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My unicorn cookies are soft, chewy, and full of vibrant colors! They’re made with only 4 ingredients and need no eggs, dairy, OR flour!
Need more no-bake cookie recipes? Try my no-bake chocolate chip cookies, fudge cookies, and coconut snowball cookies next.
When I need a quick and colorful dessert for unicorn birthday parties (which, surprisingly, doesn’t happen often), I make my unicorn sugar cookies.
Made with four simple ingredients, they’re the perfect balance of chewy yet cakey, with a sweet maple flavor and, of course, sprinkles!
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- A no-bake recipe. Instead, coconut flour and cashew butter give these cookies a soft and cakey bite.
- Perfect for getting the kids involved. Since there’s no oven or raw eggs involved, the kids can basically make these cookies all by themselves. Plus, what kid doesn’t love rainbow sprinkles?!
- No decorations needed. All the festivity comes from the abundance of sprinkles.
- Made with 4 ingredients. And they’re all easy to customize if you don’t have them on hand.
Ingredients needed
- Coconut flour. My preferred no-bake flour, as it absorbs moisture and gives the cookies a uniquely cakey texture that’s hard to replicate.
- Cashew butter. Smooth cashew butter with no added sugar or salt. I tested a few varieties, and the ‘natural’ nut butters all made the cookie dough too thick.
- Maple syrup. Sweetens the cookies and helps hold them together.
- Rainbow sprinkles. Optional, but adds a pop of color. Use rainbow sprinkles so they don’t bleed into the batter.
How to make unicorn cookies
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Prep. Line a baking tray or large plate with parchment paper.
Step 2- Mix. In a large mixing bowl, combine the coconut flour, cashew butter, and maple syrup. Fold in the sprinkles. If the consistency is too thin, add more coconut flour. If it’s too thick, add milk or water as needed.
Step 3- Shape and chill. Using a cookie scoop, form small cookie dough balls and place them on the baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until firm.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Use an electric mixer. If you have one, I find it’s quicker than mixing by hand. Just keep it at low speed so the dough doesn’t get overmixed.
- Cashew butter too thick? Pop it in the microwave with a dash of coconut oil.
- Swap the cashew butter. Use any nut butter, like peanut butter or almond butter. For a nut-free recipe, use tahini.
- Reserve some sprinkles to place on top of the cookies.
Variations
- Add more color! When I want to make a splash, I divide the dough into three small bowls, add a few drops of gel food coloring to each, and mix until combined. When you go to scoop the dough, take equal portions of all three to make one colorful cookie.
- Use cookie cutters. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough, then cut it into cute shapes. Bonus points if you find a unicorn cookie cutter!
- Play around with mix-ins. Like chopped-up candy buttons or chocolate chips.
Storage instructions
To store: Store leftover cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one month.
To freeze: Place the cookies in a freezer-safe container and freeze them for up to six months.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, if you’d rather use blanched almond flour, use double the amount as you would coconut flour (since coconut flour is more absorbent).
More colorful sweet treats to try
Unicorn Cookies
Video
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup coconut flour * See notes
- 2 cups cashew butter can sub for any nut or seed butter of choice
- 1/2 cup maple syrup can use any sticky sweetener
- 1-2 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Line a baking tray or large plate with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add your coconut flour. Add your cashew butter and pure maple syrup and mix until combined. Stir through your sprinkles. If batter is too thin, add more coconut flour until a thick batter remains. If batter is too thick, add some milk or water until a thick batter remains.
- Using your hands, form small balls and place onto the parchment paper. Press each ball into a cookie shape. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to firm up.
Love the no bake recipes.
Those sound really good and plus my cousin loves unicorns. I think though you should have icing and make eyes a nose and a mouth. And have some yellow icing for a horn.
Can I try it with coconut butter or would it be too dry?
It will probably be a little too thick to shape.
Can we use normal flour butter and honey to make these?
Provided you heat treat the flour first.
Love the no bake recipes.
Mine are brown in color too, like many others, and super thick. I used Wowbutter, as we have nut allergies.
That makes sense if you used wowbutter 🙂 Have you tried their chocolate one? It is so delicious (I may eat it with just a spoon….)
