Vegan mandarin cookies are delightfully crunchy and made with blended mandarins instead of eggs, and vegetable margarine instead of butter. The dough, easy to prepare by hand or with a mixer, is soft and easy to work with. For optimal rolling, I recommend using a lightly floured parchment paper before cutting out the desired shapes. I chose a heart shape, but you can opt for whatever you prefer. If you want an extra touch of sweetness, add a sprinkle of granulated sugar on the dough before baking.
These cookies, although vegan, also win over those who follow an omnivorous diet. Perfect to enjoy on their own, they are ideal as a snack to take to school or work and are great for dunking in a cup of tea or warm milk.
Before moving on to the recipe, I also remind you of other delicious vegan dessert suggestions
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 50 cookies
- Cooking methods: Oven, Electric Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 53.25 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 9.18 (g) of which sugars 2.70 (g)
- Proteins 0.77 (g)
- Fat 1.77 (g) of which saturated 0.42 (g)of which unsaturated 1.22 (g)
- Fibers 0.22 (g)
- Sodium 13.71 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 16 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 mandarins (blended)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable margarine
- 1 tsp baking powder
- as needed all-purpose flour (to dust work surface)
Tools
- Cookie Cutter
- 1 Immersion Blender
Preparation
Peel the mandarins and blend them with a mixer, even an immersion blender will work fine. In a bowl, mix the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and sugar. Gradually add the blended mandarins and start mixing, then slowly incorporate the soft margarine at room temperature. Mix everything well, then transfer the dough onto a work surface and continue kneading by hand until you get a smooth and compact dough.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured parchment paper. With a rolling pin, also floured, work it until it reaches a thickness of about 1/4 inch. If you want sweeter cookies, you can sprinkle the surface with a bit of granulated sugar before cutting them, but this step is optional.
Cut the cookies with a cookie cutter of your choice; I chose a heart shape. Place them on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 15 minutes, until the base is golden. At this point, turn off the oven: if you prefer cookies with a soft center, take them out immediately; if you want them crunchier, let them cool inside the turned-off oven. Now, just enjoy them!
NOTES
These cookies are delicious both on their own and dipped in hot beverages. If properly stored in airtight cookie tins, they will maintain their crunchiness for several days.
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