Soft & Chewy Vegan Funfetti Sugar Cookies

Sometimes, nothing beats a chewy and soft sugar cookie in my opinion. These are bakery style cookies that are chewy and soft but still have bite. A realization in developing this recipe was that vegan shortening worked best for a chewy texture. Vegan butter is great and there are so many varieties available now, but using vegetable shortening is the secret ingredient that keeps these softer than most.

These are pretty easy to put together and you can even mix them by hand if you want but I always use a stand mixer. I also found vegan naturally colored rainbow sprinkles to make them even more festive. (You can find out more about the vegan sprinkles I used at the end of the post.) You can certainly use plain vegan granulated sugar too.

You need to flatten these before baking so use the bottom of a glass. The sugar the cookies are rolled in will prevent them from sticking to the glass. You also need to bake these just until done and no longer if you want chewy cookies. They shouldn’t really brown at all. Better to undercook them than overcook them. And make sure to take them off the sheets immediately as the sheet’s heat will continue to cook them even out of the oven. I use parchment so I grab two ends and move them to a cool surface to cool completely.

I’m using cake flour here for a lighter softer texture. If you don’t have it, just add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to the bottom of your one cup measuring cup before adding all purpose flour to each cup and leveling it. You basically will be adding 4 more tablespoons of cornstarch to the recipe overall.

What makes these Funfetti flavored?

You can get a “Funfetti” flavor in a few ways. I like to use cake batter flavored extract to these and my ultimate vegan Funfetti cake recipe as it gives it that classic flavor of a bakery style cake. You can also achieve it by using clear imitation vanilla extract instead of pure vanilla. I know it sounds counterintuitive but the imitation vanilla has more of a Funfetti flavor. Adding a bit of almond extract also helps a lot. Extracts like almond and peppermint should be used sparingly as they can lend a medicinal taste if too much is added so 1/4 teaspoon is all that’s needed. You can find the vegan sprinkles I bought and used on Amazon by clicking the photo link at the bottom of the recipe. I hope you enjoy these classic cookies. They’re great for bake sales and to make with the kiddos!

Soft & Chewy Vegan Funfetti Sugar Cookies

Recipe by Kreg

5.0 from 8 votes

Servings

18

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

9

minutes

The soft and chewy vegan sugar cookies of your dreams!

Ingredients

• 1 cup shortening

• 1/2 cup organic vegan cane sugar

• 1/2 cup organic confectioners sugar

• 3 tablespoons aquafaba (liquid from canned chickpeas)

• 1 teaspoon cake batter or clear imitation vanilla extract

• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional, but recommended!)

• 2 1/4 cups cake flour (see notes)

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• granulated sugar or vegan sprinkles to roll in

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 375°. Using an electric hand or stand mixer (or by hand), cream together both types of sugar and the shortening.
• Add in aquafaba and vanilla and almond extracts. Mix for a couple of minutes until smooth.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch and salt together. Slowly add to the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Don’t over-mix.
• Using a scoop or spoon, create balls of dough. Roll in sugar or colored sugar and place evenly apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Flatten dough balls slightly with the bottom of a glass. Bake for about 8-9 minutes and remove before they start to brown. Remove immediately from the sheet by lifting the parchment and placing on a cool surface. Leaving them on the sheet will make them cook longer and be more crispy not soft which we don’t want. Let cool completely and store in an airtight container. 

Recipe Video

Notes

• If you don’t have cake flour, add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to the bottom of each cup of all purpose flour then also add the extra tablespoon. You don’t want to just add extra cornstarch, you want it to replace some of the flour. You’ll be using 5 tablespoons overall.
  
• You can freeze the balls of dough to cook later. Just make sure they come to room temperature before rolling in sugar or sprinkles and flattening.
  
• To ensure the sugar you use is vegan, buy organic as organic regulations prohibit the use of bone char processing in manufacturing.
  
• See below for information about the natural vegan sprinkles I used, but a colored granulated sugar or plain sugar would work as well. Click my Amazon storefront link to find the ones I used.
  
• Cake batter extract or clear imitation vanilla works best here for the classic Funfetti flavor but use pure vanilla extract if that’s all you have. Just know it won’t have as strong of a Funfetti flavor but will still be delicious!

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