If you love chocolate chip cookies, you’ll be head over heels for these vegan Christmas sprinkle cookies! These are chewy, tender cookies on the inside with a crispy bite. Festive sprinkles add the perfect colors of the season!
I’m probably a little too selfish to be worried about having cookies ready for guys in red suits who might be trying to slip through our chimney this year. But then again, being a little selfish might put me on his list of houses to avoid in the first place. You know what I say about that? More Christmas Sprinkle Cookies for ME! So take that! Hmm, I may need to check my Christmas cheer meter here soon. I may be low. If you love holiday baking, check out my Vegan Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies or my Chocolate Raspberry Macaroons. Both will have you swooning!
When I was a kid I loved Christmas. Who doesn’t love waking up to gifts by a tree!
But there are times when Christmas isn’t quite as much fun as an adult. I’m not a big fan of shopping in the first place, let alone thinking about being forced to go shopping in crowded malls. Ach! I refuse to do it!
I have MIAS.
Mall Induced Anxiety Syndrome.
I find when a person has MIAS, that cookies help.
Hmm. The more I think about it, cookies can be the solution to a lot of problems.
I may need help.
But seriously, there’s nothing wrong with a good ol’ Christmas Sprinkle Cookie here or there. And as much as I hate to admit it, I do like sharing these cookies. They make great holiday gifts.
They’re definitely better than a fruit cake. 🙂
Why You’ll Love These Christmas Sprinkle Cookies
Oh, Vegan Christmas Sprinkle Cookies…you had me at the dough.
I mean, seriously. That is one thing about vegan cookie dough that you absolutely HAVE to love. There’s no worries of raw egg issues because our cookie dough is egg-free. I just have to say it. Yay!
I also love that these Christmas Sprinkle Cookies are dense and moist and loaded with chocolate chips and sprinkles. Another favorite about this recipe is that in addition to the vanilla, I also include some almond extract. That makes these cookies taste a little like a good ol’ sugar cookie. Power to the sugar cookie!
I also like that when I give these Christmas Sprinkle Cookies out as a gift to a neighbor or a friend, they smile real big. I believe they call that an ear-to-ear grin…and it’s my favorite.
We bought all the ingredients for these cookies at our local grocery store – straight from the peanut butter, flax seeds, and sprinkles. How cool is that!
Finally, I love that these cookies are colorful. It’s one part about Christmas that I really do like – bright colors!
Adapt Away!
The best part of any recipe is figuring out how you might change it up a bit. Are you with me? Here are some ideas for playing around with this one:
- Add some chopped nuts, like walnuts or peanuts to the dough
- Replace the vanilla with mint extract for a mint chocolate chip favorite!
- Serve these as cookie dough balls, covering each with more sprinkles!
- Make these into bite-size cookies by reducing the size, just be sure to bake them a little bit less so they don’t burn!
I hope you like these Christmas Sprinkle Cookies as much as we do. Do you know what would make me even happier than a kid in a candy store? If you made these cookies and shared a picture of them with #NamelyMarly on Twitter or Instagram. So for now, let’s all be shiny happy people holding hands!
Christmas Sprinkle Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup dairy-free margarine
- ½ cup peanut butter
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- ½ cup non-dairy milk soy, almond, etc
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2½ - 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup Christmas sprinkles plus extra
Instructions
- Place the margarine, peanut butter, and sugars in a mixing bowl and using your electric mixer, mix on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about one minute.
- Push the margarine mixture to the edges and in the middle combine the ground flax seeds, corn starch, non-dairy milk, apple cider vinegar, vanilla, and almond extract. Stir to combine. Now, using the mixer, slowly incorporate the flax seed mixture in with the margarine mixture. Continue mixing until light and fluffy again.
- Push the margarine mixture to one side and combine the 2½ cups of flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine. Use your mixer to combine the flour mixture with the margarine mixture. Mix to combine. If the dough needs a little more moisture, feel free to add a tablespoon of soy milk.
- When the dough is just right, add the chocolate chips and sprinkles and mix some more until the sprinkles are incorporated throughout the dough.
- When you're ready to bake the cookies, turn your to 350F.
- Use a cookie dough dispenser to drop cookie dough roughly 1½ inches apart on your cookie sheet. Pour some additional sprinkles on a plate and grabbing one ball of cookie dough at a time, dab the top of the cookie dough ball into the plate of sprinkles to give the top a nice coating of sprinkles. Place it back on the cookie pan and gently smash the top of the cookie to ensure that the new sprinkles are embedded in the cookie dough ball. Repeat with each cookie.
- Place the prepared pan of cookie dough balls in the oven and bake for 8-9 minutes. These cookies are best when they're slightly undercooked so be careful not to over bake. You'll be rewarded with a dense, rich, moist cookie!
- Remove the pan from the oven and allow the cookies to cool slightly before placing on a wire rack to cool completely. Of course you might want to have one (or two) while they're still slightly warm. You'll love them!
- Repeat until all the cookies are done. Store in an airtight container.
Finally, if you’re ready for some vegan or vegetarian holiday baking recipes, you’ll love these:
- Healthier Ginger Bread Cookies by Cookie + Kate
- Vegan Ginger Snap Cookies by Petite Allergy Treats
- Spelt Vegan Cinnamon Snowflake Cookies by Wallflower Kitchen
- Or how about these Vegan Chocolate Chip Sprinkle Cookies by you know who!
Whatever cookies you’re setting on a plate for Santa, enjoy! Ho! Ho! Ho!
Ah those look so cute! Love the colorful sprinkles, I imagine they would be perfect for a holiday party 🙂
I’ve never thought to put the sprinkles right in the dough? Awesome!
I am beyond impressed that you had the discipline to BAKE some of these cookies. I would have eaten all the dough balls!! And, you are right…cookies are the answer to everything!
So much better than fruit cake! Love the sprinkles!
Making these right now…can’t wait to taste the end result! When do you add the peanut butter?
Hi Lindsey!! I hope you like these cookies! I made them for our Thanksgiving dessert table and they were gobbled up right away. 😉 Thanks for you note – I adapted the recipe to include the peanut butter in the first step. Let me know how it worked for you!
BEST IDEA EVER: after you make the cookie dough balls, stick’em in a plastic bag and throw em in the freezer. AMAZING <3
If I need to substitute out the peanut butter due to my little ones allergies what would you use to replace it? Also I was thinking just add more vanilla extract if I can’t use the almond extract? I would appreciate any advice!
– Momma of a little one with A LOT of allergies 🙂
Hi Tabatha! Thanks for your note. I would probably just use a whole cup of Earth Balance (instead of a half of a cup) and leave the peanut butter out. You can also substitute the vanilla for the almond extract. Or, if you want to try something different (and if you don’t have allergies to this), you could sub some raspberry flavoring for the almond extract. I find adding raspberry extract to a cookie, especially one with sprinkles, gives it a little extra splash of flavor! Happy Holidays!
These cookies are great! Everyone loves this recipe.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! Those cookies are delicious! Very soft and tasty.
Hi Lucie, thanks for your note. So glad you liked these cookies!
These look so fun! Do you think replacing coconut oil for the margarine would work? Thanks!
Hi Sarah. Thanks! I wouldn’t hesitate to use coconut oil in this recipe. It might change the texture slightly, but it should result in a very tasty cookie!
Made these today. My family can’t stop eating them! I was hesitant because we are not fans of peanut butter cookies. But these cookies are DELICIOUS!
I’m so glad you liked them Bonnie! I think it’s the almond extract that hides the flavor of the peanut butter a little. I’m going to make another batch and have them for our Christmas dessert tray next week!
Most commercial chocolate chips are not vegan. I don’t understand why they are included.
Hi there Thea. Actually, there are several store-bought chocolate chips that are also dairy-free. Check out my dairy-free chocolate chip guide. Happy cookie eating!
Dumb question.. What is earth balance?.. Cant do peanut butter either..
Hi Jamie! It’s not a dumb question. Earth Balance is a vegan butter spread. I can find it at Target, Walmart, health food stores and even my local grocery store. You can use it in place of butter. Also, for this recipe just use all vegan butter in place of the peanut butter. Hope you love these sprinkle cookies!