Perfectly crunchy vegan shortbread cookies. This small batch recipe contains just 4-ingredients and makes 8-9 shortbread cookies. Easy and insanely good!
We have a brand of shortbread cookie in South Africa called ‘Eat Sum More’. Cool name right? Not vegan though, sadly.
I knew I had to nail down a good recipe for vegan shortbread cookies because shortbread is the base ingredient of all sorts of other cool desserts that I absolutely want to make. Like vegan twix bars (update: this is now made!) and millionaire shortbread. Yum yum yum!
And this folks – is it. This small batch recipe for vegan shortbread cookies is the bomb diggity.
I love that it’s a small batch too because recipes that make like 3 dozen cookies are just not for me.
Considering the fact that it’s just me and Jaye and our cat babies (who funnily enough don’t like cookies), it would be a bit crazy to go making huge batches of things. Or not crazy at all, it depends on the day.
I even got adorable heart shaped cookie cutters for the job.
On the day of baking these our air conditioner died and since it was hot as heck, this was quite a big deal.
As I was working with this cookie dough, the vegan butter that forms quite a large part of this recipe was melting inside the dough and making it really hard to keep the nice little heart shapes I was going for!
So if my heart shaped cookies look a little rough around the edges – this is why! It was about 100 degrees (or more) in my kitchen.
Nonetheless the end result was awesome. This recipe is super simple, being just 4 ingredients.
How To Make Vegan Shortbread Cookies
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
You simply add flour, sugar and salt to a mixing bowl, and then add in the vegan butter and rub it in with your fingers. Form it into a ball, flatten it out or roll it out on a flour dusted surface and cut out the cookies, and then bake.
The result? The crunchiest, most satisfying vegan shortbread cookies. Just about 8 or 9 of them.
Storing and Freezing
Keep your cookies stored in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy within a week. They are also freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
More Vegan Cookies
- Vegan Oatmeal Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Cookies
- Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
- Vegan Lemon Cookies
- Vegan Thumbprint Cookies
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Small Batch Vegan Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour (125g)
- ¼ cup White Granulated Sugar (50g) plus more for rolling
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (149°C).
- Sift the flour and add it to a mixing bowl. Add the sugar and salt and mix together.
- Then add the vegan butter, rubbing it in with your fingers. It will first be crumbly and then gradually will form into cookie dough.
- Form the cookie dough into a ball and then flatten it out on a flour dusted surface and cut out some cookies. You can either use a rolling pin or your hands to flatten it out to around ½ inch thick. The dough is quite fragile, so if you use a rolling pin, you can roll and sort of press at the same time. Dust the top of the dough with flour so that the rolling pin doesn’t stick. Roll the cookies in more granulated sugar and place onto a parchment lined baking tray.
- Roll the remaining dough into a ball again and flatten out again, cutting out more cookies and then repeat.
- At the end you’ll cut out your final cookie, and whatever’s left won’t be enough for a last cookie, so just roll into a small ball, roll it in sugar and add it to the baking tray as a bonus cookie.
- You should have around 8-9 cookies.
- Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes* until lightly golden on top.
- Remove from the oven and allow them to cool and firm up directly on the tray before moving them.
Video
Notes
- Baking times: We have baked these cookies for up to 45 minutes for a wonderfully crunchy shortbread. But in some ovens this will be too long and they will burn. Also, if you have more than 8-9 cookies then your cookies will be thinner and may need an even shorter baking time. So keep an eye on them. But feel free to also bake them longer than the 25-30 minutes, while keeping a beady eye on them, if you like your shortbread super crunchy.
- Storing and Freezing: Keep your cookies stored in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy within a week. They are also freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
- Recipe adapted from Epicurious.
Heather says
Hi,
I would love to make these but unsure where to get Vegan butter in Dubai. Do you buy your butter in Dubai? And if so where? Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
You have great options in Dubai – Waitrose and Spinney’s sell Nuttelex, an Australian brand of vegan butter. The All Day next to Bahar in JBR sell Earth Balance – a US brand of vegan butter. Waitrose have an own brand of vegan spreads that are also great for baking. And then failing all that, some of the hard blocks of margarine in Dubai are also free of animal products, but those don’t work quite as well I’ve found as the spreadable ones. Also, Bio Organic in Tecom sell all kinds of things, like vegan cheeses etc, not sure about vegan butter as I was well covered on that front, but they have lots of other great ‘hard to find’ ingredients.
Katie Winger says
Hello,
I made these today. And they burnt at the recommended bake time. Proper oven temperature and everything. Was it 4 to 5 minutes because 45 minutes seems like a long time.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Katie, oh no, what a pity! Were they very burned or just slightly? The thing is ovens can vary tremendously, so keeping an eye on them is a good idea as well so you can get to know how long they take in your oven. An oven thermometer is also a good idea so you can check that your oven is baking at the temperature you set it to, as they can be calibrated incorrectly. I am just going to get one of these myself as I am using a new oven lately and am not sure it’s calibrated properly. 45 minutes is the correct time for this as it bakes at a fairly low temperature, which is why it goes for much longer than cookies usually would.
