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    Home » Simple Vegan Recipes » Desserts

    Perfectly Chewy Vegan Brown Sugar Cookies

    Last Modified: Dec 9, 2020 by Becky Striepe

    Disclosure: This post may contain Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. See my Privacy Policy for more details.

    Recipe Print

    Sweet. chewy, molasses-y Vegan Brown Sugar Cookies are an essential holiday treat. The molasses in the brown sugar gives them a lovely, complex flavor!

    putting down a plate of vegan brown sugar cookies

    What can I say about these Vegan Brown Sugar Cookies? They're tender and chewy, packed with cinnamon and brown sugar goodness. Make them for your next holiday party or cookie swap!

    More Vegan Cookie Recipes: Easy Vegan Sugar Crinkle Cookies, Cashew Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Vegan Brown Sugar Cookies

    These cookies are super simple to make, and you don't need any special ingredients. Best of all: instead of white flour, you make them with white wheat flour, so they are a whole grain treat that actually tastes amazing!

    Start by mixing a few dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

    These cookies use a mixture of baking soda and baking powder. Do not try to eliminate either or replace one with more of the other.

    This combination is a big part of how these cookies get their perfect texture.

    dry ingredients in a large bowl

    Mix those up, and then, in a separate bowl, mix up the wet ingredients. You are going to dissolve the brown sugar in a mixture of oil, vanilla extract, and water.

    The wet ingredients also include flax meal, which will help bind your cookies and give them the amazing texture you're going for.

    pouring the wet ingredients into the dry

    Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix them up until you a cohesive dough. You shouldn't see any flour left at this point.

    brown sugar cookie dough, ready to shape into cookies

    Now, it's time to form your cookies!

    Form the dough into 12 balls that are around 1" in diameter, and arrange them on a lined baking sheet.

    These cookies spread a lot during baking, so spacing is key. As you can see in the photos below, I spaced mine generously, and they still ended up sticking together a bit.

    Once you have them arranged and spaced out, it's time to flatten them out. Use your hand to flatten them into ¼" thick disks.

    flattening the dough balls

    After you flatten all of the cookies, bake them for 10-12 minutes. Let them cool for a few minutes, and you're ready to serve!

    raw vegan brown sugar cookies on a baking sheet, ready for the oven
    freshly baked vegan brown sugar cookies cooling on the baking sheet

    How to Store Them

    These cookies will keep for about three days in an airtight container in your pantry.

    Make sure that you cool them completely before you store them. If you put warm cookies into an airtight container, condensation will collect on the inside of the container. That moisture could make your cookies get moldy!

    Vegan Brown Sugar Cookies

    Sweet. chewy, molasses-y Vegan Brown Sugar Cookies are an essential holiday treat. The molasses in the brown sugar gives them a lovely, complex flavor!
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    5 from 8 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: Vegan
    Keyword: vegan brown sugar cookies, vegan sugar cookies
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 12 minutes
    Total Time: 22 minutes
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 125kcal
    Author: Becky Striepe

    Ingredients

    Dry Ingredients

    • 1 cup white wheat flour
    • ½ teaspoon baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

    Wet Ingredients

    • ⅔ cup loosely packed light brown sugar
    • ¼ cup sunflower oil or other light oil
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 3 tablespoons water
    • 1 tablespoon flax meal

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350F.
    • Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl, mixing well.
    • In a smaller bowl, mix wet ingredients, until the brown sugar dissolves.
    • Pour the wet mixture into the dry, and mix well.
    • Form the dough into 12 1" balls and arrange them on a lined baking sheet, leaving about 2" of space between the cookies. Use your hand to flatten them out, so they're about ⅛" thick.
    • Bake for 10-12 minutes, then cool for 5 minutes before moving them off of the baking sheet.

    Notes

    You can cut this dough into shapes, if you prefer! To do that, roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper until it's ⅛" thick, then chill for 20 minutes before cutting and baking.

