These Earth Day Sugar Cookies are soft, chewy, and secretly vegan! Plus, they are naturally colored using both matcha and butterfly pea powder for cookies that look just like planet Earth in cookie form.
While I've seen Earth Day Sugar Cookies done before, they are usually made with food coloring to get the blue and green color.
Since I love the green color and flavor of my Matcha Sugar Cookies, I adapted that recipe to make the perfect naturally colored green & blue cookies for an Earth Day treat!
Ingredients:
Ingredient notes:
- Butterfly pea powder: I used Suncore Foods Butterfly Pea Powder to make these cookies. While it has a purple hue, once mixed into the dough it turns a beautiful blue color.
- Matcha: I recommend using a high-quality matcha powder to get truly green cookies. I used Encha ceremonial grade Matcha powder but also recommend Ippodo Matcha, Jade Leaf Matcha, or Rishi tea brand as I used in my Vegan Matcha Cookies. Just remember: ceremonial grade is the best quality even for baking!
How to make Earth Day Cookies
Make the sugar cookie dough
First, make the vegan sugar cookie dough. Cream together the vegan butter and sugar. Then, add in the flax egg and vanilla. After that mix in the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt until you have a thick, but slightly sticky, dough.
Add matcha and butterfly pea powder
Split the cookie dough in half and place it into two bowls. Mix 1 teaspoon of matcha into one bowl of dough and 1 teaspoon of butterfly pea powder into the other bowl.
Chill the cookie dough
Cover both the matcha cookie dough and butterfly pea cookie dough bowls with plastic wrap. Then, add to the fridge to chill for 30 minutes-1 hour.
This step is super important for the best-textured cookies. Letting the dough chill in the fridge helps it absorb more moisture which will lead to chewy cookies that spread less while baking and that are ultimately sweeter.
Layer and roll into balls
Remove the dough from the fridge. Then, take chunks of dough from each bowl and press them together.
Next, roll the dough into balls. To get the Earth cookies to truly look like mini Earths it's important to use different-sized chunks of dough when putting them together.
Roll in sugar & bake
Take the cookie dough balls and roll them in sugar. This helps them get that desirable crinkly texture when baking. Ultimately, this step is optional, but it makes them even more delicious.
Then, place the cookie dough balls on a parchment-lined baking tray and bake the vegan Earth Day Cookies!
FAQ & Tips:
Can I make Earth Day cookies gluten-free?
Definitely! Just make sure to use a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour like Bob's Red Mill brand.
Unfortunately, using flour alternatives like coconut, almond, or chickpea flour will NOT work in this recipe as it is not a 1:1 substitution.
Can I freeze cookie dough balls and bake them later?
Definitely! Follow all the steps of making the cookie dough, rolling into balls, and rolling in sugar.
Then, add them to a parchment-lined baking sheet or plate and place in the freezer. Once the cookie dough balls are completely frozen, you can remove them from the tray and store them in a freezer-safe bag or container.
When baking frozen planet cookies, you may need to add an additional 2-3 minutes of baking time.
How do I store baked Earth Day Cookies?
These cookies can be stored in a closed container at room temperature for 2-3 days, in the fridge for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
My favorite way to store them is in the freezer as it helps these planet cookies maintain their chewy texture!
If you're looking for the perfect Earth Day dessert, then you are going to love these Earth Day Sugar Cookies. Enjoy these soft & chewy globe cookies!
-TSG
More vegan sugar cookie recipes you will love:
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Earth Day Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegan butter room temperature
- ½ cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar ½ cup for dough, 2 Tbsp for rolling before baking
- 1 flax egg 1 Tbsp (8 grams) ground flaxseed mixed with 3 Tbsp water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 cup + 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon matcha powder
- 1 teaspoon butterfly pea powder
Instructions
- First, add the butter and ½ cup of the sugar to a mixing bowl and cream together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Then, add in the flax egg and vanilla extract and whip together for about 30 seconds to combine.
- Next, add the sifted flour, baking powder, and salt to the mixing bowl. Mix until a thick, yet slightly sticky, cookie batter forms. Do not overmix or else you will form too much gluten and the cookies will not spread as intended while baking.
- Split the cookie dough in half and place it into two bowls. Mix 1 teaspoon of matcha into one bowl of cookie dough and 1 teaspoon of butterfly pea powder into the second bowl of cookie dough.
- Next, cover the two bowls of cookie dough with plastic wrap and add to the fridge to chill for 30 minutes- 1 hour.
- Cover a baking sheet in parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350F.
- Remove the dough from the fridge. Take chunks of the blue and green dough, press them together, and roll them into balls between your palms (each cookie dough ball should be about 45 grams of dough per cookie).
- Then, roll each cookie dough ball in the 2 Tbsp of sugar that was set aside until each dough ball is coated in sugar.
- Place the Earth Day cookie dough balls onto the baking sheet, making sure that both blue and green dough can be seen from the top of each dough ball for the best results. Also, make sure that each cookie is kept about 2 inches apart since they will spread slightly while baking.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes until bottoms are lightly browned and the cookie is cooked, but still has soft centers. The cookies will continue baking after they are removed from the oven so the centers should be soft and just cooked, but not glossy or raw, when they are removed from the oven. Please be careful not to overcook these cookies as they will still be soft but will lose their "chewy" texture if overcooked.
- Remove the cookie tray from the oven and immediately tap the tray on the counter to produce a more “wrinkly” cookie. Then, let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Once the cookies have cooled, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Cookies can be stored in a close in a closed container at room temperature for 2-3 days, in the fridge for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
- Please see blog post for tips of making gluten-free or freezing cookie dough.
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