These healthy sugar cookies are made of oat flour, are higher in protein and fiber, have a perfectly crisp edge, chewy center and crunchy sugar top. Plus they are super easy to make. Egg-free, vegan, and gluten-free.
These classic sugar cookies are healthier by swapping processed ingredients with healthy ones. Each cookie carries 2 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber.
The added nutrition is largely because I use oat flour instead of processed white flour. Oat flour which is basically ground oats, brings fiber and essential nutrients to the cookie. Aquafaba or apple sauce is used instead of eggs, making the recipe lighter and vegan. And there are only 5 recipe steps and no waiting for the dough to chill, thanks to the stability of the oat flour.
In the end, you have a quick delicious sugar cookie, topped with sugar crystals, in 20 minutes or less. Just like my other cookie recipes, and my favorite edible cookie dough bites and my vegan chocolate chip cookies, these are dairy free and naturally gluten free.
Ingredients
- oat flour (or almond flour)
- butter (I used vegan butter)
- brown sugar & cane sugar (I used coconut palm sugar and organic cane)
- aquafaba (liquid from a can of unsalted chickpeas, or use unsweetened apple sauce or egg replacer for 1 egg)
- baking soda, vanilla, salt
Steps to Make
You can find the detailed recipe for Healthy Sugar Cookies at the bottom of this post or by using the Jump to Recipe button at the top. But here I summarize the quick steps to make your own chewy sugar cookies so much healthier than store-bought and easier and healthier than classic sugar cookie recipes.
Step 1. Prep by preheating your oven to 350 F, and lining your cookie sheet with parchment paper. For this small batch of 12 cookies, I use a quarter-sized cookie sheet.
Step 2. Cream butter with sugars and add in aquafaba, liquid from a can of chickpeas or applesauce, and vanilla.
Step 3. Add oat flour, baking soda and salt to creamed mixture and stir or mix.
Step 4. Use a small cookie scoop to put 12 cookies on pan, and top with mix-ins.
Step 5. Bake for 9-10 minutes, sprinkle top with a few more mix-ins, and cool and eat!
Recipe Tips
My recipe is hard to mess up, but here are a few tips to help your cookies become a great success:
1. Measure the flour correctly. You can weigh it but I have great success using the spoon and leveling method. Just loosen the flour in the bag with a fork. Use the fork to fill measuring cups and use a knife to level the cups.
2. Make sure your oven is hot enough. I use an oven thermometer to check. The oat flour makes baking these cookies sensitive to temperature. If you don't want to check your temperature, pull cookies out as soon as you see the outer edges begin to brown, and the center un-cooked color disappear. Luckily, because there are no eggs in this recipe, if your cookie is slightly underdone, you won't get sick from raw egg germs - it will just be a bit chewier.
Substitutions
1. The Flour. You can use almond flour instead of oat flour, just reduce the amount by ¼ cup since almond flour is much heavier.
2. The Egg replacer. I use 3 tablespoon of aquafaba here which is the liquid from a can of unsalted chickpeas. You can use 3 tablespoon of apple sauce instead or even a flax seed egg which is 1 tablespoon of flax seed dissolved for 10 minutes in 3 tablespoon of water.
3. The Sugars. In the future, I plan on testing this recipe using no sugars and maple syrup instead. I realize this will involve increasing the flour though so I will update this post when I have done that recipe test.
4. Baking Soda vs Baking Powder. One reader said she preferred to use baking powder as the taste of baking soda was too pronounced. Either is fine, but note that baking soda will produce a sturdier, chewy cookie, while baking powder will create a more delicate, crumbly cookie.
FAQS
Can I Frost These Healthy Sugar Cookies?
Yes. Allow the cookies to cool completely then drizzle on my Vegan Royal Icing. Sprinkle sprinkles before the frosting hardens.
How To Store Them
You can store leftovers in a sealed container at room temperature. The cookies will keep fresh for 3-4 days.
Can You Freeze These Cookies?
Yes, these cookies can be frozen after baking, or the dough frozen before baking. Both last three months in the freezer. If you freeze the dough, let it thaw thirty minutes before baking.
More Healthy Cookies:
- Chocolate Sugar Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Homemade Milano Cookies
- Samoa Cookies
- Fudge Stripe Cookies
- 2-Ingredient Cut Out Cookies
- Vegan Royal Icing
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📖 Recipe
Healthy Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup oat flour (or 1 ¼ cup almond flour or GF flour)
- ¼ cup butter (I use Earth Balance vegan brand)
- ¼ cup brown sugar (I use organic coconut palm sugar)
- ¼ cup cane sugar (I use organic cane sugar)
- 3 tablespoon aquafaba (Liquid from a can of chickpeas, or use unsweetened apple sauce or egg replacer for 1 egg)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (Or 1 teaspoon baking powder if you want a lighter cookie)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of salt
Topping
- ¼ cup crystal sugar sprinkles
Instructions
Prep
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Add parchment paper to a cookie sheet.
- Soften butter in microwave for 30 seconds
Make Cookies
- In a mixing bowl, cream the butter with the sugars, then add in aquafaba and vanilla.
- Add oat flour, baking soda and salt to a sifter and sift the mixture into the creamed butter. Or just stir the dry ingredients in a bowl, and add to the creamed butter
- Stir the mixture until creamy. You can use a mixer. The dough will be sticky. But don't chill this dough.
- Using a small cookie scoop, scoop 10 cookies on to the cookie sheet. Press down each with a flat spatula or spoon.
- Sprinkle sugar sprinkles on top.
- Bake for 9-10 minutes until brown around the edges.
- Quickly sprinkle more sugar sprinkles on top.
Storage
- Allow them to cool before putting them in a container. Oat flour will cause the cookies to dry out fast, so keep them contained.
- Both dough and baked cookies freeze beautifully up to 3 months.
Bethany
Should this recipe call for baking powder instead of baking soda? All I taste is baking soda, and I did make sure it was mixed well.
Dee Dine
I used baking powder to create a chewy texture, but yes, you can use baking powder if you prefer in the same amount. Baking powder is much more delicate in flavor and affect. Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies.