This is my famous bakery style vegan spritz cookie recipe that I shared many years ago
Now adapted to be egg and dairy free but the taste has never been better!!
Vegan Spritz Cookies adorned with whatever you love the most
Nuts, sprinkles and chocolate make these little spritz cookies so festive!
Make a variety of shapes and sizes just by changing the pastry nozzle
Then whatever you are dipping them into gives them a unique taste!
Even make your own homemade sprinkles that would be great for these cookies!
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Notes for Success:
It’s difficult to say how much this recipe yields because depending on how big or small you pipe your shapes, your total count will vary.
Any egg replacer of your choice is fine here, I have used flax meal and other proprietary blends (like bobs red mill)
Aquafaba yields great results or a combination of flax meal and aquafaba for super flax egg!
A few commenters say their cookies took significantly less time than my recommended 22 minutes!
One person said hers were done and perfect in 8 minutes!!!
This can be due to varying ovens and I do not use the convection setting here
Not to mention the cookie sizes will change the bake time; I typically pipe mine quite large, as you can see in the video visual below
My finding is that the cookies will certainly be “done” and starting to get golden on edges at around 12 minutes
Although the insides were slightly chewy and almost still raw looking after cooling.
So I’ve always left mine in the oven for closer to the 20 minutes to ensure they stay crispy even after days in storage!
Additionally a double sheet pan will help insulate and prevent over browning on the bottoms.
Spreading can also be caused by over creaming the batter.
Just about 3-5 minutes on high will get it to light and fluffy.
Refrigerating the piped dough on the pans before baking, this can help keep their shape
However the dough is normally very stiff but it is definitely pipe able as you see in my video.
The longer it sits the flour absorbs into the dough it tends to get stiffer.
If you find this to be the case you can put it back on the mixer and drizzle in a tablespoon of plant milk to loosen it up
One viewer noted it was impossible for the dough to release from the cookie press and I think this will be alleviated by adding more plant milk to loosen the dough
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL YOUTUBE VIDEO TUTORIAL FOR HOW TO MAKE THESE COOKIES
Vegan Spritz Cookies
Preheat your oven to 350°F
Ingredients
- Vegan Butter or Shortening 1 cup (226g)
- Granulated Sugar 1 cup (200g)
- Egg Replacer 2 teaspoons (4.8g) **se notes above
- Plant Milk 5 Tablespoons (75ml)
- Vanilla Extract 2 teaspoon (10ml)
- All Purpose Flour 2½ cups (312g)
- Baking Powder ½ teaspoon
- Salt ½ teaspoon
For the Decorations:
- Use whatever you like for filling and dipping the cookies!
Instructions
- Cream the vegan butter or shortening and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy about 3 minutes.
- Combine the vanilla extract with the room temperature plant milk and then add it to the creaming mixture 1 Tbs at a time, but using only 3 Tbs. The rest goes in last.
- Be sure to stop and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl for an even mix.
- Add the sifted flour, salt, plant based egg egg replacer and baking powder by the heaping spoonful in about 4-5 additions while mixing on low speed.
- Once the flour is incorporated, add the rest of the plant milk
- Mix on high speed for about 10 seconds to develop the dough.
- With your with the #826 tip or with a cookie press pipe the dough onto a parchment lined sheet pan spaced about 1 inch apart.
- Bake in a preheated 350°F for about 20-22 minutes ** See note above! or until the cookies are medium browned on the edges. I find that the vegan version of spritz cookies take longer to bake for a crispy cookie than non vegan spritz cookies, so be sure to bake them a few minutes longer than lightly golden
- Cool completely and fill with jams, vegan chocolates, vegan ganaches, vegan buttercream or your choice of fillings and then dip in nuts, sprinkles of your choice.
Notes
Cookies will stay fresh for several weeks in an airtight container
You can freeze the cookie shells, but I do not recommend to freeze the sandwiched cookies once they are filled and adorned.
