These vegan candy cane sugar cookies are perfect for the holidays! They are made with crushed candy canes and have a festive look. They're minty and easy to make in 1 bowl!
We love candy canes during the holiday season. Although they come in different flavors, classic peppermint is our favorite. especially in hot chocolate!
These cookies have all the flavor of candy canes in a cookie form. The cookies are chewy and buttery with a minty crunch. They're fun to make...especially crushing the candy canes!
If you love minty desserts like my mint chocolate black bean brownies and chocolate peppermint cookies, then this recipe is for you!
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Why You'll Love These Cookies
- Festive: These vegan cookies will look perfect during the holiday season with the colorful candy cane pieces.
- Great texture: I love chewy cookies and these also have a nice crunch thanks to the crushed candy canes sprinkled on top.
- Peppermint flavor: Regular sugar cookies are elevated with the addition of peppermint.
Ingredient Notes
- Vegan butter: Make sure your butter is softened first. My favorite brands to use are Earth Balance and Country Crock Plant Butter.
- Candy canes: To crush them, I put them in a ziploc bag and use a rolling pin.
- Non-dairy milk: Use any kind you have at home. Unsweetened soy milk, almond milk and oat milk all work well.
- Peppermint extract: Peppermint extract has a better flavor than regular mint extract.
Please see the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and amounts needed.
Variations
- Decorate with some holiday sprinkles.
- Add in some vegan chocolate chips or even vegan white chocolate, if you can find it.
- Make a glaze by adding a little plant milk to a bowl of powdered sugar until you get the right consistency.
- Drizzle the top with melted chocolate.
- You can even make these cookies into a candy cane shape. Simply shape into candy canes before placing on the prepared baking sheets. You can also roll out the dough and use a candy cane shaped cookie cutter.
How To Make Vegan Candy Cane Sugar Cookies
Step 1: First, preheat the oven to 350°. Prepare cookie sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
Step 2: In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the softened vegan butter and the sugar. You can also use a hand mixer with a large bowl.
Step 3: Next, add in the cornstarch, non-dairy milk and peppermint extract and mix well. Slowly add in the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until combined.
Step 4: Fold in the crushed candy canes with a spatula or wooden spoon. Leave a little bit of the crushed candy canes aside to sprinkle on top after the cookies have baked.
Step 5: Spoon the cookie dough (about 2 tbsp) onto the lined baking sheets. Flatten slightly. If you want uniformly shaped cookies, use a cookie scoop.
Step 6: Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes. Remove the baking tray from the oven and let cool for about a minute before sprinkling a little crushed candy cane on top.
Step 7: Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Plate, serve and enjoy!
Looking for more festive treats for your holiday table? Try my Oreo truffles, cranberry cookies, Biscoff cookie butter cookies and molasses ginger cookies.
Storage Tips
Room Temperature
Once cooled, place cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Freezing
These vegan candy cane cookies can also be frozen. Once cooled, place the cookies in a freezer safe container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months. For best results, thaw overnight in the fridge.
Recipe FAQs
While you should always check the labels, in general no, candy canes do not have gelatin in them. They are typically made with sugar and corn syrup, peppermint oil and food coloring.
While the crushed candy canes look beautiful on top of the cookies, you can also add any holiday sprinkles you like.
I would not use coconut oil in this recipe as it will give the cookies a coconut flavor.
I wouldn't. The brown sugar would add a molasses taste which isn't the best combined with peppermint. Plus, you wouldn't have the pretty combination of white dough with red candy bits.
More Vegan Holiday Recipes
If you tried this Vegan Candy Cane Sugar Cookie Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Recipe
Chewy Vegan Candy Cane Sugar Cookies
Equipment
- Stand mixer
- cooling rack
Ingredients
- ¾ cup vegan butter, softened
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoon non-dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 candy canes, crushed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Prepare the baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer), cream together the softened vegan butter and the sugar.
- Add in the non-dairy milk, cornstarch, and peppermint extract and mix well.
- Slowly add in the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until combined.
- Fold in the crushed candy canes, leaving a little bit aside to sprinkle on top.
- Spoon the cookie dough (about 2 tbsp) onto the cookie sheet. Flatten slightly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for about a minute before sprinkling a little crushed candy cane on top.
- Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
- I like using peppermint extract over mint extract as mint extract can taste a bit like toothpaste.
- Make sure you sprinkle on the crushed candy canes on top of the cookies AFTER they are baked. If you do it before baking then the candy cane pieces will develop a very hard texture.
- To crush the candy canes, I put them in a ziploc bag and then use a rolling pin to break them up. You can also pulse them in a food processor.
- Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. You can also freeze them for longer storage.
Jen says
My kids love these and have fun crushing the candy canes. You can taste the mint but they aren’t super minty. We love making them for Christmas.