If you love a traditional coffee cake, then you are going to be obsessed with these soft & chewy Vegan Coffee Cake Cookies! Chewy spiced cookies get topped with a cinnamon cardamom streusel & vanilla icing for a truly decadent cookie!
These cinnamon streusel cookies are the newest addition to my stuffed cookie series. So far we've made Apple Pie Cookies, Pumpkin Pie Cookies, & Pecan Pie Cookies- all of which have gone viral and been made by so many readers!
These new coffee cake cookies are another winner and truly taste like vegan coffee cake in cookie form!
Ingredients:
Ingredient notes:
- Cinnamon & Cardamom: Provide a lot of flavor to both the cookie dough batter and streusel so don't skip them!
- There isn't a great substitute for cinnamon since we are using a decent amount, but if you aren't a fan of cardamom you can substitute it for another spice such as nutmeg.
- Vegan butter: When it comes to baking cookies, the vegan stick better is always best vs. butter in a tub as that tends to contain more moisture. My two favorites are Earth Balance Buttery Sticks & Country Crock Plant Butter with Olive Oil.
- Flax egg: To make a flax egg you will need ground flaxseed and water. The only good substitute for ground flaxseed is using chia seeds.
How to make coffee cake cookies:
Make & chill the spiced cookie dough
Cream together the vegan butter, sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy. Then, mix in the flax egg and vanilla bean paste.
Next add in the dry ingredients including the flour, cinnamon, cardamom, baking powder, and salt. Mix until you have a thick but smooth cookie dough.
Then, cover the bowl of spiced cookie dough and add it to the fridge to chill for 30 minutes-1 hour.
This chill time is super important as it allows the flax egg and sugar to soak up any extra moisture in the dough and makes it so the cookies will not spread too much while baking.
Make the cinnamon cardamom streusel
While the dough is chilling, make the streusel filling.
Add the cold vegan butter, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom to a food processor and pulse until you have a well-combined and semi-crumbly mixture.
P.S.- While I chose to make the streusel in a food processor, you can also make it by mashing it in a bowl with a fork similar to how I make the streusel in my Purple Sweet Potato Pie.
Also, you may have noticed we are using a bit less flour than my other pie cookie recipes and not rolling them in sugar before baking. That's because the streusel filling is not as "wet" as the other fillings and therefore the cookies won't spread as much.
Shape cookies & add filling
Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and form it into 10-11 evenly-sized cookie dough balls. Then, add the cookie dough balls to a parchment-lined tray.
Use your thumb to make an indent in the center of each cookie and use your fingers to spread the dough out and make the indent larger.
Then, add the streusel to the center of each cookie.
Bake the cookies & top them with vanilla icing
Add the tray of streusel cookies to the oven to bake for 12-14 minutes. When the cookies are right out of the oven, swirl them inside a large biscuit cutter to make them perfectly round.
Then, let cool completely on a wire rack.
Once cooled, make the icing by whisking together powdered sugar, vanilla bean paste, and plant-based milk.
Drizzle the vanilla icing onto the coffee cake cookies and let set for a few minutes. Then, serve & enjoy!
FAQ & Tips:
Can I make these streusel cookies gluten-free?
Definitely! Just use a gluten-free 1:1 all-purpose baking flour like this mix from Bob's Red Mill.
Please note- using flour alternatives like almond flour or coconut flour will not work as it's not a 1:1 substitution.
Can I make these cookies refined sugar-free?
I haven't tried it, but personally don't recommend it. Brown sugar and white cane sugar provide a lot of moisture to the cookies whereas a lot of sugar alternatives like coconut sugar and maple sugar are drier.
If you do use a sugar alternative, make sure it is granulated, and be prepared for the cookies to come out thicker and not quite as chewy.
How do I store crumb cake cookies?
Baked cookies can be stored in a closed container at room temperature for 1-2 days, in the fridge for 2-3 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. It's best to store them between sheets of parchment paper so they do not stick together.
I can't wait for you to try these Vegan Coffee Cake Cookies! With a spiced cookie base, streusel filling, and vanilla bean glaze- they are truly the most decadent & delicious crumb cake cookies. Enjoy!
