Vegan Brown Sugar Cookies

Name: Vegan Brown Sugar Cookies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup Vegan Butter ((112g)); 1 1/4 cups Light Brown Sugar ((250g)); 2 Tablespoons Soy Milk (or other non-dairy milk); 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract; 2 cups All Purpose Flour ((250g)); 1 teaspoon Baking Soda; 1 teaspoon Baking Powder; 2 teaspoons Cornstarch; 1/2 teaspoon Salt; 1/3 cup White Granulated Sugar ((67g) or Coarse Sugar, For Rolling)

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These vegan brown sugar cookies are so soft and delicious they melt in your mouth! Rich and buttery and so easy to make.

Vegan brown sugar cookies stacked up on a gray plate.

If you’re a fan of ultra soft, chewy, melt in the mouth cookies then you’ve come to the right place. These vegan brown sugar cookies are IT!

They are perfect all year round, but we especially love them at Christmas time.

I’ll definitely be saving a spot for these cookies alongside some other Christmas favorites like our vegan molasses cookies, vegan ginger cookies and vegan snickerdoodles.

Recipe Ingredients:

Labeled ingredients for brown sugar cookies.

Ingredient Notes

Light brown sugar – should be soft, fine light brown sugar. In some countries brown sugar is granulated and the granules are large, and this doesn’t work as well. Look for a fine, soft brown sugar as pictured above.
Cornstarch – is great for making ultra soft cookies.
Soy milk – can be switched for a different non-dairy milk.
White granulated sugar – is for rolling the cookie balls. You can also use coarse granulated sugar.

Step By Step Instructions

Add vegan butter and light brown sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer (or you can use a large bowl with a handheld mixer) and beat until well combined.

Light brown sugar and vegan butter added to stand mixer and creamed together.

Add soy milk and vanilla extract and beat in until well mixed.

Soy milk and vanilla added to stand mixer and mixed in.

Add all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch and salt to a mixing bowl and whisk together.

Dry ingredients added to mixing bowl and mixed.

Add the dry ingredients in with the wet and mix into a thick cookie dough.

Dry ingredients added to wet and mixed into a cookie doug.

Break off pieces of the dough and roll it into balls and then roll the balls in granulated sugar.

Place the cookie dough balls onto parchment lined baking trays.
Place into the fridge to chill for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool down and firm up on the tray before moving.

Cookie dough balls on a baking sheet before and after baking.

Your cookies are ready to serve!

Baker’s Tips

Chill the dough. Once you have rolled the cookie dough into balls, pop them into the fridge to chill for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven. This just helps to prevent your cookies from spreading too much.

Spread the cookies over two trays. This prevents them from baking together and needing to be separated.

Bake the cookies one tray at a time. Bake one tray of cookies and then when that’s finished, bake the second tray of cookies. Don’t bake both trays at once or they will bake unevenly.

Brown Sugar Cookies FAQ

What type of brown sugar is best for brown sugar cookies?

Soft light brown sugar is perfect! You can also do a mix of light brown sugar and dark brown sugar.

Can these cookies be made gluten free?

I have not tested these cookies as gluten free, but a good rule of thumb is to use a gluten free all purpose baking blend as a cup 4 cup substitute.

Storing and Freezing

Keep cookies stored in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy within a week. They can also be stored in the fridge but they are best brought to room temperature on the countertop before serving.

They are freezer friendly for 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge. You can also freeze the cookie dough balls for up to 3 months before baking, and then you can bake them directly from frozen, just allow an extra couple of minutes bake time to account for them being frozen to start with.