour! My non-vegan siblings (even one who is allergic to dairy and refuses to give it up) loved the dairy-free version! Thanks, Katie! 🙂
I am so going to try this instead of store bought cookie dough for fruit pizzas!
Yum-would these be available in a smaller serving? Ie 4 biscuits instead of 12?
I love Anzac biscuits too, and they can easily be made vegan. I made a huge batch for Australia day yesterday to take to work too make up for the fact we had to work on a public holiday. All the other nurses loved them!
BTW I am following you on Pinterest now-lots of fun 🙂
Aww thanks, Rachel! 🙂
I guess you could probbably halve the recipe… I often halve cookie recipes without a problem :).
Hi! I just want to know if you also have a recipe for a healthy frosting too. Thanks!
Sure :). https://lett-trim.today/chocolate-covered-recipes/nut-butters/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
OMG! 0.0 Im amazed. Before I became vegan this was my favorite icecream and I never found a replacer. So amazing!
Last night my husband and I had a sweet tooth. I made these sugar cookies using coconut oil and they were TO DIE FOR! Addicting really. THANK you for all of your amazing recipes! Your website is always a go-to when I want sweets but don’t want to compromise my waistline 🙂
Hi Katie! I made these yesterday with a heart cookie cutter and pink frosting and of course sprinkles 🙂 They are so soft and yummy!!!! They have better flavor than a typical sugar cookie. Thank you so much for sharing the LOVE and your awesome recipes! Happy Valentines Day
My daughter and I made these today and they are awesome!!!! My sister has a liver disorder so she has to limit calories and fat- your site has been a huge help in finding healthy sweet treats to make for her. Thanks so much!!!
hey I’m like ten and me my family eat nothing but healthy so i was so looking forward to something sweet and healthy i wil be trying these soon thanks a bunch.
I’m not gonna lie….these do taste like biscuits, but hey, who doesn’t love biscuits??!!!!
MMMMMMM, just out of the oven and about to be frosted blue, these cookies are amazing!
Thank you!
Just wanted you to know I made these today. Altered them a bit by adding 6 packet of “true lemon” to the dry ingredients, and rolling them in two packets of true lemon with some sugar before baking. Made wonderful Lemon cookies 🙂
I couldn’t find in the comments–did anyone try coconut oil? How did it turn out? Please say soft. Oh please, please say soft!!!