Vegan Butterbeer Cookies
These vegan butterbeer cookies are filled with a cream soda based butterscotch caramel sauce. I made sure that you’ll have cream soda left for sipping – the ultimate butterbeer experience!
Flavor Notes
Cream Soda | Cashew | Butterscotch
Pairing Suggestions
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PSA. Universal’s Wizarding World theme parks are now offering vegan butterbeer! Prior to this year, plant-based potter fans had to sacrifice the foam topping to keep the drink vegan. I simply had to create these butterbeer inspired thumbprint cookies to celebrate! Accio butterbeer!
What to Expect
Quick and easy butterscotch sauce
Puffy, moist, and chewy cookies
Leftover cream soda for drinking
How to Make Vegan Butterbeer Cookies
Step 1: dry roast the cashews and blitz into cashew butter (or use store-bought cashew butter!)
Step 2: fold the dry ingredients into the wet
Step 3: make the butterscotch sauce
Step 4: bake and fill the cookies
Step 5: choose a potter film to watch and enjoy!
Ingredients
Cashews: these get dry roasted and blended and give the cookie dough its color, structure, and flavor! If you choose to use store-bought, I recommend the trader joe’s brand!
Cane sugar: the standard sweetener, nothing fancy here. To keep it fully vegan, be sure to choose a certified organic brand, because some brands process sugar using animal bone char.
Vegan butter: instead of waiting for the butter to soften, we’re browning the butter in a saucepan – this gives a warm, nuttier flavor profile to our cookie dough. The rest of the butter in this recipe is used to make the butterscotch caramel (also on the stove).
Plant milk: to give the dough just enough moisture to stick together. Any variety will work here. If you don’t have plant milk, unsweetened applesauce will work, too.
Vanilla: for the neutral, warm, cozy flavor we associate with baked goods.
Flour: just a few tablespoons of all-purpose flour is enough to keep a chewy center and crispy edges.
Baking soda: for a gentle dome just tall enough to leave room to make a thumbprint divet in the center after baking
Salt: table salt adds flavor to the dough and flaky sea salt is an optional (but highly recommended) finishing touch!
Cream soda: this is the key ingredient, and I made sure that you’ll have plenty leftover to drink while you bake! If you visit the universal theme park, you might find their (super-sweet) version of butterbeer tastes very similar to cream soda. The cream soda component of the butterscotch sauce makes it appear translucent and, of course, gives it that classic butterbeer flavor!
Lyles Golden Syrup: it may be hard to find in America, but it truly makes the recipe shine! You can substitute agave or another liquid sweetener, but the BEST option for the intended flavor profile will come from this British staple. You can order Lyles Golden Syrup here.
Expert Tips
Chill Time: No matter how tempting it may be, do not skip the refrigeration step! It only takes 15 minutes (minimum), but this brief resting time is essential to develop a stronger texture and to prevent over-spreading while baking.
Cookware: Use a non-stick pan to make the butterscotch caramel and keep a close eye on it. I would not recommend multi-tasking during this step. The last thing you want is burnt caramel stuck to your pan.
FAQs
Recipe
Vegan Butterbeer Cookies
Equipment
- 1 Nonstick saucepan
- 1 Baking sheet
- 1 Parchment paper or silipat mat
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- ½ cup cashew butter
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 TBSP vegan browned butter, cooled
- 2 TBSP applesauce or plant milk
- ½ tsp vanilla
- 3 TBSP AP flour (GF: bob's red mill 1:1 gluten free baking blend)
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ tsp baking soda
Cream Soda Caramel
- 3 TBSP cream soda
- 2 TBSP vegan butter
- 3 TBSP Lyle's Golden Syrup (sub corn syrup, agave, or honey – see note)*
Instructions
Cookie Dough
- Beat sugar with cashew butter and browned butter until light and fluffy, no more than one minute.
- Add remaining wet ingredients (applesauce OR plant milk, vanilla) and whisk to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda)
- Fold the dry into the wet ingredients to form a wet dough. Shape the dough into one lump mass at the bottom of the mixing bowl.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Pop the dough in the fridge to chill while the oven preheats and you prepare the caramel sauce.
Cream Soda Caramel
- In a non-stick saucepan over medium high heat, combine the butter, cream soda, and liquid sweetener of choice.
- Do not stir until the mixture starts to form large bubbles.
- When big bubbles start to form, stir with a whisk and maintain the heat level while whisking constantly for 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Let the sauce to cool at room temperature directly in the pan. ***make absolutely sure this is a non-stick pan***
Shape and Bake
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat.
- Using a 2 TSBP scoop or your best judgement, roll 12 balls of dough and place 2-3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 350℉ or until the bottom edges start to darken.
- Immediately after removing from the oven, use a rounded item to create a shallow, round well in the center of each cookie. Fill the wells with your mostly-cooled cream soda caramel.
- Sprinkling with sea salt is optional but highly recommended. Accio cookies!
Notes
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