Looking for an easy vegan Halloween recipe? These adorable vegan Halloween cookies are soft, chewy oatmeal cookies topped with a silky cashew frosting and decorated with spooky little faces. They're a healthier treat, naturally gluten-free, and perfect for your Halloween parties.
Halloween: you either love it or don't care that much for it. Some people go all out with their costumes, decorations and treats. I have to admit I've never been one to do that.
That being said, I still like to add a bit of spookiness to my life as October 31st approaches. That can be as simple as draping a 'spider web' across my window, or cooking and baking something with a Halloween twist. It's usually the latter, because I'm always on the lookout for new excuses to eat cookies, chocolate and cake.
I wanted to create a vegan Halloween cookie recipe that's on the healthier side. Of course, I'm all about indulging in 'unhealthy' treats for special occasions, but I also prefer using minimally processed, quality ingredients whenever possible. The base cookies need just 8 simple ingredients and one bowl's worth of effort, and the hardest part of the cashew coconut frosting is remembering to soak the cashews the night before. After decorating, the end result is both adorably spooky and delicious!
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Rolled oats. Old-fashioned oats give these cookies their hearty, chewy texture, and there's no flour at all. Use certified gluten-free rolled oats if you're baking for anyone with celiac disease. Quick oats work in a pinch but make a softer, more cake-like cookie. Avoid steel-cut oats, which won't soften in the short bake time.
- Ground flaxseed. A couple of teaspoons of ground flaxseed helps bind the dough the way an egg would. Ground chia seeds are an easy swap.
- Maple syrup. It sweetens both the cookies and the frosting. Agave or brown rice syrup can stand in, though maple adds the coziest flavor.
- Natural peanut butter. Use the runny, stir-it-yourself kind so it mixes easily into the dough. Almond butter, cashew butter or (for a nut-free cookie) sunflower seed butter all work the same way.
- Plant-based milk and apple cider vinegar. Any unsweetened non-dairy milk is fine; I like homemade almond milk. The vinegar reacts with the baking soda to give the cookies a little lift.
- Raw cashews. Soaked raw cashews blend into an incredibly creamy, neutral-tasting frosting. Don't use roasted or salted cashews; they won't get as smooth.
- Coconut milk. Canned full-fat coconut milk makes the richest frosting. Reduced-fat coconut milk works too; the frosting will just be a little softer.
- Decorations. Banana coins make perfect eyes, dairy-free chocolate chips become pupils and noses, red currants look like tiny drops of blood, and slivers of vegan dark chocolate turn into spider legs. Raspberries or pomegranate seeds can replace the currants.
Helpful Tips
Soak the cashews ahead of time. Soaking overnight gives the smoothest frosting. If you forget, cover the cashews with boiling water and let them sit for 15 to 20 minutes, then drain and rinse. A food processor or high-speed blender works best; stop and scrape down the sides a few times.
Fix a crumbly dough. Because there's no flour, the dough relies on the peanut butter and flax to hold together. If your cookies are crumbling, add an extra tablespoon of peanut butter. For an even sturdier cookie, pulse about a third of the oats into a coarse flour before mixing.
Shape with damp hands. The dough is sticky, so wet your hands before rolling it into balls, then press each one into a round about ½ inch thick on a sheet lined with parchment paper. The cookies barely spread, so the shape you make is the shape you get.
Let them cool before frosting. Warm cookies will melt the cashew frosting and make it slide off. Give them at least 15 minutes on the tray, or pop the frosting in the fridge while you wait so it firms up a little.
Decorate just before serving. How you decorate these is entirely up to you, and you can skip it entirely if spookiness isn't one of your concerns. Banana slices brown after a few hours, so add them last, and brush them with a little lemon juice if you're decorating ahead.
Variations
- Colored frosting. Tint the cashew frosting with natural colors: a pinch of turmeric or a spoonful of pumpkin puree for orange, a spoonful of black cocoa powder for a dark, witchy gray, butterfly pea powder for purple, or spirulina for monster green.
