Vegan Sugar Cookies!
These cookies were super easy to make and really tasty as well. I used rolled buttercream for the decorations, and I’m not too sure how I feel about it yet. It’s really greasy and hard to work with, but it really does taste better than fondant. I’ll try it a few more times and see if it grows on me. All my cookies just look greasy and melted though. Hmmm, we’ll see. If you are interested in trying rolled buttercream, I used this recipe here.
A few tips on the cookies before the recipe:Don’t chill dough for too long or it gets really hard and crumbles. This happened to me tonight and I just added a dab of water and kneaded it until it was the right consistency again. I added probably a tbsp. of water. Also, this dough never fully comes together with a mixer. It gets to the course cornmeal stage and then you need to get in there with your hands and just smash it all together. It will stick together really easily. Form a ball of dough, wrap in saran wrap and chill for about 2 hours. In this recipe, and really any recipe I post that calls for vegetable shortening, it is best to use trans fat free crisco or spectrum shortening. I didn’t have either for this batch of cookies so it is just regular old crisco. The results were great, but I don’t really need to have a massive coronary from some cookies. So I highly recommend TRANS FAT FREE SHORTENING. The only reason I used shortening at all was to try and add some extra fat in to make up for the lack of eggs. I’m sure you could skip the shortening all together and just use margarine if you’d prefer. Also, be sure to bake only for 8-9 minutes. When your timer goes off take them out of the oven and immediately transfer to wire rack to cool. They will not look done yet, but trust me, they are. They will not be brown at all. As soon as they stop looking wet is when you want to take them out. Be careful when transferring them because they will be very fragile and soft. Once they cool they will be perfectly chewy, and not too crisp. Cooking too long will cause them to be rock hard when they cool. Don’t roll too thin or they will be too crispy when cooled. The dough is tricky to roll(crumbly) out so just use small amounts instead of trying to roll out large pieces. Having said all that, on to the recipe…mmm,cookies
Vegan Sugar Cookies
yields 12-16 depending on the size of cookie cutter
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. Baking powder
1/4 cup vegan margarine(I used Earth Balance)softened
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/3 tsp. salt
3/4 cup organic non bone char sugar(Such as this )
1 tbsp. of cornstarch whisked in to 3 tbsp. water
3 tbsp. soy or rice milk if you have it. If not, water will work fine.
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Method:
1. Sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and set aside.
2. Cream together margarine, shortening, and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add cornstarch and water mixture, soy milk, and vanilla and mix to combine.
4. Slowly add dry ingredients a little at a time. Mix until fully combined. Your dough will look crumbly at this point. Get in there with your hands and mash it all together. Chill for up to 2 hours
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets or use parchment paper. On a clean floured surface, roll out small portions of chilled dough to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut out shapes using cookie cutters. and bake for 8-9 minutes, or until not wet looking. Cool on wire racks.
Once these are cooled you can decorate however you’d like! Feel free to ask any questions. Enjoy!