Healthy vegan sugar cookies made with coconut oil and beautifully colored pink naturally from beets! Gluten-free beet cookies you can feel good about eating and pretty enough for Valentine’s Day!
Since it is almost Valentine’s Day I thought I would give you a pretty pink healthy cookie to enjoy and give to your loves! These healthy sugar cookies are vegan and really easy to make in a blender in less than 20 minutes!
Over the Christmas holiday when we were visiting my sister I really wanted make sure we made our traditional cut out cookies to decorate. I wanted them to be red and asked my sister what she thought if we tried to use beets as a natural dye in place of food coloring. She’s all about trying my crazy concoctions – and so the birth of these healthy beet cookies was created!
Can I use raw or roasted beets in these cookies
Preferably roasted beets. Instead of just using beet juice, I decided to use the whole roasted beet to add extra nutritional value to our sweet treats! Make sure when making these healthy sugar cookies to roast the beets first and then remove the skins. For convenience, you can also purchase them already roasted at your local grocery store. If you use raw beets it may add chunks to the dough and that – in my opinion- will not be as aesthetically pleasing:-)
I made these beet cookies with pre-made roasted beets from a store close to my sister’s house, and also get them from Trader Joe’s. If you can’t find them already roasted you can easily roast them by covering them in foil and baking at 400 degrees F. for about 30-45 minutes (depending how large the beets are). You will know when they are done if they are soft in the center when poked with a fork. Let the roasted beets cool for a bit then remove the skins before using.
These base of these cookies is similar to these vegan gluten free sugar cookies only there is more flour to compensate for the extra liquid from the vegetable.
Guess what else?
The icing is also vegan and naturally colored with beet juice!
Yes!
How to make natural dyed icing? It’s super easy if you have colorful vegetables and fruits on hand. To make this royal cookie icing combine 1 cup of confectioners sugar with 1 tablespoon of cassava fructose free sweetener (or light corn syrup) and 1 tablespoon of coconut milk. Then drip in a few drops or about 1 teaspoon of beet juice from the roasted beets. Mix it really well even though it will be super thick for a while. Eventually if you mix it enough it will turn into a beautiful silky light pink icing.
You might be wondering what Cassava sweetener is. It is a new sugar that has no artificial sweeteners in it and is naturally made from Cassava root, also known as tapioca. It has a similar consistency as corn syrup or honey (only it is slightly not as thick) which can be used it in its place.
Over the years I have developed a more plant based diet and try to avoid dairy and animal products as much as possible. Eggs I love to eat but mostly I love that these beet cookies are so easy to whip up! Not to mention I can eat the cookie dough while doing so:-)
What do these beauties taste like?
- Super Soft
- Extraordinarily Fluffy
- Moist
- Naturally Sweet
If you want a crispier cookie bake them a bit longer (details in the recipe). We love these fun and healthy sugar cookies for Valentine’s Day and I know you will too!
Here are a few more of my favorite vegan sugar cookies:
- Grain-Free Vegan Sugar Cookies
- Healthy Christmas Sugar Cookies (naturally colored with spinach!)
- Vegan Sugar Cookie Truffles