Our Favorite Homemade — and Packaged — Vegan Christmas Cookies

Traditional Christmas cookies are generally made with eggs, sometimes dairy, and — depending on the variety — honey; however, vegans definitely deserve a little Christmas cheer. That being said, we've compiled a list of homemade vegan Christmas cookies to make for your plant-based friends and family. We've also included a few packaged varieties, if baking simply isn't in the cards for you right now.

These are our favorite homemade Christmas cookies:

Ovenly's Secretly Vegan Salted Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe was one of the top three cookie recipes on Pinterest last year, and it's Nicole Vranjican (aka Nikki Vegan)-approved. It requires bakers to rehydrate the dough, which is actually much easier than it sounds.

"The method was a game changer because it creates a bakery-quality texture that is pretty mind blowing!" she told Green Matters in an exclusive interview.

Perfect for cookie decorating, Nora Cooks' Best Vegan Sugar Cookies can't be beat. The cookie is comprised of vegan butter, granulated sugar, almond milk, cornstarch, vanilla and almond extract, flour, baking powder, and salt. And as long as you have powdered sugar, vanilla and almond extract, light corn syrup, almond milk, and vegan food coloring for the icing, you'll be set for a full day of cookie decorating.

For any pumpkin spice enthusiasts out there, Baker By Nature's Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies are seriously to die for. Ingredient-wise, they're made up of stuff you probably already have in your pantry — coconut oil, brown and granulated sugar, vanilla extract, molasses, coconut milk, pumpkin puree, flour, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, chocolate chips, and sea salt. Plus, they only take 20 minutes to prepare. The trick? Leave them on the baking sheet to cool, as per the recipe.

Renowned vegan chef Chloe Coscarelli debuted her Cinnamon-Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies at By Chloe, the restaurant chain she created, and shared the secret to make her signature snacks with CBS News. The massive treats simply combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, vegan butter, espresso powder, powdered and brown sugar, semisweet chocolate chips, and granulated sugar. The cookies are gigantic and perfect for an extra little kick with your Christmas coffee.

Regardless of your complicated feelings for gingerbread, presenting the spiced delicacy on any holiday cookie platter is absolutely necessary. PETA's recipe combines vegan butter, sugar, an egg replacer, molasses, apple cider vinegar, flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Make them into gingerbread men, or take the easy route, and make circular cookie shapes... that's probably what we'll be doing.

Plant-based baking God talesofhorizon created a plant-based version of the popular german cookie, Spitzbuben. It simply swaps vegan butter for butter, almond milk for milk, and applesauce for eggs. Although they look undeniably complicated, the recipe he uses, above, seems pretty simple. And let's face it: the end result is absolutely gorgeous.

If you aren't in the mood to bake this holiday season, we totally get it — baking cookies takes quite a bit of time and effort, especially if you're sending them out to several friends and family members. That being said, there are several tasty packaged Christmas cookies that are vegan... and they probably won't even realize it!

Simple Mills' Crunchy Cinnamon Cookies, for example, taste like a cinnamon-induced holiday celebration, sans the animal byproducts. The infamously (secretly vegan) OREO also has a seasonal variety decked out with red icing and festive designs, or a limited-edition gingerbread flavor. If you'd rather go more upscale, though, a variety of Etsy sellers make vegan cookies that you can buy online.

Cookie season is here, folks, and vegans definitely aren't going to miss out this holiday season. May your holidays be sugary and bright.