I made these with almond butter. They just taste like almonds and are brown more like unicorn poop. Cashew butter should be a lot better.
Definitely go with cashew butter!
These look good! When I made mine they were brown. How did u keep them white? Is it supposed to be 2 cups of the cashew butter?
Thanks!!
Hi that is correct- I used homemade, and unsalted so was super white. I also edited them to look a little whiter 🙂
I made these with peanut butter for a work function. They were so yummy! I love finding things that my non-vegan coworkers (everyone except me, haha) will actually eat and enjoy. Thank you! I can’t wait to try some more of your recipes.
I really want to make these but I’m afraid I will be hooked and at over $16 for just the 2 cups of cashew butter, these are expensive cookies and for such a low yield. I don’t think I’d want to try with any other nut butter either. Maybe I will suck up the cost just once because they sound absolutely delightful ?
Hi! I usually make my own, it’s so easy and SO much cheaper! 🙂
My cookies did not turn out white looking like on the picture you posted. Coconut flour is naturally light yellow colored and same with cashew butter. How did you get your cookies so white looking?
Hi Shirley! It really depends on the coconut flour and cashew butter you use. I will share a post soon comparing these and how they yield a different color 🙂
Honestly I work at Starbucks and the Unicorn Frappuccino wasn’t all that great . It was vanilla and mango syrup with this pink powder to give it color and blue warhead like drizzle on the cup .BUT THESE COOKIES ARE AMAZING!!!! TASTE A MILLION TIMES BETTER THAN THE FRAPPUCCINO!♡♡♡
😀 YAY!!!
That sounds delicious ='( I never got to try one…
😀
The unicorn frappes ran out too quickly at my college’s Starbucks for me to try it, but some of the colorings are probably not vegan anyways. :/ But these cookies look even better, so it’s not like I’d be missing out on anything!
What is the serving size?
It makes 10-12 cookies. Enjoy!
Hi, Can you use sugar free syrup in this recipe? Also, what did you glaze the cookie with? Thank you!
Hi Valerie- There isn’t any glaze on this 🙂 It won’t work with stock sugar-free syrup, but monk fruit maple syrup works!
I just made these with almond butter hoping the coconut flour would keep them light in color but to no avail- looks wise unless you use a near white nut butter it isn’t worth it. I do want to try these again with light colored nut butter but am concerned that the maple syrup will color it dark as well- what kind of syrup did you use? The natural I use is dark in color- please advise!
i know they taste good- I use a similar recipe to this to do balls, recees eggs etc, but the whole appeal to this cookie for me is the look!
Hi Patty- Many who have made it have achieved this color- You could use strictly macadamia nut butter and light agave syrup 🙂
Wait how could they be completely sugar free?
You can use Monk fruit sweetened maple syrup. Enjoy!
I only had peanut butter and almond flour and the maple syrup on hand so I made them with that ingredient. Long story short, they taste just like the inside of a Buckeye sweet! So I melted some chocolate and made healthy no bake buckeyes!!!!!
😀 YUM!
that sounds amazing the description of the taste of them made with peanut butter, I am curious how they looked though 🙂
Hi there! They taste really prominent with peanut butter, but the color is more brown 🙂
Thank you!! did with sesam paste. it is great, thank you !!
Very welcome 🙂
There are Paleo sprinkle recipes out there, like https://likelybysea.com/recipe/paleo-rainbow-sprinkles-recipe/.
This is perfect- THANK YOU!
They’re so colorful, and the description sounds so good.
Oh sprinkles. They really add pizazz and are so colorful. Cashew butter is the best, though so I bet these are super tasty.
Just made these with fairydust flour and invisible whole30 sprinkles and they tasted like fluffy rainbows.
My sister has been obsessed with unicorns forever, well for a while at least considering she is only 8. But she will love these cookies.
omg these are my favorite.. i think i have an affinity for sprinkles or lisa frank or unicorns or maybe just any vessel that i can put my CAKE BATTER CASHEW BUTTAHHH to work :D:D:D
Have you seen all the hilarious tweets and posts from Harry Potter fans about the unicorn frappucino? Any true HP fan would never drink that! That and it’s got a crap ton of sugar, so I did not not have one.
Were any unicorns harmed in the making of this recipe?? 🙂