Vegan Strawberry Cookies

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I must say that strawberries are my fruit. Just one bite of a juicy ripe strawberry reminds me of how beautiful our earth is. I think my love started in the wild strawberry fields in Germany during my toddler years.

So I just had to figure out a way to successfully bake them into sugary cookies. What’s your fruit?

These fruity cookies are perfect for Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, baby showers, birthday parties, cookie exchanges, during the summer, or any time for that strawberry lover in your life!

Of course, you can also skip the pink food color for a beautiful golden brown cookie with pops of red fruit throughout!

Feel free to change them up by adding white chocolate chips, dark chocolate chunks, pecans, or Cream Cheese Frosting.

No eggs are needed in this easy recipe, as the strawberry jam and cornstarch hold these cookies together.

In fact, I consider the jam to be my key ingredient in this tasty dessert! In addition to being an egg substitute, it adds moisture and an irresistible flavor.

Although not necessary, you can intensify the strawberry flavor here by adding in bits of crushed freeze-dried strawberries or a few drops of strawberry extract. 

If you are a strawberry lover like me, these cookies are a must-try along with my Strawberry Cobbler, Strawberry Shortcake Cake, and Strawberry Mousse!

Reasons To Love This Recipe

• No eggs and dairy-free
• Just a few simple ingredients
• Every bite is filled with fresh berries 
• Strawberry jam is used as the egg replacer
• Easy to whip up with a quick 15-minute chill time

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Ingredients and Substitutions

• Strawberries – Finely chopped fresh strawberries are folded into the cookie dough. Juicy, ripe strawberries are the best here. Use the reddest portions of the berries for the most flavor and color.
• Vegan Butter – Salted vegan butter adds fat and moisture. Add ¼ tsp of salt if yours is unsalted.
• Sugar – Cane and brown sugar are both great for flavor and structure.
• Jam – Strawberry jam is added for extra fruity flavor, added moisture, and to help bind the ingredients together during the baking process. Preserves can be used as well.
• Plant Milk – Just a tiny bit of any type of plant milk helps to thin the dough out as well as lend some creamy moisture.
• Vanilla – A very small amount of vanilla extract adds a warm depth of flavor.
• Food Color – This ingredient is totally optional! You can add pink color, a touch of red to make them pinkish, or leave it out for a golden brown treat. Be sure to check that it’s truly vegan, as some food dyes are not.
• Flour – All-purpose is used here for a soft texture, but a gluten-free 1-to-1 replacement should work as well.
• Cornstarch – I have found cornstarch to be a game-changer in my cookie trials! It not only helps hold them together but also increases the chewy and soft factors.
• Baking Soda – Use baking soda for aeration and spread.

How to Make Homemade Vegan Strawberry Cookies 

Here are some quick visual steps. Find the full recipe with exact measurements on the recipe card below.

Let the vegan butter and plant-based milk start to come to room temperature.

Finely chop the strawberries and then blot them with a lint-free kitchen towel. Leave them on the towel for now while working with the other ingredients so that the excess liquid continues to be absorbed.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the vegan butter and sugars together into a smooth and creamy mixture either by hand or with a mixer. 

Pour in the strawberry jam, plant milk, vanilla extract, and food coloring. Mix them in. Check the color at this point to see if you’d like to mix in more food color.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and baking soda. Then, stir the strawberries into this dry mixture until they are spread throughout.

Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl and stir everything together. It will seem dry and crumbly at first, but after some stirring and mashing, the dry bits will work their way into the moist dough.

Cover and chill the dough for about 15 minutes. Since the level of wetness can vary based on how ripe the strawberries are and the type of jam, chilling them helps to make the dough firmer and gives an opportunity for the butter to reset before being heated.

Line two cookie sheets and preheat the oven a few minutes before you take the dough out of the refrigerator. 

Scoop out heaping 1-tablespoon portions of dough and place them on the baking trays. You can also roll them into balls before setting them down for a more uniform look.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. Keep a close watch on them and take them out of the oven the moment you see any golden brown hues. 

You can tap the cookie sheet down a few times to flatten them some or leave them in mounds.

Let them cool down for about 10 minutes so they can firm up. Enjoy!

Tips For Success 

• Room temperature vegan butter and plant milk blend into the dough more easily than when chilled.
• Blotting the strawberries and coating them with the flour mixture keeps the cookies from becoming soggy in the spots that have chunks of fresh berries.
• Measure the flour by spooning it into your measuring cup and then level it off to prevent adding too much.
• Chilling the dough helps to intensify the flavor, makes them chewier, and prevents them from spreading too wide in the oven.
• Remove them from the oven the moment you see any golden brown coloring on top or on the edges. They will seem underdone, but will continue to cook and set as they cool down.

Recipe Variation Ideas

• Add strawberry extract for a stronger fruit flavor. 
• Fold in vegan white chocolate chips, dark chocolate chunks, or nuts. 
• Mix in crushed freeze-dried strawberries for even more bursts of fruit. 
• Roll the cookie dough balls in cane sugar to make strawberry sugar cookies. 
• Top the baked cookies with your favorite frosting or a simple powdered sugar glaze. 
• Enjoy a cookie sandwich by placing a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream between two cookies.

No-Waste Ideas

Have lots of strawberries? You can make Vegan Strawberry Cobbler and Vegan Strawberry Mousse with them. You can also use them for toppings over this Vegan Vanilla Loaf Cake, Tres Leches Cake, or Blue Smoothie Bowls!

Storage

Separate leftover baked cookies with parchment paper and store them in the refrigerator for 5 days or in the freezer for 3 months. Enjoy them cold or reheat them for 15 seconds in the microwave.

I hope you loved this recipe! If you try it, please let me know what you think with a rating and comment below. Your feedback really supports my blog and is helpful to other readers! 🙂 You can stay updated on my latest recipes by following me on Pinterest and joining my Email List.