The recipe forMaple Pumpkin Spice Cookies in my book,Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook, is one that I reach for often. It produces tender, pillowy morsels with a rich infusion of pumpkin, warm hints of maple syrup, and the perfect accent of cinnamon and nutmeg.And that pumpkin cookies recipe makes a wonderful base for experimenting! A while back, I adapted it to make some amazing vegan sweet potato cookies.
And today, I’ve got a big update of my dairy-free sweet potato cookies recipe for you! It includes new photos (of my maple pumpkin spice cookies too!), recipe tips, and delicious variations.
Maple Pumpkin Spice Cookiesfrom my book,Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook
Vegan Sweet Potato Cookies with a“Tollhouse” texture
Like my original pumpkin cookie recipe, these sweet potato cookies have a warm infusion of maple syrup and are both dairy-free and egg-free. But I made cinnamon the star, swapped sweet potato for the pumpkin (you can use pumpkin in a pinch!), and changed a couple more ingredients to give these more of a “Tollhouse” texture.
Honestly, we couldn’t pick a favorite. Both recipes are unique, delicious, and perfect for holiday cookie exchanges. They’re also quite versatile. I’ve made different batches of the pumpkin cookies and these sweet potato cookies with a cinnamon sugar sprinkle (pictured below), pecan topper, and chocolate chips (pictured further down the page) thrown into the mix. All of those variations are included with the recipe below.
Vegan Sweet Potato Cookies with Cinnamon-Sugar Sprinkle
Recipe Tips: Vegan Sweet Potato Cookies
Moisture Variations of Sweet Potato or Pumpkin Puree
Sweet potato puree and pumpkin puree (canned and fresh cooked) can vary in moisture levels. This can effect how cake-like or thin and tender your cookies come out. They will be delicious either way, but the texture might turn out just a little different from my pictures.
High moisture can also cause the dough to be stickier. If it’s too sticky, even after refrigeration, you can stir in just a little more flour. I would start with just 1 tablespoon, and wouldn’t go any higher than 2 tablespoons. Too much flour can take away from the flavor and tenderness.
If your dough is too dry (perhaps you have some overly fluffy sweet potatoes!), just drizzle in a little more maple syrup. It provides moisture without greasiness and flavor without too much sweetness. Or you can add just a little splash of dairy-free milk beverage.
Choosing the Right Baking Oil for You
Coconut oil is my favorite for cookie baking because it adds a butter-like richness without the need for finicky dairy-free butters. If using coconut oil, be sure that all of your ingredients are at room temperature. I often refrigerate our maple syrup, which can cause the coconut oil to solidify into little chunks.
You can use your favorite baking oil instead of coconut oil. It doesn’t affect the flavor much at all, and still adds richness and tenderness. By neutral-tasting, I mean oil without a pronounced flavor. I like to use grapeseed oil, rice bran oil, or extra-light olive oil (not extra-virgin!). You can use other common baking oils like non-GMO canola oil or safflower oil.
Vegan Sweet Potato Cookies with Dairy-Free Chocolate Chips
Special Diet Notes: Vegan Sweet Potato Cookies
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan, and vegetarian.
I haven’t tested this recipe gluten-free, but it might work with your favorite gluten-free all-purpose flour blend. See the comments below for others who have made these into gluten-free sweet potato cookies.
4.6 from 8 reviews
Vegan Sweet Potato Cookies
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
These deliciously tender cookies are perfect for sharing this holiday season. The recipe is adapted from my Maple Pumpkin Spice Cookies recipe in Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook for Milk Allergies, Lactose Intolerance, and Casein-Free Living.
Author: Alisa Fleming
Serves: about 36 cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sweet potato puree (can sub pumpkin puree)
- 1 cup packed brown sugar (can sub coconut sugar for less sweet)
- ½ cup melted coconut oil or neutral-tasting baking oil
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the sweet potato, brown sugar, oil, maple syrup, and vanilla with a hand mixer or whisk until well combined.
- Gradually stir the flour mixture into the sweet potato mixture. The dough will be rather sticky.
- If time permits, refrigerate the dough for 1 hour to make it a bit more manageable. If using coconut oil, it will firm up quite well.
- Drop the dough by the heaping tablespoonful onto baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 teaspoons sugar and remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Evenly sprinkle the mixture on the cookie dough tops.
- Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, or until the tops take on a golden hue.
- Let cool on the baking sheets for 3 minutes before removing the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or put the cookies in plastic freezer bags and freeze to enjoy later.
Notes
Pecan Topper: I like the festive touch of pressing one half pecan into the top of each ball of dough before baking. The pecans toast up nicely.
Flavorful Add-ins: Fold ½ cup to 1 cup of cranberries, raisins, dairy-free chocolate chips, or chopped nuts into the dough after you stir in the dry ingredients.
Cinnamon-Sugar Sprinkle: In a small bowl, whisk together 2 teaspoons sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Sprinkle the mixture atop each ball of dough before baking.
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