-TSG
More vegan cookie recipes you will love:
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Vegan Coffee Cake Cookies
Ingredients
Spiced Cookies
- ½ cup vegan butter room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 flax egg 1 Tablespoon (8 grams) ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1 ½ cups+ 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Streusel Filling
- 7 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup vegan butter cold
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
Vanilla Icing:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon plant-based milk or water
Instructions
Make the cookie dough:
- Before starting, make the flax egg by mixing together the ground flaxseed and water. Set aside until thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the room temperature vegan butter, white sugar, and brown sugar to a mixing bowl. Then, use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy (about 2 minutes).
- Next, add the flax egg and vanilla bean paste to the bowl and mix together for about 30 seconds.
- Add in the all-purpose flour, cinnamon, cardamom, baking powder, and salt. Make sure to add the flour first and then add the other ingredients on top. Mix everything together until a thick cookie dough forms. The dough will start off crumbly, so keep mixing it until soft.
- Cover the bowl of dough with plastic wrap and add the bowl to the fridge to chill for 30 minutes- 1 hour. The dough can also be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.
Make the streusel filling:
- While the cookies are in the fridge, make the streusel filling. Add the flour, brown sugar, vegan butter, cinnamon, and cardamom to a food processor and pulse until you have a crumbly mixture that holds together. You can also do this step by hand and mash everything together with a fork.
- Set the streusel aside.
Assembling & baking 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 11 evenly-sized cookies. Roll each cookie dough ball between your palms to form a round ball. Then, place the spiced cookie dough balls onto the parchment-lined baking tray.
- Slightly press each dough ball down with your palm. Then, use your thumb to make an indent in the center of each cookie and use your fingers to spread the dough out and make the indent larger.
- Spoon about 1 Tablespoon of the streusel filling into the center of each cookie.
- Once filled, make sure the cookies are at least 2 inches apart on the baking tray as they will spread slightly while baking. Then, add the tray to the oven and bake the cookies for 13-15 minutes. It's important to not overbake the cookies for an ideal chewy texture, so do not bake any longer.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. If needed use a spoon to push the edges of the cookies into a rounder shape or swirl them inside a round biscuit cutter while they are still warm . Then, move the cookies to a wire rack to continue cooling.
Make the vanilla icing
- Once the cookies have cooled, make the icing. Whisk the powdered sugar, vanilla bean paste, and plant-based milk in a bowl. The icing should be thick and the ideal consistency is icing that slowly drips off a spoon. If needed, add more milk or powdered sugar to reach this consistency.
- Then, use a spoon or small whisk to drizzle the cookies with the vanilla icing. Let set a few minutes so the icing hardens. Then, dig in & enjoy these coffee cake cookies!
Notes
- Please see the blog post for more recipe tips & substitution suggestions.
- Baked cookies can be stored in a closed container at room temperature for 1-2 days, in the fridge for 2-3 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
- It's best to store cookies between sheets of parchment paper so they do not stick together.
- Recipe concept inspired by Kroll's Korner Coffee Cake Cookies
Holly says
Great recipe and super easy to follow. A hit with everyone!
Jacob says
One of the best cookie recipes I've had to date- loved the chewy texture.
Megan says
So glad you liked them!
Catalina says
Underwhelming flavor. The consistency of the dough and streusel were way off. The cookies were just meh. Probably not a repeat recipe for me.
Megan says
Sorry to hear they didn't work for you! If the consistency of the dough and streusel didn't look like the pictures, it's likely that you used too little or too much flour as this recipe has been made by many people successfully. I'd recommend baking all of my cookie recipes using the metric measurements to avoid this in the future.
Ga says
Hi. My question is can I use an vegan egg replacer instead of flax egg?
Megan says
Maybe- I haven't tested any others but it could work.
Brooke says
Amazing! I’m an avid baker and these cookies are probably the best cookie recipe I’ve made. My kids and husband agreed. I left out the cardamom because I didn’t have any on hand and they still were perfect. Will be making these frequently!
Megan says
So glad you liked them! 🙂
Miranda says
These were amazing!! Made them for work some regular and some gluten free. Consensus at work is YES! Next time I may try doing 1/2 the cardamom as nutmeg just to shake it up. Will definitely make these over and over again
Megan says
So happy you liked them- nutmeg is a great addition for the future!
Courtney says
Can the flax egg be subbed out for a real egg?
Megan says
Probably, but I don't test my recipes with eggs so I'm not sure.
Becca says
perfectly spiced and chewy. I was worried because my dough was a little crumbly but they still worked out nicely
Megan says
Glad they worked out well!! By change- did you measure the flour in grams? If not you may just have had a tiny bit too much flour in there if the dough was crumbly.