- Ghost cookies. Spread the white frosting in a wavy ghost shape and add two chocolate chip eyes and a small oval mouth. That's it: instant ghosts.
- Mummy cookies. Pipe thin, crisscrossing lines of frosting across each cookie, leaving a gap for two chocolate chip eyes, just like our Halloween mummy brownies.
- Pumpkins and bats. Before baking, shape the dough into pumpkins with a small stem, or press it into a cookie cutter to make bats and cats. Chill the shaped dough for 10 minutes so the edges stay sharp.
- Chocolate cookie base. Swap 2 tablespoons of the oats for cocoa powder to make dark, spooky cookies, or try our cute chocolate Halloween cookies for a fudgier option.
- Pumpkin spice. Add 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice to the dough for a cozy fall flavor.
Serving Ideas
These cookies are made for a Halloween party platter. Arrange them on a large wooden board or a black tray and fill the gaps with orange clementines, red grapes, popcorn and a few extra chocolate chips. A bowl of leftover cashew frosting in the middle makes a great dip for apple slices and pretzels. For a bigger spread, add caramel popcorn balls and a few other treats from our sweet and spooky Halloween desserts round-up.
They're also a fun, low-mess activity for kids. Bake the cookies ahead, set out bowls of frosting and toppings, and let everyone build their own monster, spider or ghost. Serve them with a warm vegan pumpkin spice latte or mulled apple cider for the grown-ups. And if there are any leftovers (I'd be surprised!), they make a pretty great breakfast.
Storing & Freezing
Because of the cashew frosting and fresh fruit, frosted cookies need to be kept in the fridge. Store them in a single layer in an airtight container, or loosely covered with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days. Unfrosted cookies keep at room temperature in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days, and the frosting keeps separately in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 5 days.
For longer storage, freeze the plain baked cookies in a freezer bag for up to 3 months, and freeze the frosting separately in an airtight container. Thaw both overnight in the fridge (or the cookies for about 30 minutes on the counter), stir the frosting until smooth, then frost and decorate. Don't freeze decorated cookies; the banana and currants turn mushy once thawed.
More Halloween Recipes
If you love these vegan Halloween cookies, here are a few more spooky treats you might enjoy:
- Sweet & Spooky Halloween Desserts
- Vegan Pecan Pumpkin Shake from The Ghoulish Gourmet
- Halloween Oreo Pops
- Crazy Easy One Bowl Pumpkin Bread
- Spooky Vegan Halloween Treats
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 2.5 cups gluten-free rolled oats, 250g
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon ground flaxseed
- 5 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2.5 tablespoon natural peanut butter, the runny kind!
- 3 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk, or any other plant based milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
For the cashew frosting
- 2 cups Raw Cashews, 200g, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup coconut milk, 118ml
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
To decorate (as desired)
- banana, sliced into coins
- red currants
- dairy-free chocolate chips
- chopped dark chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the rolled oats, baking soda, baking powder and ground flaxseed. In a separate bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, peanut butter and plant-based milk until smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients and the apple cider vinegar into the dry ingredients. Mix with a spoon or your hands until everything is well combined and the dough holds together when pressed. With damp hands, roll the dough into 10 even balls, place them on the baking sheet and flatten each into a round about ½ inch (1 cm) thick. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown at the edges.
- Meanwhile, make the frosting: add the drained cashews, coconut milk and maple syrup to a food processor or high-speed blender and blend until very smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. If it's too thick to blend, add another tablespoon of coconut milk. Chill until needed.
- Let the cookies cool on the tray for at least 15 minutes (they firm up as they cool). Spread each one generously with cashew frosting, then decorate: banana coins topped with chocolate chips for eyes, a chocolate chip or red currant nose, and thin slivers of chopped dark chocolate for spider legs. Serve right away, or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Something to say? Leave a comment.