Easy watermelon sugar cookies (vegan)

Simple sugar cookies made with only 5 ingredients plus natural food powders for colour! The biscuit is a classic shortbread made with oil instead of butter which lends to a delicate crumb.

As oil is runnier than butter, the dough can be a little fiddly. This can be overcome if you chill the dough in the fridge for about 20 minutes and use a cake scraper to transfer the cookies to a baking tray! I love the melt-in-your-mouth consistency of these cookies given by oil. However if you prefer a more classic buttery shortbread, feel free to substitute the oil for vegan butter/margarine.

I made these cookies into watermelon shapes as a cheesy way to say 'you're one in a melon' for Valentine's Day haha. During this time of the year, social media is bombarded with love hearts and overly pink things (which I'm not a fan of), so these watermelon cookies provide some respite! This cookie recipe is super versatile and can be used to make jam tartlets, linzer cookies and shortcrust pastry for tarts. Feel free to experiment with it and go crazy with your cookie cutters.

Due to the amount of sugar in the icing, this is obviously a 'sometimes' recipe! But what am I saying, it's up to you!

If you try this recipe, I would love to hear about it! Comment below and rate it as it would really help us and other readers! If you post it on social media, tag @rainbownourishments and #rainbownourishments.

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Easy Vegan Sugar Cookies

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Vegan

Servings: 12

Ingredients

Cookies

• 2 ½ cups (310g) plain or all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• ½ cup (125mL) light-tasting vegetable oil, such as sunflower or rapeseed, OR vegan butter/margarine
• ¼ cup (35g) powdered sugar / icing sugar

Icing

• 3 cups (300g) powdered sugar / icing sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons water
• Pinch of matcha powder
• Pinch of beetroot powder
• Pinch of cocoa or charcoal powder

Instructions

• To make the cookies: Add all of the ingredients to a medium-size bowl and mix until it forms a pliable dough. Set aside in an airtight container in the fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes.
• When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
• Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll out with a rolling pin so the dough is about 8mm (0.3 inch) thick, Use a circular cookie cutter to cut out circles in the dough. Cut each circle in half to form semi-circles. Carefully place the semi circles onto a lined baking tray with a little space in between. You may need to use a cake scraper to transfer them and reshape the cookies as needed.
• Re-roll the excess dough and repeat. When all of the dough has been used up, bake the cookies in the oven for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies. The edges of the cookies should be slightly golden brown.
• Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking tray.
• To make the icing, combine the powdered sugar and water until it forms a thick paste.
• Scoop a few tablespoons of the icing and add it to a small bowl with the matcha powder. Mix until combined.
• Scoop the majority of the remaining icing into another bowl. Mix the beetroot powder into the frosting.
• Use a piping bag with a small round tip to pipe the green, pink and white icing onto the cooled cookies as desired.
• Mix the remaining icing with cocoa or charcoal powder and carefully 'dot' the cookies with this icing.
• Allow the cookie icing to dry out at room temperature uncovered or in an loose container.
• The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to a week.

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