Katie Winger says
Hello,
And they were like hockey puck burnt. I had to babysit so I left my mother in charge of the cookies. Just pulling them out when they were done I made them and set the timer. My oven very well may be off. It only took 16 minutes in my oven on 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Not sure if you live in the U.S. or not so I included the degree (Fahrenheit). Oven thermometer may be out of my reach if they are pricey. I am a 5th year college student. So no money lolz.
Thank you for the quick reply,
P.S. They turned out a lovely golden color this time around. I hope the wee ones will like them.
Alison Andrews says
If you cooked them at 350 the first time that would explain why they were burnt. They are supposed to be baked at 300 for 45 minutes. Glad they came out well the second time! 🙂
Katie Winger says
Thanks. I am bad with numbers usually I have my mom check my writing lolz. And yeah they were great the little ones loved them I made shortbread jam Mummy cookies for our Halloween party last night.
Elizabeth says
These were amazing!!! I ran out of my vegan butter (almost had enough), so I filled the rest of the cup with vegan shortening, and they turned out just delicious for my strawberry shortcake with homemade coconut whip. Thanks for a great recipe!!
Alison Andrews says
Great stuff! Glad it worked out well! Thanks for posting. 🙂
Emma Suffling says
I made a double sized batch of these, for a friend’s birthday and they are delicious!! I used Vitalite vegan butter which is quite soft, so I had to add a bit more flour, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly, including cooking time. They are by far the best vegan shortbread I have found. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Alison Andrews says
Brilliant! So glad to hear! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Jessica S. says
Hello! Would you please verify this is granulated sugar (rather than powdered sugar)? I just want to make sure before I mess something up. Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Yes! Regular granulated sugar. ?
Lisa says
Hi there, can I just confirm the 45 minutes cooking time? Seems alot for cookies so wanted to double check. Thanks
Alison Andrews says
Yes, it’s right. It is much longer than usual for cookies, but it’s because it’s done at a low heat.
Lisa says
Brilliant thank you very much! My husband and I have had trouble following vegan baking recipes online, because they’ve obviously not been recipe tested, but all the one’s we’ve tried from your site have been exactly as you have described. Just wanted to say thank you for all your recipes and the work you do.
Alison Andrews says
That is so wonderful to hear – thank you so much! 🙂
Lisa says
That’s quite alright. I am chronically ill so wasting time and energy (and money!) On recipes that don’t work is a huge pain in the bum, so I very much appreciate someone taking the time to be thorough. Hopefully I’ll be making these shortbread soon with my husband or carer, excited!
Erika says
I tried using coconut oil instead of margarine or vegan butter (because I did not have any of them at home at that moment) and it did not work, so next time I’ll try the vegan butter.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Erika, thanks for posting, it’s good to know that coconut oil doesn’t work as a substitute.
Jaime says
Me and my 3 year old just made these and we love them! They taste great! We made them in the size and shapes of animal crackers and alphabets! Took a little longer but they are super cute!
Alison Andrews says
Yay! That sounds awesome Jaime!
Amanda says
I made these last night and they were perfect! I used earth balance as my butter and I rolled them in cinnamon and sugar. I just made little balls that were approximately 1tbs and I smashed them into rounds. I made about 12 small cookies, soo yum!
Alison Andrews says
That’s great Amanda! Glad to hear! 🙂
Kristin G. says
Oh my gosh, my daughter made these for Christmas this year and they are the best shortbread cookie Ive ever had! She made some plain which were a flaky, buttery, sweet, shortbread to die for as well as some she added cranberries to which were just as amazing. Everyone in the family agrees these are a favorite cookie for sure. Ill be making these a lot, Thank you.
Alison Andrews says
Great! So glad they came out well! The cranberry addition sounds like a great idea! 🙂
Ro says
The first thing I thought about when I read the recipe is that ooh – some cranberries in there would be amazing. Glad to hear they are!
Honia says
If I use coconut sugar instead of refined sugar do you know if these would still work out okay?? I usually susbstitute the sugar when I bake and everything works out but these cookies might be different so I just wanted to double check. Thank you 🙂
Alison Andrews says
I think it should be fine, and if it affects anything, it might just affect the color of the cookies when they’re baked as coconut sugar is darker in color. I can’t be completely sure, as I haven’t tried this, but I would guess it would be an easy swap.
Lisa says
Which vegan butter do you use? I found that some of them were too salty for baking. Thank you for your great recipes!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Lisa, I’m currently using an Australian brand called Nuttelex, but I would generally use whatever is available which depending on where I am in the world, there may not be too many options. 🙂 You’re very welcome! Glad you like the recipes!
Anna Andrews says
Great simple recipe for surprise guests…
Donna says
This looks so yummy and wonderful…and the best part – easy! I was wondering if you can use coconut butter in place of the vegan margarine?
Alison Andrews says
I don’t know – it might work out great or it might not. If you try it, please let us know how it turned out! All the best!
Karen says
Can’t wait to make this recipe with my little girl and I love the heart-shaped idea too. Thank you this looks so good!
Alison Andrews says
Sure! Hope you enjoy baking them! 🙂
Sissy says
Thank you for this great recipe that turn out better with each batch
Alison Andrews says
You’re very welcome! 🙂