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.
Cookiecrazy says
Mine came out like something we eat here in the Philippines. We call it polvoron, but it still taste good so I guess it’s kind of a success.
Prithi says
If I were to add cocoa powder, would I need to reduce the amount of flour or would it not affect anything?
Alison Andrews says
Depending on how much you used you might need to reduce the flour slightly to compensate. It’s not something I’ve tried with this recipe, so it would be an experiment. All the best! 🙂
Denise says
Absolutely awesome recipe, thank you. I made these last night to take to work today, and they are delicious and were very popular with everyone.
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear that! Thanks so much Denise! 🙂
Vera says
Made it for my vegan friend and she loved it! Thank you for the recipe. Going to make the peanut butter cookie next.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! So glad to hear that! Thanks for the great review. 🙂
Pbjazz says
Quick easy. Made it with powdered sugar, next time I’ll add a tablespoon more. Also added 1/2 tsp lemon zest and went the super easy route and just pressed it into an 8×8 pan. Very happy with the results. Thanks for the great recipe.
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing and the awesome review! 🙂
M says
I made these pretty thin, trying to number them as 8 or 9 cookies, but they turned out brown after only 30 minutes at 300 Fahrenheit. I should have made them as thick as yours, or cooked them for less, but the taste is still good! Lesson for next time!
Alison Andrews says
Hi, sorry to hear they browned so fast, ovens can also differ, so maybe your oven runs a little hot and they can be cooked for less time even if they are thicker. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Jane says
Hi! This looks great. Thinking of making them as favours for my wedding. Will they freeze if I prepare them in advance?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Jane, you can freeze these, this article has some great tips on freezing cookies successfully. 🙂
Tamar says
These cookies are so delicious! I made them today for the first time and I know these will become a regular in our house. So incredibly easy to make too. I just shaped them by hand, making little balls and flattening them. I didn’t add extra salt because the vegan butter was salted but afterwards I read in the comments to add it anyway. I didn’t miss the salt though. Truly addicting cookies!
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful to hear they were delicious! Thanks so much for sharing and the awesome review. I agree they are super addicting! 🙂
Jackie says
I want to try this one but I don’t have cookies Heart cutters
Alison Andrews says
You don’t have to have a heart shaped cookie cutter, any cookie cutter will work or you can roll the dough into balls and flatten them by placing a small piece of parchment paper over the top (to stop it from sticking) and then using the base of a glass to press down and flatten.
Jackie says
Thank you
Tanysha Jeffree says
Not sure what happened but this made a tray and bit of cookies for me! Definitely more than two serves haha
Roseann Stewart says
These were great, I didn’t read the comments until after and will use some of those suggestions on my next batch. I rolled mine out a little thinner than the recipe intended and baked for about 30 minutes, but couldn’t wait for them to cool before trying them out!!
Thanks for the share!!
Jennifer Harms says
This has become a family favorite and I love that the batch is small.
Christina says
Do you think these would still come out good using whole wheat flour?
Ciara says
I just found this recipe and tried it with wholewheat flour and coconut sugar, I used the same quantity for everything, they turned out OK, I put 2 tsp of lemon juice in half the batch and they where my favourite super tasty, I also put jam on two and were also super. Hope that helps fpr future reader’s who are trying for a healthier option.
Rose says
I can’t wait to make these! How thick should they be when I flatten them out?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Rose, about a half an inch thick. 🙂
Dawn says
I made these for an omni friend who helped me in my house today. He LOVED them. I made them smaller and only baked them for 30 minutes.