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Facts
    Vegan Brown Sugar Cookies
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    125
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    5
    g
    8
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    0.5
    g
    3
    %
    Trans Fat
     
    0.004
    g
    Polyunsaturated Fat
     
    0.3
    g
    Monounsaturated Fat
     
    4
    g
    Sodium
     
    118
    mg
    5
    %
    Potassium
     
    33
    mg
    1
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    19
    g
    6
    %
    Fiber
     
    1
    g
    4
    %
    Sugar
     
    12
    g
    13
    %
    Protein
     
    1
    g
    2
    %
    Vitamin C
     
    0.003
    mg
    0
    %
    Calcium
     
    28
    mg
    3
    %
    Iron
     
    0.4
    mg
    2
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Tried this recipe? Share your photo!Mention @GlueAndGlitter on Instagram or Twitter!

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    About Becky Striepe

    Headshot of Becky Striepe in front of a teal wall

    Hi there! I'm Becky Striepe (rhymes with sleepy), and I love using gadgets and shortcuts to create easy vegan comfort food recipes for busy people. Whether you love your Instant Pot, your air fryer, or just love delicious plant-based meals, stick around. You'll like it here.

    Learn more about me >>>

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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      Recipe Rating




    1. syrie

      February 16, 2022 at 8:07 pm

      White wheat flour is white flour. Whole wheat flour is whole wheat.
      Wheat is a grain. Once people started caring about nutrition content, companies just thought they'd influence the customer's thought process by adding the word wheat--long the default for grocery-store breads until great bread of other grains became common outside bakeries-- even if the product isn't whole grain. There may be bleached whole wheat that I haven't come across, but not sure why anyone would want that...(A traditional wedding cake?)

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        February 22, 2022 at 8:35 am

        White wheat is actually a different kind of wheat. You can read more about it here: https://food52.com/blog/24148-what-is-white-whole-wheat-flour

        Reply
    2. Bree Sanders

      June 01, 2020 at 11:35 am

      5 stars
      I substituted the flax meal for ground chia seed & they turned out wonderfully! The flavour is perfect and the cookies were lightly crispy on the edges and chewy inside. Will definitely be making again in the future!

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        June 01, 2020 at 1:25 pm

        Thank you, Bree! It's good to know that chia will work as the egg replacer in these cookies, too!

        Reply
      • Jo

        August 19, 2020 at 2:34 pm

        5 stars
        Omg these cookies are dangerous!!! I could barely stop eating them! I added some cloves and all spice because I’m always looking for an excuse to add cloves and all spice lol. Definitely will make again

        Reply
        • Becky Striepe

          August 20, 2020 at 12:56 pm

          Haha I'm sorry/glad to hear that! :D Cloves and allspice sound like a lovely addition. Sometimes I make them with pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon, and that's a real treat!

          Reply
          • Jo

            August 31, 2020 at 1:29 pm

            5 stars
            Yas!! I need to try pumpkin spice!

            Reply
            • Becky Striepe

              August 31, 2020 at 1:45 pm

              Ooh I can't wait for you to try them that way. It's like a whole different cookie!

    3. Lindsay

      May 26, 2020 at 4:06 am

      I use coconut oil a a table spoon of cinnamon and a bit more vanilla tray was gone in two sittings

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        May 26, 2020 at 1:37 pm

        Oh I bet coconut oil gave it a lovely flavor!

        Reply
    4. Arin

      April 06, 2020 at 9:49 am

      I love the simplicity of this recipe. Do you have other flavour ideas to change this up, with the base recipe staying the same ? Chocolate chips or seeds/nuts? No cinnamon, instead something else? I’m not a baker, so lack experience in changing recipes up.

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        April 06, 2020 at 10:55 am

        That's a great question! Honestly, I wouldn't add too much to it. The brown sugar gives these such a lovely, complex flavor. I think adding chocolate chips wouldn't work well. Walnuts would be nice, though. I have also used pumpkin spice mix instead of the cinnamon. I hope that helps!

        Reply
    5. Rachel B

      May 04, 2019 at 10:32 pm

      5 stars
      I have now made these as-is and today adapted for a Derby party by adding half a teaspoon mint and replacing the water with bourbon for mint julep cookies! They were still delicious. Thanks so much for posting this recipe to keep coming back to!

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        May 05, 2019 at 11:29 am

        OMG mint julep cookies!!!!

        Reply
    6. Monique D Fisher

      April 03, 2018 at 12:13 am

      Is brown sugar vegan?

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        April 03, 2018 at 7:22 pm

        Organic brown sugar is vegan.

