Get ready to make some awesome egg free sugar cookies! This is an inclusive recipe that’s fantastic for people with food allergies, yet so delicious, your friends without food allergies will enjoy them as well.

This eggless sugar cookie recipe is also dairy free and tree nut free. I’ve included options for gluten free flour and regular flour. You only need simple ingredients to bake up the perfect cookie for your household.

Tools & Supplies You’ll Need

• Large Bowl for Mixing
• Hand Electric Mixer or Stand Mixer (whilst you can mix by hand, an electric mixer will make this an easier task)
• Cookie Dough Scoop (recommended but not required)
• Spatula
• Parchment Paper or Silicone Baking Mat
• Baking Sheet/Cookie Sheet

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make a Batch of Sugar Cookies

Flax Gel/Egg

• 5 TBSP Golden Flax Meal
• 10 TBSP Water

Part 1 Ingredients

• 335g Butter of Choice (12 ounces)
• 270g Organic White Cane Sugar
• 1.5 tsp Organic Ground Vanilla
• 1 tsp Sea Salt
• 3 tsp Baking Powder
• 2 tsp Organic Vanilla Extract

Part 2 Ingredient

• 545g All Purpose Flour OR Gluten-Free Flour Blend (more details in the ingredient notes)

Explore More Cookie Recipes

• Gluten Free Oreo Cousins (amazing eggless cookies)
• Awesome Free-From Chocolate Chip Cookies (I’ve been told this is the absolute best recipe for chocolate chip cookies)
• Beet White Chocolate Chip Cookies (a great treat for Valentine’s Day)
• Gluten Free Thin Mints Copycat (Vegan, Top 9 Allergy Free)

Ingredient Notes

Butter: You can use regular butter from cow’s milk or a dairy free/vegan butter such as the Earth Balance brand. If possible, use an unsalted butter, which is what I use when developing recipes.

Gluten Free Flour: If you need to make these as gluten free vegan sugar cookies, you absolutely can. In my gluten-free flour blend, I used 200g superfine brown rice flour, 160g superfine millet flour, 80g Purity Protocol organic GF oat flour, and 85g potato starch. These flours combined create a soft cookie with a delicate crumb. The brown rice flour can be swapped for superfine sorghum flour if needed.

Wheat Flour: Use an all purpose wheat flour (not cake flour etc.).

Ground Vanilla: This is where a lot of the magic comes from in this recipe. If you don’t have it, I suggest purchasing some. If you really want to make these cookies without the ground vanilla, use 4 teaspoons of vanilla extract instead of 2 teaspoons.

Directions

Start by combining your flax and water together in a small bowl and set aside. This is also a good time to preheat your oven to 325f/160c.

Place all of the Part 1 Ingredients into your mixing bowl. For these cookies, I used a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Your butter of choice should be room temperature and have some give (but not be super melty and easy to stick your finger in). Using the paddle attachment, beat the ingredients together.

Once the ingredients are well incorporated, remove the bowl from the stand, place it on your kitchen scale, tare to zero, and add your flour.

For gluten free flour, add each of the flours one at a time, and tare to zero between each one. Remember, we’re using precise weights to ensure your success in gluten free + egg free baking.

With all of the ingredients in, return the bowl to the stand and pulse to combine (you’ll pulse to prevent a mess). When enough of the flour has been incorporated, turn the mixer on low speed to mix. After several moments, mix on medium speed to fully incorporate the ingredients. When your batter has just about formed, turn the mixer off and add the flax gel. Mix again to make sure everything is well incorporated.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper. I opted to use a medium cookie dough scoop to portion the dough. Roll your dough into small balls and place them on the tray. There isn’t much spread to these cookies given the flour content, so you can easily get 16+ cookies on a large baking tray, which is more than you may normally get.

Once the dough balls are in place, press each one down about half way. I tested different levels of press and the tasters all agreed that the medium press was the best style.

When the dough has been placed on the tray and flattened, bake at 325f/160c for 12 – 15 minutes. Once the cookies are out of the oven, allow them to cool on the hot tray for an additional 10 – 15 minutes. That’s it! Are these easy sugar cookies or what?

Recipe Notes

You can reduce the overall flour content by 50 grams if you’d like to change things up.

For those who are gluten free, you can reduce the brown rice flour by up to 50 grams. This will alter the texture and make the cookie less cakey.

Given the cakey nature of these cookies, the taste testers want you to know that they will pair well with a glass of milk of choice.

Jazz Up Your Vegan Sugar Cookies Recipe

There are several ways you can create festive cookies, especially if you’re using them as care packages for friends and family.

• Top with Dairy Free Cream Cheese Frosting
• Add festive sprinkles (great for the holiday season)
• Gently fold in funfetti sprinkles before baking
• Top with a large chocolate candy when your cookies are fresh out of the oven (think peanut butter blossoms)
• Make a flavourful simple glaze and drizzle it all over after your cookies have cooled

Storage

You can leave your baked cookies covered on the counter for two days or freeze them for 4 months. To freeze, place your cookies on a tray lined with parchment. You can stack by placing a layer of parchment between the layers. Freeze the entire tray. Once the cookies are frozen solid, transfer to a freezer bag or an airtight container.