(The thawing will cause condensation which is not great for chocolate and could cause bleeding of the colors of the sprinkles)
This looks fabulous! I am wondering if aquafaba or sliken tofu or something can be used instead of flax?
Thanks! you can try the aquafaba 3 tablespoons for 1 egg
I hadn’t thought of aquafaba…if anyone uses this please report results 😉
Will these ship well?
Yes! Just be sure to bubble wrap boxes for breakage! But the cookies themselves will be fine!
Gretchen, I loved your regular recipe for Italian Butter Spritz cookies. Could you email it to me? I qent on Pinterest to use it and your old page isn’t accessible.
[email protected]
Thanks!
Hi Francine! Since December of 2019 my non vegan blog has shut down.
I couldn’t keep up the cost to host it on the internet and maintain it monthly anymore
That website & the fact that I was still sharing recipes laden with animal ingredients promoting the very industry I loathe had been conflicting me financially & emotionally for so many years,
so after 5 years of keeping it free & open to the public I finally decided to shut it down.
I did not keep any of the recipes for myself when I shut down the database
(which was the only place the recipes were stored)
I just did (do) not feel comfortable anymore sharing recipes
so it really didn’t make sense for me to keep them nor keep open and available such an expensive website.
I do thank you so much for your support and encouragement through the ages,
I have stunned NON Vegans with my vegan recipes, perhaps you could try to do the same?
If not, I am sure there are tons of great (if not better than mine) recipes out there for you to use!
Thanks again~ Best, Gretchen
This recipe did not work for me. I couldn’t get it to release from the cookie press. I tried pressing them out on parchment paper and then on a silicone baking mat but neither would release the cookie dough. I gave up after a while and turn them into rolled Star shaped cookies.
I used bobs red mill egg replacer and almond milk. I’m not sure what my issue was but I most likely will not try this recipe again for press spritz cookies .
Hi Carol! I’m sorry this recipe didn’t work out as intended, but thanks for pointing out your cookie press didn’t work.
I always use a piping bag and hand pipe all my cookies, but I recall some people saying the cookie press works well
I know the written post is lengthy but I did include a troubleshooting section (Notes for Success) and while I did not specifically cite the cookie press as a potential problem for a stiff dough such as this one, I did note here::
However the dough is normally very stiff but it is definitely pipe able as you see in my video.
The longer it sits the flour absorbs into the dough it tends to get stiffer.
If you find this to be the case you can put it back on the mixer and drizzle in a tablespoon or two of plant milk to loosen it up
I will add to this notation that particularly for a cookie press if this happens the added plant milk will be essential ~ I have to think this could have been your trouble
Hi I was wondering if you could share the measurements of flax and aquaphaba for this recipe that is shown in your youtube video for the recipe? Thanks!
Hi Yes! I made an updated video version of this recipe CLICK HERE for recipes & newer video
I made this using 2 tsp of EnerG egg replacer, half butter/half shortening. The 1/2 cup of shortening only weighed 90g, not 113 g. Should I have gone by weight? The mixture was too thick to pipe into a spritz shape!
Typically shortening weighs the same as butter and I have made these using both weights & volume cups measure.
The dough is normally very stiff but it is definitely pipe able as you see in my video. Especially the longer it sits as the flour absorbs into the dough it tends to get stiffer.
You can put it back on the mixer and drizzle in a tablespoon or two of plant milk to loosen it up
*I will note this just in case anyone else who had this same problem
are these soft or crispy?
AM I allowed to say both!? LOL they are not crispy like CRUNCHY by they are firm, however light and airy too
What do you mean when you say that the flax egg has to be reconstituted?
flax meal has to be added to warm water and let it stand for 5-10 minutes to get it nice and thick & goopy, it activates it’s binding properties
Am I missing the cooking temp? I don’t see it listed
350F
Hi Gretchen,
I’m pretty new to baking and I always wonder whether to measure the flour first and then sift or measure after it’s been sifted?
Thank you!
