Chocolate Sugar Cookies - Nora Cooks

These are heart shaped chocolate sugar cookies Vegan Sugar Cookies That’s what chocolate lovers are dreaming of! Deliciously soft, chewy, and topped with a simple icing, they’re a must-have for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, or any other holiday.

Looking for more festive cookies? Be sure to try my Lofthouse Cookies and Vegan Shortbread Cookies as well!

Heart-shaped chocolate sugar cookies decorated with white icing and pink sprinkles.

You can never go wrong with a classic vegan sugar cookie. They are soft, chewy and a lot of fun to decorate. But for the chocolate lovers in your life, turn to these easy chocolate sugar cookies instead!

Vegan Chocolate Sugar Cookies are easy to make in one bowl and are just as fun to decorate as they are to eat. These are the perfect vegan Valentine’s Day cookies, cut into heart shapes and decorated with 4-ingredient vegan icing. But you can easily customize them for any holiday, like Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day, and more

Why You’ll Love This Cookie

Best Valentine’s Day Desserts: Homemade chocolate sugar cookies always show your loved ones how much you care. They will not be able to resist the heart shape and pink sprinkles on top!
A beginner-friendly recipe: Sugar cookie dough comes together easily in a bowl using simple, pantry-staple ingredients. Both beginners and advanced bakers will have an easy time with this recipe.
Adult and child-friendly: It doesn’t matter the age of your Valentine – these chocolate cookies are easy to love!

Required components (including substitutions)

Vegan butter- Miyoko is my vegan butter of choice when baking vegan cookies, but Earth Balance is another great option, as well as my homemade vegan butter.
sugar – Granulated sugar is best, but coconut sugar should also work well.
i milk – Or use your favorite unsweetened dairy-free milk, such as oat milk, cashew milk, or almond milk.
cornstarch- This gives the cookies a soft and chewy texture that is ideal for rolling and cutting into shapes.
Vanilla extract
All purpose flour – I always get the best results with all-purpose flour, but a 1:1 mix of gluten free flours, such as King Arthur and Better Batter, should work if you need to make your cookies gluten free.
Cocoa powder – All you need is unsweetened, natural cocoa powder for the dough and for dusting your work surface.
Baking powder
salt
powdered sugar – To make the icing.
Light corn syrup – It gives the sugar cookie icing a wonderful shine. Feel free to leave it if you don’t have one at home.

Ingredients for chocolate sugar cookies in individual white bowls.

How to Make Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Find the full recipe with measurements on the recipe card below.

To start, use an electric mixer to beat the vegan butter until smooth. Add the sugar and beat again until light and fluffy. Next, add the soy milk, cornstarch and vanilla and mix to combine.

Now add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. You can use your hands to help the dough come together – it will feel like play dough when it’s ready.

Vegan chocolate sugar cookie dough in a large white bowl.

Divide the dough in half and shape into two balls.

Place a sheet of parchment paper on a flat surface and sprinkle with cocoa. Place one of the dough balls on top, sprinkle with more cocoa and roll it out with a rolling pin. Place a second piece of parchment on top.

Repeat with the other dough half, then refrigerate both cookie dough sheets to chill.

Roll out the chocolate cookie dough into a flat layer on a parchment-lined surface.

Then, cut out heart shapes from the chilled dough using cookie cutters and place on a lined baking sheet. Bake the chocolate sugar cookies until the edges are slightly firm (they will look underdone, but will firm up as they cool).

Make the icing while you wait for the cookies to cool.

Roll out chocolate cookie dough with heart-shaped holes.

Find more customization and decorating ideas below.

In a bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, vanilla, light corn syrup and soy milk until smooth. If the icing seems too thick, whisk in a splash of soy milk. Or, if it looks runny, mix in more powdered sugar until thick.

Spread icing over cooled cookies and top with decorations or sprinkles of your choice. Set the sugar cookies aside to harden, then enjoy!

Use a whisk to stir the white icing into a large metal bowl.

Decorating tips and ideas

The cookies must be completely cooled before you start decorating or the icing will melt and slide off. From there, you can arrange them as you wish:

Icing pipe: Instead of spreading the vegan royal icing on top with a spoon, transfer the icing to a piping bag with a very fine tip. This way, your design can be more complex and detailed.
Add sprinkles: Customize the sprinkles you use for the time of year! Pink and white are perfect for Valentine’s Day, red and green for Christmas, etc.
Colored icing: Fold in 2 to 3 drops of vegan food coloring of your choice. Watkins brand is vegan-friendly, as are some Wilton gel-based colors.
Let them harden: Remember, the icing will take several hours to fully harden, so wait until you stack them in a storage container.

Helpful Tips

Measure the dough accurately by spooning it into the measuring cup and level the top with the back of a knife. If you don’t measure the flour correctly, you can end up with too much and the dough will be dry!
Just mix the flour until the ingredients start to come together. If it looks crumbly in the bowl but feels like play dough in your hands, it’s perfect. If it’s too dry, mix in a splash of soy milk.
Refrigerating the dough for at least 1 hour is key to cutting clean shapes that don’t fall apart.
Roll each dough half evenly to ¼-inch thickness. This way, the cookies will be soft and crumbly with crisp, sharp edges. If you prefer crispier sugar cookies, thin out the dough.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do cookies last?

Decorated sugar cookies last up to 5 days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature.

How do you freeze sugar cookies?

Cookies can be frosted with no icing on top or with icing. Transfer the cookies to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.

Want more Valentine’s Day desserts?

Create cookies

In a large bowl, using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the vegan butter until creamy and smooth, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 2-3 minutes until fluffy and light.
Now add soy milk, cornstarch and vanilla. Beat on high until it is fully combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the flour to the wet mixture. Sprinkle the cocoa, baking powder and salt over the dough. Mix on low speed, until just combined. The dough should feel like play dough when you work it with your hands, but it may wrinkle in the bowl. If it’s really dry, add two more tablespoons of milk.
Using a spatula, scoop all the flour from the bowl; Use your hands if needed to push it all together. Divide the dough in half and roll into two balls.
On a flat surface, add a sheet of parchment paper. Sprinkle a little cocoa on it, then add half the flour. Sprinkle a little cocoa on top of the dough and roll it out to about 1/4 inch thick. Place a sheet of parchment paper on top. Repeat for the second ball of dough, and then stack them with parchment paper. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Once the dough is chilled, set on the counter for 10-20 minutes while the oven is preheating to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters and place on prepared baking sheet. Continue re-rolling the dough until all is used.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 8-10 minutes. They will look undercooked, but as they cool they will firm up considerably. Let them cool for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.

Make and decorate the icing

Whisk all the icing ingredients in a bowl. If it seems too thick, add a little more almond milk. It should be smooth, shiny and not runny. If too cold, add more powdered sugar. Spread over cookies.
Garnish with sprinkles as desired. It will take several hours for the icing to harden completely. The cookies will stay soft at room temperature for about 5 days.

Any dairy free milk can be used instead of soy milk.
I haven’t tested them gluten free, but a quality gluten free mix might work.
To accurately measure flour, spoon and level the flour into the measuring cup with a spoon and level it with the back of a knife. If you don’t measure the flour correctly, you can end up with too much flour and the dough will be dry!
Cookies will keep for 4-5 days at room temperature and can be frozen.

Course: dessert

Recipe: US

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