To thaw, leave your cookie(s) on the counter top for 30 – 45 minutes. Do not reheat from frozen. You can reheat these cookies a *tiny* bit once thawed if you’d like to serve them warm. More than that and you’ll negatively affect the texture.

More Delicious Desert Recipes

These treats are all gluten free, dairy free, egg free, vegan, and more.

• Sweet & Salty Chewy Date Muffins (top with vanilla buttercream and you’ve got yourself a muffin that’s graduated to a dessert)
• Danish Butter Cookies (dairy free, egg free, and they have such a rich consistency)
• Vanilla Cake Birthday Cupcakes (lots of people tell me these are now their fave cupcakes)
• Gluten Free + Egg Free Fudgy Brownies (these are an amazing dessert and pair well with dairy free ice cream)

Answering Your Egg Free Sugar Cookie Recipe Questions

Can I eat this sugar cookie dough raw?

Technically yes since there’s no egg, but no, you shouldn’t eat large amounts of this sugar cookie dough raw. Many people don’t realize that uncooked flour can be a potential hazard as well as raw egg.

If you want to make an edible cookie dough, check out this recipe. It covers the technique of toasting flour before making the cookie dough batter so it can be a proper edible dough.

Can I use a hand mixer to make these cookies?

Yes, you can. When you add the flour, I suggest mixing it a bit by hand first to get a lot of the flour wet. This will prevent you from having a giant mess when you turn on the hand mixer. In a stand mixer, there’s more protection from having flour fly all over the place.

Do I need to use a rolling pin to roll out these cookies?

No, a rolling pin is not necessary for this recipe. I do suggest you use a cookie dough scoop to get even portioning, and I like to use a little parchment paper square to press the cookie dough balls down.

Does it matter if I use salted or unsalted butter?

Preferably, you should use unsalted butter. When developing recipes, I use an unsalted vegan butter (dairy free) and control the salt by adding it with the dry ingredients. Salted butter will change the final taste of your cookies. If that’s all you have, reduce the sea salt in the recipe to 1/2 teaspoon (instead of 1 teaspoon).

Would this recipe work for cutout Christmas cookies?

No, I wouldn’t use this recipe for cut outs. The texture of these egg free sugar cookies is very soft, which isn’t traditional for roll out cookies. I’d point you to this recipe instead.

Do you have a flax alternative? I can’t have flax eggs.

The flax eggs/gel in this recipe serves as a binding agent, and provides some moisture to the recipe as well. In your case, you can try to use a chia seed meal binding agent. Start with a ratio of 2 TBSP of chia seed meal + 9 TBSP water. This will change the look and texture of your cookie, so be sure to manage your expectations going in.

Do you have a suggestion for egg-free royal icing?

I do! Personally, I like to use a powdered sugar glaze made with dairy-free milk as an alternative to royal icing. When I do this, I usually make a thicker glaze for the outside, and a thinner icing/glaze for the flooding. For the thicker glaze, you will need to use a piping bag.

The reason this works is because when you leave your cookies out, uncovered, the air dries out the glaze and forms a crust. Now, is this a perfect substitution? No. However, I’ve made so many beautifully decorated cookies with this method and haven’t received a single complaint. You can even tint your glaze as needed to add to the presentation. Here’s two pictures of a nicely set glaze:

How does this compare to a classic sugar cookie recipe?

Honestly, these are amazing sugar cookies. They aren’t classic sugar cookies though because of the cakey nature. If you’re looking for a more classic sugar cookie recipe, I wouldn’t use this one. If you’re up for soft cookies that eat like a cloud, this is the recipe to try.

Should I cool these cookies on a wire rack?

You don’t need to use a wire/cooling rack for this eggless sugar cookie recipe, but you can if you want to. You’ll cool the cookies on the hot baking tray for 10 – 15 minutes. After that, you can slide the entire piece of parchment paper off of the baking tray and leave it on the counter/stove.

Stackable cooling racks are super handy however if you’re working with limited space and would like to cook up a lot of cookies. After cooling on the hot tray, you can transfer the cookies to a rack if you want to.

Can I replace the sugar with maple syrup?

No, you won’t be able to replace the sugar with maple syrup. That’s because cane sugar is a granulated sweetener and maple syrup is a liquid sweetener. The general rule when substituting sweeteners is liquid for liquid and granulated for granulated.

You can however replace the cane sugar with maple sugar or any other granulated sweetener (brown sugar, coconut sugar, date sugar, etc.). Know that if you do swap the sugar, your flavour profile will shift.

Can I bake these on wax paper instead of parchment paper?

No, I wouldn’t use wax paper for baking. Whilst technically you could, wax paper is much more temperature sensitive than parchment paper. I also would not bake these sugar cookies on foil.