HI! Well I hope I can help with all of that “technical stuff!” CLICK HERE
Thanks! Guess if I would have nosed around a little, I would have found that. 😀
Hey no prob! Im here to help!
Hi Gretchen!
I tried the cookies today, the turned out great – in taste.
I used a flax egg and they completely lost their shape.
Any tips?
Thanks in advance for an answer!
Hmm, really? I’ve used flax egg in the paste and it has been fine, so I can’t really say it was that… but I have switched to the Plant based Egg for almost all of my recipes nowadays. It is really great for EVERYTHING!
What vegan butter are you using? That may be the culprit? I use Earth Balance mostly but have also used Fleishmanns (it’s dairy free and cheaper) and that works as well. Spreading can also be caused by over creaming the batter? Just about 3-5 minutes on high will get it to light and fluffy. Another thing that may help is refrigerating the piped dough (on the pans) before baking, this can help keep their shape)
My vegan butter is called Alsan-s.
It’s made in Germany and I tried some of the others and found this is the best for vegan butter cream.
Seems like it’s not for more firmer baking.
I also tried freezing the second tray, and they held longer but in the end all definition was gone as well.
I’m just going to try some other butter next time! Thanks for your insight! I know it’s not the flax egg now! 🙂
Thanks for the feedback! I thought it might be the butter as well. It’s called Alsan-S. It’s made in Germany and it works well with buttercream. But it seems it’s too soft for baked good that need to hold their shape :/
I tried the refrigerating with the second tray. They held their shape longer but in the end the definition melted anyway,
I’m gonna need to try another butter. Too bad I tried a few before and I liked Alsan best.
Thanks!
So if I want to use a different egg replacer, I want to replace 1 egg or 2 for this recipe? Thanks!
1 egg
So we use just the egg replacement powder… not mixed with water. Is that correct? I may have missed that detail. Thanks!
Oops, I just saw your answer. Thanks anyway! Can’t wait to try these.
What brand cookie press would you recommend for Spritz Cookie for those of us that can’t handle the bag method. I’ve tried a few but the cookies are so small
hi Wanda, I have not had a cookie press in so many years!! The best advice I could give is to go on Amazon, do a search for Cookie Presses and read the reviews, I always do that when I am buying something new, the reviews are usually pretty reliable and definitely read the BAD ones too, because what I find is some companies will give away products for free in return for a GOOD review! So you have to sift through the ones that feel “too good to be true!” LOL
Sorry I can’t be better help!
Thank you,
I took your advice and purchased one from Amazon. I will let you know how it worked and how I did with it 🙂
.
Hello Gretchen
You used a powder egg replacer and mixed it with the dry ingredients without adding water as indicated in the instructions.
I use a different powder egg replacer and was wondering if I should follow your recipe without mixing my egg replacer with water before adding to the wet ingredients.
Thank you for your reply. Can’t Wait to make the cookies.
Anita
Yes, good question, typically the egg replacers ask for 3 tbs of water to reconstitute (for 1 egg) and the required powder (as per the specific brand instructions) so you would take out that same amount of liquid from the milk I have listed here (You can change it to water to reconstitute if you prefer) As you see I add those 3 Tbs of plant milk after creaming the butter/sugar, you would add your reconsituted egg replacer at that point
Can you use apple sauce instead of eggs?
I would not sub in apple sauce for a recipe like this, while it can be used in some recipes as an effective egg replacer, this one will not come out right
Hi Gretchen!
Love your recipes, they never fail to impress me. I want to use Bobs Red Mill egg replacer in this, but I’m wondering, do you recommend adding the water to the replacer as the package would state (so 2tbsp egg replacer and 1tbsp water), or should I leave it in its powdered form straight from the package (so just 2tbsp of replacer and no water)? Let me know what you think! I’m also hoping to buy the egg replacer you’re using soon, if you trust it, I trust it!
