Brown Sugar Nutmeg Cookies
A weeknight-friendly vegetarian built around cream of tartar and vegetable shortening — roughly 60 minutes start to finish, and rated medium to make. You'll find the full ingredient list (with a scaler to change the servings), 7 steps of method, substitutions, and ideas for what to serve alongside.
You'll mainly reach for oven and whisk. At medium difficulty across 7 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, it's meat-free.
What you'll need
Shopping list (2)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
🔁 Unit converter
How to make it
- Preheat the oven to 190C (375F) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, nutmeg and salt until evenly combined, then set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the shortening and brown sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then beat in the egg and vanilla until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture in two batches, mixing on low speed just until a soft dough forms; do not overmix.
- Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls and space them about 5 cm apart on the prepared sheets, then flatten each slightly with the bottom of a glass.
- Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until the edges are set and lightly golden but the centers still look soft.
- Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
You'll use: Oven · Whisk · Mixer · Baking sheet
Ingredient substitutions
- Brown Sugar
- white sugar + 1 tbsp molasses per cup
- Eggs
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce (baking) · 1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water per egg
Tips & common questions
How long does Brown Sugar Nutmeg Cookies take to make?
About 60 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 7 steps and 9 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of brown sugar?
Try white sugar + 1 tbsp molasses per cup. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is Brown Sugar Nutmeg Cookies vegetarian?
Its ingredients contain no meat or fish, so it's suitable for vegetarians. Check any cheeses for animal rennet if that matters to you.
Related recipes
Brown Sugar Nutmeg Cookies is an original recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Oatmeal Raisin Cookie.jpeg by Vegan Feast Catering from Oceanside, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top — how we source recipes.