If you’re all out of parchment paper, bake directly on your baking tray/cookie sheet. There shouldn’t be too much stick when your cookies are baked. If you’re having trouble with the release, use a metal spatula, and when picking up your cookie, move the spatula in a quick thrust movement (rather than slow). The quick “jab” should be all you need to release a stuck cookie.

The other option is to use cooking spray or a silicone mat on your baking pan if you have one of those available to you.

Could I alter the flavor of these cookies with almond extract?

Whilst you can alter the flavor with almond extract, I can’t advise you on how much to use. I’ve never worked with almond extract, and given the allergy friendly nature of my recipes, it’s not even in my pantry. If you know how to use it well, I say go for it. For best results, you may want to start with half vanilla half almond extract and see how the cookies turn out.

Will this recipe work with cookie cutters?

Yes, you can use cute cookie cutters when making these cookies. Several of my favorite cookie cutters are weird and fun shapes like ninjas and LEGO men, and my kids always have an extra smile when I use them.

Know that these cookies have a little puff to them, so the shape of your cookie cutters won’t be an exact match after the cookies are baked.

Can these cookies be stored in the refrigerator overnight?

You might be able to, but this isn’t something that I tested. When I test cookie storage methods, I only test for the counter top, and in an air-tight container in the freezer. I can’t guarantee success, however, if you’ve stored cookies in the fridge before and had good results, you can give it a try and see what happens. Personally, I’d only test a few, just in case.

Can I use baking soda instead of baking powder?

No, you can’t swap the baking powder for baking soda. Rather than talk your ear off about the topic, read this article and learn about the difference between baking powder and baking soda. It’s good to know this kind of info if you plan to bake cookies regularly.

My child has a seed allergy and an egg allergy. Is there a way to make these cookies?

No, this particular recipe does need the seed based binding agent. However, I have the perfect recipe for you. This Candy Cookie Bar recipe will be the perfect base for you. You’ll need to skip the candy (they contain seeds), but the actual cookie recipe is seed free and perfect for those with seed and egg allergies.

Also check out the Advanced Recipe Search on RAISE, where you can mix and match more than 100 filters for people with food allergies. It helps you eliminate all the needs of your household and cook and bake something everyone can eat together.

Could I use my homemade gluten free all-purpose flour blend rather than the gluten free flours you used?

Yes, you can use your homemade gluten free all-purpose blend. However, it need to be a lighter blend for best results. If you use teff flour, tiger nut, or buckwheat in your blend, it won’t be the best choice. That’s because those flavors are more on the loud/pronounced side of the flavor spectrum where GF flours are concerned.

Is there a way to convert these into healthy sugar cookies?

Everyone will have a different definition of healthy, but I’m guessing you don’t eat a lot of added sugars, and stick to whole grains. If that’s the case, the best tip I can give you is to follow a “raw vegan cookie recipe” which will only use natural and unrefined sugars (dates, maple, etc.), and have nuts and other raw ingredients used in place of the flour.

Outside of that, you’ll find a lot of recipes that claim to be healthy, but they’ll use sugars that are rather questionable. I’ve found over the years that it’s best to either commit to eating a cookie with organic sugar, or seek out a cookie designed to be legit healthy. The in between stuff just isn’t worth it in the long run.

Should I chill the dough in plastic wrap for a while before baking?

No, you don’t need to chill this dough in plastic wrap/cling film before baking if you use my gluten free flour mixture. If you’re baking with wheat however, you may want to chill your dough in plastic wrap or cling film for 20 minutes before baking to make sure you haven’t developed a gluten network.

Can I substitute chia seeds for the flax seeds in this recipe?

You could, but it’s not something I’ve tested, and, chia gel bakes differently than flax gel. Also, it’s critical that you use chia seed meal, not chia seeds. If you do make the swap, I’d alter the thickness a bit by pressing the cookies down a little bit more to try to keep the mouthfeel as close to the original as possible. Be sure to manage your expectations because whilst the cookie dough will still function, it won’t be the same as what I’ve shared.

Is it possible to use protein powder in place of some of the flour in this recipe?

Yes, you can take out some of the flour mixture and use protein powder in its place, however, be warned. First, the protein powder will change the flavor, and may alter the texture as well. Every protein powder is different, so only do this if you know for certain that your brand bakes well.

Second, test this out by making only half the recipe, and use 10% protein powder in place of the flour mixture. If it turns out well, try again (still a half batch) with 20% protein powder. It’s good to know how much you can get away with before you make a full batch of cookies.

Can I use honey instead of sugar in this cookie recipe?

No, you won’t be able to replace the sugar with honey. That’s because cane sugar is a granulated sweetener and honey is a liquid sweetener. The general rule when choosing a sugar substitute is liquid for liquid and granulated for granulated. You can however replace the cane sugar with maple sugar or any other granulated sweetener (brown sugar, coconut sugar, date sugar, etc.). Know that if you do swap the sugar, your flavor profile will shift.