This recipe was a bit of a mess for me :(. Even after chilling the trays, the cookies absolutely melted in the oven and cake out basically as blobs. Worse yet, they were totally soft: much more like sugar cookies than spritzes, even though the bottoms were starting to brown. Wish I had more success, because they look great and I miss these cookies from my childhood!
Hmm, sounds like a measuring error? As this recipe is definitely tried & true, I have been making it for years with no troubles, as have others.
Perhaps the vegan butter was the culprit as well? I find the best results with Earth balance, but I have used Fleishmans margarine with great results as well.
I do find that baking them longer than you would a “normal” spritz cookie is the key to getting them crispy, since yes they do tend to stay slightly softer even when they have sufficiently browned on the edges. A double sheet pan can help that too
Hi, Gretchen! The measurements were correct: I think the issue was the egg replacer. I used aquafaba, but didn’t think until after the fact that 3 of the 5 tbsp of plant milk in your recipe are liquid for the egg replacer powder. Thus I put 3 tbsp aquafaba + 5 tbsp milk and I think the added moisture was the issue. I tried them again yesterday with flax and the texture was much better (although they have a slight flax taste which is a little icky). If I have time and can spare the calories, I’m going to try it with aquafaba and only 2 tbsp of milk, hoping that’s the happy medium!
Hi, Gretchen! The measurement\s were correct: I think the problem was the liquid for the egg replacer. I used aquafaba and didn’t realize until after the fact that 3 of the 5 tbsp of milk in your recipe were liquid to reconstitute the egg replacer powder. Thus, I used 3 tbsp aquafaba + 5 tbsp milk and I think the extra liquid tanked it. I made them again yesterday with flax and the texture was much better! (unfortunately, they had a noticeable flaxy taste which was icky). If I can spare the time and calories, I’m going to try aquafaba again and reduce the milk amount, hoping that’s the happy medium.
Hi, Gretchen, can you please reprint the original spritz cookie recipe with butter and eggs? It was my family’s favorite. Some in my family are vegan and some are not.
Thank you
Hi I’m sorry I no longer have that exact recipe from my old blog, but I can assure you this one is awesome! And it’s great that the non-vegans & vegans can enjoy these together! Win-Win!
Gretchen, didn’t your original spritz cookie have almond paste and almond extract?
That was way way way back when I had my bakery- I offered 2 versions. I have since lost much of those recipes (almost all) as the only backups I had were in the actually website database online, which has been slowly breaking down over the years as I cannot afford the upkeep anymore and it will be shutting down at the end of the month.
These came out great! One question: can the cookies still be stored at room temp for several weeks when they are filled? Or can they be stored in the fridge?Many thanks!
Hi! Can you recommend a piping bag for your original recipe for these cookies? I saw your video, but it looks like the bags aren’t sold on your site anymore and I want something very strong. Thanks!!!
Hi Joyce correct, I no longer sell the pastry bags via my website. I had to order them in bulk from a commercial supplier so I am not so sure who would sell them retail at this point, sorry! They are a poly-canvas blend
Happy New Year – I have been following you for years! I still make your original piped cookie recipe that I have with the almond paste – how does that differ in a regualr butter cookie – as far as taste wise – I make them gluten free to with cup4cup flour and they do come great – however they do spread on me in the oven – any ideas why??? I
They also spread with regular flour as well ???
Hi Fran, I have not made those cookies in years (vegan 4+) but I don’t recall dealing with spreading in my home recipe version and naturally I had no trouble with the recipe in the bakery all those years. Of course I have not made them GF either, but I saw your other comment that they are spreading with the reg flour too. Perhaps hold back on some of the liquid in the recipe, also chilling the dough (after piping or you will NEVER get them piped) before baking can help
I tried them again and then put them in fridge – they did not spread – wondering if my butter was too soft! Thank you for getting back to me and Happy New Year!! I still love that recipe and have made them from the first day you put the recipe out there – so Thank you!!
