Soft, puffy, melt-in-your-mouth drop sugar cookies, but now made without vegetable oil! These Coconut Oil Amish Sugar Cookies are still rich with butter, but instead of vegetable oil, they’re made with heart-healthy coconut oil. The same Amish Sugar Cookies flavor and texture that you know and love!
I got such a nice comment yesterday on the recipe for Amish Sugar Cookies, and it reminded me that I made this version of Coconut Oil Amish Sugar Cookies, but still hadn’t posted them.
A reader left such a nice comment about those original Amish Sugar Cookies, and she mentioned how versatile they are, and how a single batch produces a ton of cookies, and all of that is true. Those cookies are maybe one of the most versatile recipes I’ve ever found, and I love that it makes a ton of cookies, but is pretty minimal work.
From that basic recipe for Amish Sugar Cookies, I’ve made….. Iced Almond Amish Sugar Cookies, Toasted Coconut Amish Sugar Cookies, and Iced Lemon Amish Sugar Cookies. So far…
(Updated August 2018: I’ve now also made Iced Orange Amish Sugar Cookies and Thin Crispy Amish Sugar Cookies!)
But she also described them as a cross between sugar cookies and shortbread, and you know what, that’s an excellent way to characterize Amish Sugar Cookies! They’re soft and puffy, with crispy edges, and they melt in your mouth. They’re very buttery and tender.
They’re not as saccharine as classic sugar cookies, which can almost be grainy with sugar, so they’re a great cookie to frost or ice too since they’re not over-the-top sweet.
I’ve always described them as cutout cookies but in drop cookie form. They’re a fraction of the work of a cutout cookie, but you get such similar flavor and texture.
So to summarize all those descriptions: if you like sugar cookies, cutouts, OR shortbread, you’ll like Amish Sugar Cookies because they share characteristics of ALL of those. I don’t know… they’re amazing. They’re pretty much universally loved!
A lot of readers asked about substituting coconut oil for the vegetable oil to get Coconut Oil Amish Sugar Cookies. The inquirers were okay with real butter (versus margarine) in a recipe, but did not want to use vegetable oil. I totally get this – my S.O. is a purist about what ‘fats’ he likes to consume, and he avoids margarine, vegetable oil, corn oil, and a few others.
I made these Coconut Oil Amish Sugar Cookies, simply subbing the coconut oil for vegetable oil, and I wanted to see what result I got from that one and only tweak. They were identical to original Amish Sugar Cookies. It changed NOTHING about the texture or flavor to make Coconut Oil Amish Sugar Cookies.
There’s A LOT of coconut oils out on the market these days though, and I tried a few in this recipe. I can’t say for sure that every single coconut oil would work in these Coconut Oil Amish Sugar Cookies, but I think that most will. If you can find liquid coconut oil, that’s great. LouAna makes a good one that’s readily accessible in grocery stores. I also tried Spectrum coconut oil, in a solid form, and I melted it just to the point of liquid, about 10-15 seconds in the microwave.
You may detect a super mild coconut flavor in the cookies, but for me, it was barely perceptible, which is nice if you are planning to make these in a variety of flavors, and you don’t want coconut to be overpowering!
If you want to avoid vegetable oil, these Coconut Oil Amish Sugar Cookies will be as amazing as original Amish Sugar Cookies!
I’ve been asked about an eggless version of these too, and eek…. I have no idea if that will work, but I’ll try, and I’ll get back to you. 🙂
Coconut Oil Amish Sugar Cookies
Soft, puffy, melt-in-your-mouth drop sugar cookies, but now made without vegetable oil! These Coconut Oil Amish Sugar Cookies are still rich with butter, but instead of vegetable oil, they're made with heart-healthy coconut oil. The same Amish Sugar Cookies flavor and texture that you know and love!
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut oil
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. cream of tartar
Instructions
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In a small microwave-safe bowl, heat the coconut oil (if using solid) for 10 seconds - that's it. It only takes about 10 seconds to liquify. It should NOT be hot. Just liquid form and tepid.
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In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, coconut oil, and sugars until combined.
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Beat in eggs and extracts.
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In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
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Gradually add flour mixture to the mixing bowl, beating until just combined after each addition. Do not overmix.
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Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
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Drop dough by small teaspoonfuls onto baking sheets. The rounder you drop the dough, the taller and puffier the cookie! This helps them also have softer texture, and then there's less crispier 'edge'!
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Bake at 375 for 8-11 minutes, or until edges and bottoms are lightly browned.
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Remove to wire racks to cool.
Recipe Notes
You can use liquid or solid coconut oil. If using solid, you'll need to 'melt' it *just* to liquid form. You do not want it to be more than tepid - just reach the point of liquid form. That is included in the recipe instructions!
These are good for at least a week, but best within the first 3 days. After 3 days, they get crumbly and a bit on the drier side - still a delicious cookie though.
These freeze really well! Iced or plain, they freeze beautifully.
I've made these Amish Sugar Cookies in a number of variations - Iced Almond Cookies, and Iced Lemon Amish Sugar Cookies!
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