These vegan vanilla wafers are so full of buttery vanilla flavor, you won't be able to stop reaching for more, guaranteed! They're my CopyCat version of commercial Nilla Wafers, made without eggs or dairy.
With this easy recipe, you'll have light buttery wafer cookies that are perfectly golden, crispy, and slightly chewy, every time. Perfect for vegan banana pudding.
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📖 Recipe Overview
- Easy to Make. This is a straightforward cookie recipe that bakers of any skill level can recreate.
- Flavorsome: You can really taste the vanilla in these cookies (we've added a decent dose of the stuff!), and they are incredibly buttery too.
- Crunchy and Light Consistency: They have a lovely crunch and are light and airy without being heavy. For crunchy cookies, they are best enjoyed in the first 2-3 days, after that, they will gradually become softer.
- No-Chill Cookie Dough. With around 10 minutes of prep time, they come together pretty quickly and you can have them ready in under half an hour, including baking time!
- Versatile. Besides tasting unreal on their own, they make a great vegan substitute for nilla wafers in dessert recipes. You can serve them with soft desserts like banana pudding, chocolate mousse, to decorate vanilla cake, or as a base for cheesecakes. I reckon they would also taste great in tiramisu.
- They're eggless, dairy-free, nut-free, and made without coconut.
🥛 Ingredients Needed
Here's everything you need to make vegan vanilla wafers recipe from scratch:
Ingredient Notes
- Aquafaba: Otherwise known as chickpea brine, this is the liquid part of canned chickpeas or other white legumes. It mimics the properties of egg whites and has a drying effect on cookies, making these delicious vegan nilla wafers nice and crisp! Aquafaba is also the secret ingredient in my vegan ladyfingers recipe.
- Vegan butter: This not only adds fat and richness to vegan wafers, but it also gives them a tonne of flavor. Make sure you go for vegan block butter, and not margarine from a tub as this has higher water content.
- Vanilla extract: Since this is the main flavor of these wafers, make sure you go for a good quality extract. Neilsen Massey pure vanilla extract and Taylor and Colledge vanilla bean extract are my favorite brands.
- Granulated sugar: Don't be tempted to skimp on the amount of sugar in the recipe, as it provides the cookies with structure as well as sweetness.
🥣 How To Make Vegan Vanilla Wafers
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
(1) Cream the vegan butter and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. You can also use a stand mixer.
(2) Slowly add the aquafaba while whisking to combine.
(3) Add the vanilla and whisk again until evenly mixed.
(4) Mix together the dry ingredients (plain flour, baking powder, and salt) and sift them into the bowl with the creamed butter and sugar.
(5) Add in the soy milk, and gently fold the ingredients together.
(6) Combine the ingredients until just mixed, don't be tempted to overmix the cookie dough.
(7) Transfer the cookie dough to a piping bag.
(8) Pipe even mounds of dough onto a cookie sheet, leaving 1.5-2 inches of space between each one (expect them to spread and double in size).
(9) Lastly, bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
📝 Recipe Tips
Don't leave the cookie batter sitting out at room temperature. If you need to make it in batches, chill the batter while you wait for the oven to free up. When left sitting out at room temp, the cookies tend to flatten a little more than otherwise.
Measure the recipe in grams. These homemade vanilla wafers have been carefully formulated to be crispy, light, and flavorsome. Grams are ALWAYS more accurate when it comes to measurements. Cups can vary vastly on the person using them, and even just a few grams out will throw off the ratios.
Half the recipe if you need less. This recipe makes a pretty big batch of cookies (between 90-120 depending on the size). If you need less like for making vegan banana pudding, for example, just half the ingredient quantities.
💬 FAQs
Unfortunately no, most conventional brands of vanilla wafers contain ingredients like eggs, whey, and other dairy-based additives.
They keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
🍪 More Vegan Cookies
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Description
Ingredients
- 100 g (3.53 oz) vegan butter, room temperature, *see notes
- 120 g (⅗ cup) granulated sugar, *see notes
- 40 ml (8 ¼ tsp) aquafaba, *see notes
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 170 g (1 ⅓ cups) plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon soy milk, or almond milk, or oat milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 175°C (347°F) and line the base of 2 large baking trays with a sheet of parchment paper. (You may need to bake them in batches if your trays are on the smaller side).
- Add the vegan butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Slowly pour in the aquafaba whilst whisking until combined. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Sift them into the bowl with the butter and sugar. Add in the soy milk. Stir the ingredients together using a spatula until just combined.
- Transfer the cookie dough to a piping bag and snip off the tip, or use a reusable piping bag with a medium tip. Pipe the dough onto the baking sheet in even mounds, about 1 teaspoon in volume for small wafers, or 1.5 teaspoons for larger wafers. Make sure you leave 1.5-2 inches of space around each mound. If you have any batter left over after filling the trays, place it in the fridge until ready to bake.
- Bake until they are evenly golden brown, then remove from the oven and let them sit on the baking tray to cool for about 5 minutes. Next, carefully slide the sheet of parchment paper with the cookies off of the tray and onto a cooling rack. Cool for another 15-20 minutes until they reach room temperature before serving.
Storage
- Store these cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to a week. They can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Vegan butter: Take this out of the fridge to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour. Make sure you use vegan block butter NOT spreadable butter from a tub.
- Some white sugar in the US is not vegan, if in doubt use organic sugar.
- Aquafaba: This is the brine from a can of tinned chickpeas.
- Don't leave the cookie batter sitting out at room temperature. If you need to make it in batches, chill the batter while you wait for the oven to free up.
- This recipe makes a pretty big batch of cookies (between 90-120 depending on the size). If you need less like for making vegan banana pudding, just half the ingredient quantities.
Nutrition
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