Rose & Beet Pink Cookies (Vegan & Easy to Make)

These beet & rose pink cookies are not only vegan, but also gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and made with wholesome ingredients like almond flour and tahini.

Inspired by my easy rainbow tahini cookies, these pink cookies are made with beet juice powder to naturally give them a beautiful pink color. They also include food grade rose water and are topped with flakey sea salt to make them even more exquisite.

You can make these for Valentine’s Day, as a healthy treat to snack on throughout the week or simply anytime you feel like baking a quick & easy recipe that’s not too sweet, soft, and delicious.

🩷TIP: Be sure to read the full post to adapt this recipe if you want your pink cookies to be different shades of pink.

Why You’ll Love These Beet & Rose Pink Cookies

These pink cookies are super quick & easy to make and are ready in under 25 minutes from start to finish. If you have a sweet tooth (like me) but want a treat that’s not too heavy or sweet, these pink cookies are the perfect treat for you!

While the rose water adds a special extra touch, you can of course make the cookies without it or you can use vanilla or almond extract instead. These pink cookies are so effortless and easy to make that I make a variation of them at least a couple of times a month.

🩷Good to know: If you’re intimidated by the “beet” element of these pink cookies, I promise you really don’t need to be! The cookies only include a very small amount of beet juice powder to give them their beautiful pink color, but they don’t actually taste like beets.

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

The following is an overview of the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe, as well as recommended substitutions. For the exact measurements, be sure to refer to the recipe card below.

• Almond Flour: almond flour is made from grinding blanched/peeled almonds. Instead of almond flour, you can also use oat flour or all purpose flour. Just make sure you replace it by weight and not by volume (1 cup of almond flour weighs about 100 grams, while 1 cup of all-purpose flour weighs 125 grams).
• Tapioca Flour/Starch: not to be confused with cassava flour, which is made from the same cassava root as tapioca flour but has a very different texture. Tapioca flour is white and starchy and can be replaced with cornstarch or arrowroot powder.
• Tahini: light, runny tahini such as this one is best. Tahini is made from grinding sesame seeds and the oil often separates in the jar, so if you see a lot of oil at the top when opening the jar, just made sure you mix it well before measuring the amount needed for this pink cookie recipe.
• Maple Syrup: maple syrup is my favorite natural sweetener to use instead of refined sugar. While you can use other sweeteners like agave or date syrup, they tend to be a bit thicker than maple syrup, so they will change both the taste and texture a bit.
• Other ingredients needed for the cookie dough: Baking Soda & Salt.

• Beet Juice Powder: beet juice powder is what naturally gives these cookies their bright pink color. Some alternatives include freeze dried strawberry powder, pink dragonfruit powder, or natural red food dye powder.
• Food Grade Rose Water: this gives the cookies a refreshing rose taste. That said, this might not be to everyone’s liking, so feel free to replace it with vanilla extract or any other flavor you’d like (especially when making this recipe for kids). This is the exact rose water I used when making these pink cookies.
• Decorations/Toppings: I topped these cookies with sea salt flakes (I’m obsessed with Maldon’s Salt Flakes and use them all the time) and dried mini rose buds. I don’t recommend eating the rose buds, but you can repurpose them by adding them to hot water to make rose tea. If you want an edible alternative, you can use freeze-dried berries like these.

How to Make These Pink Cookies (Step by Step)

The following is a step-by-step overview of how to make this recipe. For a recap, be sure to check out the recipe card below.

Step One: Preheat the Oven & Make the Cookie Dough

Start by preheating your oven to 350º Fahrenheit (180º Celsius), making sure the wire rack is in the middle of the oven. Next, add your almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, salt (just the regular salt, not the salt flakes), tahini, and maple syrup to a mixing bowl.

If you want your cookies to all be the same shade of pink, then add the entire amount of beet juice powder to the bowl as well.

🩷 TIP: using the amount of beet juice indicated in the recipe card will make the cookie a bright pink. For a very light pink, use only 1/4 to 1/2 of the indicated amount. For a very deep (more beet-like) shade of pink, use 1.5x to twice the amount indicated. For a mix of two or more different shades, be sure to read the next section.

If, on the other hand, you want two different shades of pink, only add half the amount of beet juice powder indicated and reserve the other part for the next step. Mix the ingredients using a spatula or wooden spoon until you get a smooth dough.

Step Two: Adjust The Cookie Dough to Match Your Desired Shade(s) of Pink (Optional)

To get two different shades of pink, separate your cookie dough into two equal parts (you can eyeball this, but for the best result, use a kitchen scale).

Then add the remaining amount of beet juice powder to one of the dough parts and mix it in.

Step Three: Form Your Pink Cookies

Divide each of your pink dough balls into six equal-sized parts (you should have 12 parts total).

Roll each of the dough parts into balls, pressing them firmly, then add them to the lined baking tray.

Gently press down each of the dough balls to shape your cookies. This will be easiest if you use a bit of parchment paper to press them down and shown in the image below.

Step Four: Add Your Flakey Salt & Bake the Cookies

Sprinkle your sea salt flakes on top of the pink cookies, then bake them in the oven for 7 minutes. Adding the salt flakes is optional and if using them, you could also add them after baking the cookies, but I find that they stick better when you add them beforehand.

Once your cookies are ready, let them cool on the baking tray for a couple of minutes. While you could technically eat them right away, they might fall apart if you try to lift them too quickly, so it’s best to wait a few minutes.

Step Five: Serve & Enjoy Your Beet & Rose Pink Cookies

Next, add the dried rose buds (if using), serve your cookies and enjoy!

You can enjoy these cookies as they are or serve them with a fresh cup of tea or coffee. If you want to stick with the pink theme, be sure to read the next section for a special rose latte serving suggestion!

Serving Suggestion

I made a rose and beet white chocolate latte to go with my pink cookies and the two complemented each other perfectly, so if you’d like to give it a try, here’s what I used to make 3 servings of the latte.

Rose & Beet Latte

INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FOR 3 SERVINGS)

• 0.5 ounce (15 grams) cacao butter (this will give the latte a white chocolate taste, but can be omitted!)
• 2 cups (480mL) oat milk or any other plant milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons beet juice powder 
• 1/2 cup (120mL) boiling water
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon food grade rose water

HOW TO MAKE THIS ROSE & BEET LATTE

1. In a saucepan, melt the cacao butter over medium heat, then add the oat milk and heat until hot but not boiling, then set aside.
2. Pour the boiling water over the beet juice powder and mix well until there are no crumbs.
3. Mix the water and beet juice powder mix, as well as the maple syrup and rose water in with the cacao butter and oat milk.
4. Optionally froth using an electric milk frother, serve and enjoy!

Pink Cookies – Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any questions that aren’t answered below, feel free to leave a comment on this blog post and I’ll respond asap!

Beet & Rose Pink Cookies – Recipe Card

Use this card to save and/or print this recipe. For additional step by step photo instructions, ingredient notes, and recipe tips, be sure to read the full blog post above.

• Pink Dragonfruit Juice (with Candy Cane Beets): This Dragonfruit Juice is a pink delight. Pink lady apples, candy cane beets, ginger and dragonfruit (pitaya) come together perfectly in this refreshing drink.