The soft & chewy Vegan Grapefruit Sugar Cookies are made in one bowl and only require 10 ingredients. Plus, they are topped with the best 2-ingredient grapefruit icing for a perfectly tart & sweet grapefruit cookie recipe!
These Grapefruit Sugar Cookies are the newest addition to SGTOs sugar cookies. It all started back in April 2020 with my famous Lemon Sugar Cookies and now we have over 12 unique cookies on the blog including Chamomile Cookies, Orange Cardamom Cookies, and Coconut Lime Cookies!
Like all of my sugar cookie recipes, these are perfectly chewy, soft, & packed with flavor!
Ingredients:
Ingredient notes:
- Vegan butter: I used Country Crock olive oil butter for these cookies, but earth balance buttery sticks are another favorite of mine to bake with.
- Powdered sugar: Is only needed if you're making the grapefruit glaze. Otherwise, you can omit it!
- Ground flaxseed: This is NOT a flax egg. It is just ground flaxseed which we mix with the grapefruit juice in place of water like a normal flax egg. For this reason, eggs cannot be substituted for the ground flaxseed in this recipe.
How to make grapefruit cookies
Like my Vegan Grapefruit Cake, these cookies will turn anyone into a grapefruit dessert lover!
Cream butter, sugar, and grapefruit zest
The first thing to do is cream together the vegan butter, sugar, and grapefruit zest. Creaming butter with sugar gives these cookies a fluffier soft texture. Just make sure to set aside 2 Tablespoons of the sugar for later!
Plus, the best way to incorporate flavor into cookies is by mixing the zest with the fat which is why we add the grapefruit zest at this point.
Add in ground flaxseed & grapefruit juice
Next, add in the ground flaxseed and fresh grapefruit juice. Just remember, this is NOT a flax egg. In place of the typical water used in a flax egg we are using grapefruit juice to give these grapefruit cookies tons of flavor.
Add in dry ingredients & mix
As a final step to making the grapefruit cookie dough, add in the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix into a thick dough.
Fun fact, but I actually tested these grapefruit cookies with a mix of baking powder and baking soda and liked the version with just baking powder better. Using baking soda let to flatter chewier cookies, but it also removed a lot of the grapefruit flavor.
If you want flatter cookies with less grapefruit flavor, you can use a mix of ¼ teaspoon baking powder and ¼ teaspoon baking soda instead of the ½ teaspoon baking powder.
Chill the grapefruit cookie dough
After mixing the dough will be pretty sticky. That's reason number one why I recommend chilling the dough for 30 minutes-1 hour in the fridge. It just makes it easier to scoop!
The second reason is it actually makes these cookies sweeter as the sugar will absorb some of the moisture during this chill time. I promise it's worth the wait!
Roll cookies in sugar
After chilling the dough, remove it from the fridge and roll it into 10 cookie dough balls. Then, roll the cookie dough balls in the sugar that was set aside until it's coated. This gives the cookie that desirable crinkle texture!
Add to tray & bake cookies
Add the cookie dough balls to a parchment-lined baking tray and bake for 11-13 minutes until the cookies are just cooked.
The cookies will be slightly underbaked in the very center when removed from the oven but will continue cooking on the tray after they are out of the oven. Slightly undertaking cookies is crucial to get that chewy texture!
Top with grapefruit icing
While this step is completely optional, I decided to top these cookies with a grapefruit glaze. It's really simple to make and just a mixture of powdered sugar and fresh grapefruit juice.
The key to a good glaze is to make it really thick! That way it doesn't just dissolve into the cookies and can harden.
FAQ & tips:
Definitely- just use a 1:1 baking flour like Bob's Red Mill. Please keep in mind that substituting flour alternatives like almond or coconut flour will NOT work in this recipe as it isn't a 1:1 substitution.
I really don't recommend it as it will affect the spread and texture of the cookies. Sugars like coconut or maple tend to be drier than cane sugar which means the cookies will be less moist and likely spread less if using a different sugar.
If you do try this recipe with a sugar alternative, just keep this in mind and you will want to skip the step of rolling the cookies in sugar before baking.
Cookies can be stored in a closed container at room temperature for 3-4 days. They can also be frozen for up to 1 month and just need to defrost at room temperature before eating. Cookies can also be stored in a closed container in the fridge and will keep up to 2 weeks, but it will make them less chewy.
These soft & chewy Vegan Grapefruit Cookies are the perfect cookie for any occasion and make the best grapefruit dessert recipe. Enjoy!
-TSG
More vegan cookie recipes you will love:
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Vegan Grapefruit Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Grapefruit Cookies
- ½ cup vegan butter
- ½ cup+ 2 Tablespoons sugar ½ cup for dough, 2 Tablespoons for rolling before baking
- 2 teaspoons grapefruit zest
- 2 Tablespoons grapefruit juice
- 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 cup+ 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt *use ½ teaspoon if using unsalted butter
Grapefruit glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar sifted
- 1 Tablespoon grapefruit juice
Instructions
Make the grapefruit cookies
- First add the butter, ½ cup sugar, and grapefruit zest to a bowl and cream together until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Then, add in the grapefruit juice, vanilla, and ground flax and mix together.
- Next, add the sifted flour, baking powder, and salt to the mixing bowl. Mix until a smooth and thick cookie batter forms. Do not overmix or else you will form too much gluten and the cookies will not spread as much and be tough.
- Add the bowl of grapefruit cookie dough to the fridge, cover, and let chill for 30 minutes- 1 hour.
- Cover a baking sheet in parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350F. Next, remove the dough from the fridge and use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to form your cookie dough (40 grams per cookie of dough).
- Roll into balls between your palms and then roll in the 2 tablespoon of sugar that was set aside so that each dough ball is coated.
- Place the grapefruit sugar cookie dough balls onto the baking sheet. If you want flatter cookies, you can lightly press the dough down with your palm. 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 through but has slightly soft centers. The cookies will continue baking after they are removed from the oven so the centers should still be soft, but not glossy or raw, when they are removed from the oven.
- 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 5-10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Make the grapefruit glaze:
- While the cookies are cooling, make the grapefruit glaze by adding the powdered sugat to a small bowl.. Then, add in the grapefruit juice andmix together until a thick glaze forms.
- Drizzle the glaze onto completely cooled cookies. Then, let it sit fot 5 minutes to set and enjoy!
Notes
- For round cookies, swirl the warm cookies between a round pastry/cookie cutter while the cookies are still warm.
- Cookies can be stored on the counter at room temperature for 3-4 days. They can also be frozen for up to 1 month and just need to defrost at room temperature before eating.
- Cookies can also be stored in a closed container in the fridge and will keep up to 2 weeks, but it will make them less chewy.
- If you are making smaller cookies, please adjust the cooking time, likely to 10-11 minutes. For larger cookies you'll need to increase the cooking time.
Shonna says
These are delicious! The grapefruit flavor is subtle yet bright and they are the perfect amount of sweetness. Even my husband who isn’t a huge grapefruit fan enjoyed them! Definitely going into my regular cookie rotation.
Megan says
So glad you both loved them!
Ginger says
Made these for our family Memorial Day cook out. Delicious! Even my grapefruit hating husband loved them! Thank you!
Megan says
Love to hear that! Grapefruit in desserts truly is the best 🙂
Pat Markley says
Can I use an egg in place of the flaxseed.
Megan says
No egg would not work in this recipe as we're not using a standard egg replacement here