These colorful vegan funfetti cookies are soft, chewy, and super festive. This super easy recipe requires just a few staple kitchen ingredients and less than ten steps to create irresistible cookies that all ages will love. They are perfect for celebrating a birthday, baby shower, or any other fun holiday.
Want to save this post?
Enter your email below and get it sent straight to your inbox. Plus, I’ll send you budget recipes and money-saving tips every week!
Looking for fun cookie recipes to celebrate a special occasion? Try my other colorful and themed cookies, such as my vegan Halloween cookies, vegan Christmas cookies, vegan red velvet cookies, or vegan lemon shortbread cookies.
Jump to:
❤️ Why you’ll love it
This easy vegan funfetti recipe takes delicious sugar cookies and combines them with colorful sprinkles to create a fun and sweet treat to serve for any occasion! In this recipe, I add vanilla and a hint of cinnamon to the dough to kick up the flavor. They may be the best funfetti cookies you have ever tried!
You will love how easy it is to make these cookies. There are no fancy ingredients or equipment required. Everything is made in just one bowl, and all of the ingredients are likely already in your kitchen pantry. I have also provided several substitutes and variations to customize these cookies to your taste. Trust me when I say the most challenging part will be waiting for them to finish baking!
🧾 Key ingredients
Sprinkles – I like to use rainbow sprinkles for the colorful cookies. However, you can use vegan sprinkles of any color. You can also use other colorful candies.
Vanilla extract and cinnamon – The vanilla extract and cinnamon help to enhance the flavor of the cookies. While the cinnamon is optional, I highly recommend it.
Apple sauce – The applesauce acts as a vegan egg substitute in this recipe. Use unsweetened applesauce to avoid changing the sugar levels in the cookies.
Sugar – This recipe uses brown and white sugar to sweeten the batter. I have also tested this recipe using white cane sugar and turbinado sugar as substitutes for brown sugar and found that the cookies were just as delicious.
Flour – I use all-purpose flour for this recipe. However, I have also tested it using a gluten-free flour blend and found that it is an acceptable substitute.
🛒 You can find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
🥘 Equipment
Electric hand mixer – It is not only the quickest but also the only way to get the wet ingredients combined properly.
Silicone baking sheet – They are mess-free and help to distribute the heat more evenly. You can also use parchment paper if you do not have silicone baking mats.
Ice cream scoop – For evenly-sized cookies, use an ice cream or cookie scoop to scoop the dough.
Wooden spatula – A spatula helps to gently fold in the sprinkles without overmixing the dough. I highly recommend the hand-crafted olive wooden spatula from Forest Decor.
👩🍳 Instructions
Making vegan funfetti cookies
STEP 1
In a large bowl, add the oil, brown and white sugar, applesauce, and vanilla extract.
STEP 2
Using an electric hand mixer on low speed, beat the ingredients for approximately two minutes until well-emulsified.
STEP 3
Stir in the dry ingredients (flour, optional cinnamon, salt, and baking soda) until thoroughly combined. The mixture will be very thick but still soft. If it is too stiff, add 1-2 tablespoons of dairy-free milk to loosen it.
STEP 4
Use a spatula to fold the sprinkles into the batter. Cover the bowl and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
STEP 5
Preheat the oven to 375°F/190C. Meanwhile, line a baking tray with a silicone baking may or parchment paper. Scoop the cookie dough in increments of approximately two tablespoons. Roll into dough balls and place onto the baking tray 2-3 inches apart.
If you want pillowy, soft cookies, leave the cookie dough balls as-is. For thin, chewy cookies, use a small glass to flatten them until they are at most one inch thick.
STEP 6
Place the tray in the oven and bake the cookies for 8-12 minutes until they are barely golden brown around the edges. The baking time can vary depending on the oven. In my non-fan oven, it takes 12 minutes to get perfect cookies.
STEP 7
Remove the tray from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes. Then, move the cookies to a baking rack. Although the cookies puff up in the oven, they will slightly collapse as they cool.
💡 Expert tips
For perfect, consistent results, use a digital scale to weigh the ingredients. A scale provides more accurate measurements versus estimating with a scoop. Even the slightest variation in the ingredients can result in differences in the texture and taste of the cookies.
🔄 Variations
Make your vegan funfetti sugar cookies even more fun with different add-ins and toppings.
Add cocoa powder to the batter to make chocolate funfetti cookies. Or, add white chocolate chips to the batter for chocolate chip confetti cookies.
For additional crunch and a nutty flavor, add crushed nuts, such as almonds, walnuts, or pecans. You can also eliminate the sprinkles altogether to make vegan vanilla cookies.
❄️ Storing tips
To store: To keep the cookies fresh and soft, place them in an airtight container or a sealable plastic bag. You can keep them at room temperature for up to two days. After two days, it is best to move them to the refrigerator.
To freeze: Let the cookies cool until they reach room temperature. Then, move them to an airtight container or sealable freezer-safe bag and place them in the freezer. Thaw them at room temperature.
🤔 FAQs
Chilling the dough helps to prevent it from spreading. However, I have tested this recipe without chilling it and did not notice a significant difference. I have also tried chilling the dough for an extended period of time and did not notice a considerable difference.
Confetti sprinkles and classic rainbow jimmies give the best results. I would avoid using sugar pearls or nonpareils.
I do not recommend using vegan butter. It is highly unpredictable and can create significantly different results depending on the brand. Instead, I recommend sunflower oil or liquid refined coconut oil as a vegetable oil substitute.
More vegan cookie recipes
THANK YOU so much for visiting our website. Please comment below if you have tried this recipe. We LOVE hearing from you! If you loved the recipe, please don’t forget to give us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ RATING. We appreciate all of our readers.
⇒ GET OUR FREE 7-DAY VEGAN MEAL PLAN E-BOOK NOW! OR CHECK OUT ALL VEGAN MEAL PLAN RECIPES! ⇐
Vegan Funfetti Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup Vegetable oil I used sunflower
- ¾ cup Dark brown sugar
- ½ cup Granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup Apple sauce unsweetened
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- ½ tsp Cinnamon optional, but recommended
- 2+½ cups All-purpose flour or GF flour blend
- 1 tsp Baking soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 cup Sprinkles
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine oil, sugars, apple sauce, and vanilla. Use a hand mixer to beat together on low speed for 2 minutes until well emulsified.
- Stir in the flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda until completely incorporated. The mixture should be very thick but still soft. If too stiff, add 1-2 Tablespoons of non-dairy milk.
- Fold in the sprinkles of any color.
- Cover and allow to chill for at least 30 minutes to prevent spreading.
- Preheat oven to 375°F/190C. Line baking sheets with parchment.
- Scoop 2 Tbsp amounts of dough. Roll into balls and place 2-3 inches apart on a lined baking sheet.
- If you want pillowy, soft cookies, don't flatten them. If you want chewy, thinner ones, flatten them with a small glass, at most 1 inch thick.
- Bake for 8-12 minutes until just barely golden brown around the edges. I need 12 minutes in my non-fan oven to get them perfect.
- Remove from the oven and cool them on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Cookies will puff up more in the oven and collapse slightly as they cool.
Leave a comment