Wonderful!! Perfectly buttery!!! Seriously these were sooooo good!!!! Made these over Christmas for a vegan family member and this will now be my go to vegan cookie recipe. I used Miyoko’s Cultured Cashew butter, cashew milk and bobs egg replacer(for the equivalent of one egg). Ended up leaving the dough in the fridge over night because I ran out of time to bake them. So the dough was obviously pretty stiff the next day. Let it soften a bit but had a hard time getting it to work with a cookie press even when the dough was soft. The cookie dough didn’t want to stick and couldn’t handle any complex shapes. But, that might be because I had chilled the dough, got a few shapes to work nicely and they held their shape beautifully with clean crisp lines. Excited to make these again!
Can I use some sort of gluten free flour?
Bonnie
Hi Bonnie, Im not a GF baker, but what I do know is that when you add GF + Vegan it’s not always that easy. That said I have had many people tell me that GF All Purpose flour blends work great with my recipes!
This is an excellent recipe. Here are high elevation alterations for those who need them. I live at 9,000 ft.
add 3 -4 tablespoons of plant based milk (I did 3 this time but next time I will try 4)
add 2 heaping tablespoons of flour
Shake out a tiny bit of baking powder (if you live any lower I would leave it as is)
Bake at 375 for 17 minutes.
Because things up here are so dry, I did have to warm the dough in my hands quite a bit for it to pipe well but this was a very easy recipe to alter and they taste great.
Thank you for this information!
Hi Gretchen-
Thank you for all the work you put into these 12 Days of Christmas Cookies.
I plan to bake this weekend and plan to start with spritz. Can I use the Follow Your Heart vegan egg powder and add it in dry like the one you use and follow the recipe as written?
The egg replacer you use won’t be in stock until December 29 and I have plenty of the Follow Your Heart.
Thanks so much!
Im sorry for the late reply! I have not had internet connection for the last 4 days!!
Yes you can use another egg replacer! Even Flax with water has worked for me too!
I used the Follow Your Heart egg replacer and didn’t care for it….since it has such a strong sulfur “eggy” flavor, it seemed to overpower the delicate taste of the cookie.
Hi, I used the Follow Your Heart VeganEgg equivalent for baking with one egg in the recipe, but the dough came out very very sticky and was a struggle to squeeze it out of a pastry bag. Do you have any suggestions to try to make the dough thinner or not so sticky? Thanks!
Hmmm, I have used the recipe as written (with flax OR with the Plant based egg – with great results everytime.
The Follow Your Heart Vegan Egg is something I use for an egg replacer more for when I want to sub straight up YOLKS in a recipe. But I can’t see it having ill results here.
I think if you used 2tsp of the FYH with the liquid staying the same as listed here you would have fine results, again I have not tested THAT specific egg replacer, but I can’t see it NOT working out!
A simple solution to a sticky dough is to just add a bit more flour
Can I freeze the raw uncut dough and if so how long would it take to defrost?
I am excited to try this recipe. Do you know if I could substitute date sugar for the granulated sugar?
While i have not tried it, if date sugar is anything like coconut sugar I suspect it will make your bakes more dry. So the short answer is yes you can use it 1:1 in your recipes, it may not bring the dough together like traditional granulated sugar will (this is due to the creaming of hte butter in the first stage – the larger sugar crystals will puncture the fat creating air pockets that when baked turn to steam helping your cookies rise, give light airy texture and crispness. The date sugar ~ I cannot guarantee it will do the same thing)
These look perfect in every way! Such a nice post! I’m not a baker so I always LOVE seeing those who are and what they post!
I’m wondering if I could replace the butter with a nut butter. I really wanted to make these this year for Christmas but we have eliminated all processed oils from our diet, and I’m wondering if a nut butter would be a good substitute.
Hey there, unfortunatley this would not be a good recipe to sub out the butter for nut butter. I would recommend to check out The Vegan 8 blog, she makes all of her recipes into a healthier alternative for baking and I think most (if not all) are also oil free