These dairy-free & eggless Cornbread Cookies with Honey Butter Frosting are simply incredible! With a chewy cornmeal cookie base and creamy salted honey buttercream frosting, they taste just like a sweet cornbread in cookie form!
While I've never personally tried Crumbl cookies (sigh- egg intolerance), as soon as I saw their cornbread cookies, I knew I needed to create my own dairy-free & eggless version!
Not to mention, I kind of have a thing for turning my favorite treats into cookies (hello Apple Pie Cookies, Almond Croissant Cookies, Carrot Cake Cookies, and so many more!).
These cornbread cookies are chewy, soft, perfectly sweet, and dare I say, make the best Thanksgiving cookie too!
Ingredients:
Ingredient & substitution notes:
- Cornmeal: I used organic stone-ground cornmeal in this recipe.
- Honey: We're using honey in both the cookie dough and frosting! It also gets drizzled over the top of the cookies.
- Make sure you choose a honey you like because the flavor really does shine through in the frosting!
- Vegan butter: I used Country Crock Olive Oil Sticks for this recipe.
- Substitute 1:1 for normal dairy butter for similar results.
- Soy milk: I used this in the frosting to make it a bit creamier.
- Omit it for a thicker frosting, or substitute 1:1 with full-fat coconut milk.
- Flax egg: My preferred egg substitute for baking. For the best texture and color, I highly recommend using golden ground flaxseed.
- Flaky Sea Salt: Not pictured in ingredient photos, as it's optional. However, it's the way to turn this honey frosting into a salted honey frosting!
- I always use Maldon Sea Salt and can't recommend it enough!
How to make honey cornbread cookies:
Make cornbread cookie dough:
Cream together the butter, sugar, and honey until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Then, mix in the flax egg and vanilla.
Next, mix in the dry ingredients, including the all-purpose flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.
Add the cornbread sugar cookie dough to the fridge and chill for 30 minutes- 1 hour. The dough will be a bit sticky, but after chilling, it is easy to scoop.
Bake the cookies:
Remove the dough from the fridge and use a cookie scoop to form the dough into 10 evenly sized large balls.
Place them onto a parchment-lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart, then add to the oven and bake at 350F for 13-15 minutes.
Remove the cornbread sugar cookies from the oven and move them to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Make the honey buttercream frosting:
Once the cookies have cooled, make the salted honey frosting. Cream together the butter, honey, and soy milk until smooth.
Then, add in the powdered sugar and whip into a thick, smooth frosting.
Frost the cookies & top with flaky salt:
Use an icing spatula to frost the cookies. Then, drizzle extra honey and a pinch of flaky sea salt on top.
Serve & enjoy these delicious honey cornbread cookies!
FAQ & Tips:
Can I make these cornbread cookies vegan?
Definitely! You can make your own vegan honey and substitute it 1:1, or swap the honey with agave (though the cookies and frosting will be slightly sweeter with this swap).
Maple syrup can also work as a 1:1 substitute, but it has a stronger flavor, so it will change the flavor of the cookies.
Can I make these cornmeal cookies gluten-free?
I haven't tested it myself, but I've heard from readers that Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking flours work with my cookie recipes. Just know it will affect the overall look and texture of the cookies.
Substituting flour alternatives such as almond flour, coconut flour, or oat flour will not work in this recipe, as it's not a 1:1 substitution.
How do I store honey cornbread cookies?
If unfrosted, store the cornbread cookies in a closed container at room temperature for 24-28 hours, in the fridge up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Frosted cookies can't be stored at room temperature. Instead, store frosted cookies in a closed container in the fridge for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
I can't wait for you to try these Cornbread Cookies with Honey Frosting! They're dairy-free, egg-free, and make the PERFECT unique Thanksgiving cookie. Happy baking!
-TSG
More Thanksgiving cookie recipes you will love:
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Cornbread Cookies with Salted Honey Buttercream
Ingredients
Cornbread Cookies:
- ½ cup vegan butter swap dairy butter 1:1
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- a flax egg 1 tablespoon (8 grams) ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoon water and left to sit 5-10 minutes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup organic cornmeal
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Honey Buttercream Frosting:
- ½ cup vegan butter
- 2 Tablespoons honey *more to drizzle on top of cookies
- 1 Tablespoon soy milk or cocunut milk
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- flaky sea salt optional, to sprinkle on frosting
Instructions
Make & chill the cornbread cookie dough:
- Add the vegan butter, sugar, and honey to a bowl. Cream together with an electric mixer until soft and fluffy (about 2 minutes)
- Next, add in the flax egg and vanilla and whip together for another 30 seconds.
- Then, add the all-purpose flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Make sure to add the flour first, and then add the other ingredients on top. Mix until a thick cookie dough forms.
- Cover the bowl of cookie dough with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
Bake the cookies:
- About 10 minutes before removing the dough from the fridge, preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and use a cookie scoop to scoop out 10 evenly sized cookies.
- Place each cookie dough ball at least 2 -inches apart on the tray. If all of the cookies will not fit on one baking sheet, bake 5-6 cookies at a time on one tray rather than putting two trays in the oven at the same time.
- Add the tray of cookies to the oven and bake for 13-15 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly browned and the cookies are cooked through, but have slightly soft centers.
- Remove the tray of cookies from the oven and let them sit on the tray for about 5-10 minutes. For rounder cookies, use a round cookie cutter or a mug that is slightly larger than the cookie and swirl the cookies around inside to form them into a round cookie. This step will only work if you do it while the cookies are still warm.
- Move the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling completely before frosting.
Make the honey buttercream frosting:
- Add the room-temperature vegan butter, soy milk, and honey to a mixing bowl and whip together until smooth and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes).
- Once combined, slowly whip in your sifted powdered sugar until no clumps remain.
Frost the cookies:
- Once the cookies have cooled, use an icing knife to spread the honey buttercream over each cookie.
- Drizzle extra honey on top and a pinch of flaky sea salt. Then, serve & enjoy!
Notes
- Please see the blog post for recipe tips, substitution ideas, & cookie storage.
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