        Reply
    7. Sara gueribi

      February 21, 2018 at 4:01 pm

      5 stars
      Adore them!! They work even better when you replace them with vegan butter instead of the flour! It makes them more chewy and overall tastier. (Kinda taste like ice cream if I'm not mistaken...) 11/10. Thank you Becky! :)

      Reply
    8. Lisa

      February 20, 2018 at 9:32 pm

      5 stars
      Made these for the holidays for my vegan family members, but they are so good, we all ate some and I had to hide some for the intended guests. Just looked up the recipe because I just wanted something sweet and easy to make.

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        February 20, 2018 at 9:45 pm

        Oh yay! I’m glad you’re enjoying them!

        Reply
    9. d'Arcy Montague

      January 05, 2018 at 4:49 pm

      5 stars
      I just made these with olive oil and I was dreading the flavor but I can't taste it at all. They came out delicious, perfect sweetness. I did add 1T barista blend almond milk because the dough was dry and not coming together. I will definitely make them again, possibly in a few minutes because my kids are taking them down, and they're very quick and easy. I don't usually keep other oils around so being able to use the oil we always have is huge for a vegan cookie recipe. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        January 05, 2018 at 4:50 pm

        Thank you, d’Arcy! Glad to hear that you and your kids are digging them.

        Reply
    10. Naradi DD

      February 04, 2017 at 3:30 pm

      Do I need to oil the cookie sheet? or parchment paper?

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        February 04, 2017 at 3:41 pm

        Either is good!

        Reply
    11. Becky

      December 05, 2010 at 10:38 am

      Not at all. Glad you enjoyed them!

      Reply
    12. ChelleB

      December 04, 2010 at 9:00 pm

      I hope you don't mind, I posted a link to this recipe on my blog page. I also posted a picture of the cookies! Again, super tasty!

      Reply
    13. Becky

      December 04, 2010 at 5:10 pm

      Those variations sound delicious, Chelle!

      Reply
    14. ChelleB

      December 04, 2010 at 4:51 pm

      new favorite cookie recipe! i love the fact that they're dairy free (lactose intolerant) and that they are made with whole wheat! i wanted to make them a little more "christmasy" so i added about 1/8 t both nutmeg and cloves, rolled into 1in balls and rolled in a mix of organic cane sugar and cinnamon. other than that, i followed the recipe and they are FANTASTIC! such basic ingredients, which makes me happy because it's snowing and i couldn't run to the store... haha!

      Reply
    15. Annie

      November 06, 2009 at 6:35 pm

      I made a batch of these today and they are super yummy! Thanks for the recipe :).

      Reply
      • Sarah

        May 19, 2017 at 12:58 pm

        Slut

        Reply
        • Wut

          November 30, 2019 at 5:52 pm

          5 stars
          Why would u say such a lame thing on a cookie recipe? Hope you find inner peace and acceptance, xoxo.

          Reply
    16. Becky

      October 26, 2009 at 4:24 pm

      You could use peanut or olive, but it might change the taste slightly. If you give it a shot, I'd love to hear how it comes out! I have used olive oil for cookies in a pinch and it's tasted alright but not on this particular recipe. :)

      Reply
    17. Faith

      October 26, 2009 at 3:35 pm

      Would they not be as good if I used some other oil? Maybe peanut or olive?

      Reply
      • Rachel

        August 09, 2020 at 5:46 pm

        Can I use regular white flour for these? Don’t have any white wheat flour on hand unfortunately. They look so yummy!

        Reply
        • Becky Striepe

          August 10, 2020 at 9:20 am

          Yes, white flour should work just fine!

          Reply
    18. Tracy

      October 15, 2009 at 10:27 pm

      I love the simplicity of this! Great looking recipe :c)

      Reply
    19. Jennifer

      October 02, 2009 at 6:46 pm

      I just got a new set of dinosaur cookie cutters that I think I may have to use with this recipe! Nom nom nom.

      Reply
    20. kim

      October 02, 2009 at 11:05 am

      Love them! I may just try this recipe. Looks so easy and I might do shapes too.

      Reply

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    About Me

    Glue and Glitter
    Hi! My name is Becky Striepe (rhymes with “sleepy”). I love using gadgets and shortcuts to create easy vegan comfort food recipes for busy people. Whether you love your Instant Pot, your air fryer, or just love delicious plant-based meals, stick around. You'll like it here. → READ MORE

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