Sometimes a good sugar cookie is all you need. I'm not promoting these as healthy...I'm promoting them as absolutely deliciousness that is okay to indulge in every once in a while. They're worth it, especially for special occasions.
Sugar Cookies
RECIPE:
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus little more for rolling
2 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
1 cup vegan butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp ground flaxseed
3 Tbsp water
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
1. Into a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer or hand mixer, use the paddle attachment on medium speed, beat vegan butter and sugar for about 1½ minutes, or until smooth.
3. Mix the flaxseed and water together, then beat with the butter mixture. Add the vanilla until well combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
4. Turn the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture slowly, and a little at a time. Occasionally stop to scrape the sides of the bowl. Once all the flour has been added, the dough should form a ball around the mixing attachment and feel soft but not sticky.
5. Wrap the dough ball in a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper and press down to form a 1-inch-thick disk. Refrigerate for about 10 minutes before rolling or store for up to 5 days tightly wrapped.
6. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
7. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to about ¼-inch thickness, using additional flour as necessary to prevent sticking. Use cookie cutters to create desired shapes, and carefully transfer with a cookie spatula to a nonstick baking sheet, placing the cookies about ¾ inch apart.
8. Bake one sheet at a time in the middle of the oven until puffy, about 10-12 minutes. Allow the cookies to rest for 2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Vegan Butter Cream Frosting
Ingredients:
1 cup vegan butter
1 cup Spectrum all-vegetable shortening
2 pounds confectioners' sugar (about 7 1/2 cups)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 Tbsp dairy-free milk
Directions:
1. Combine the vegan butter and Spectrum vegetable shortening in the bowl of an electric mixer; using a paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until smooth.
2. Add half of the confectioners’ sugar and continue beating on low speed until the mixture is creamy. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the remaining confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and diary-free milk, and beat until the frosting is creamy and fluffy. Add any food coloring at this time, if using, and beat on low speed until light and fluffy.
3. Use immediately or store in an airtight container refrigerated for up to 30 days.
I'm not a great cookie decorator by any means, so you probably don't want to ask me about that. I did however just use a ziplock back and cut a little slit on one side and used that to put the frosting on the cookies. You could be fancy and get the real frosting tips and find someone who can be fancy decorating. I'm a mom of 2 toddlers who want to decorate quick and easy. So that's what we did. Then added some chocolate sprinkles.
You'll notice I did not use food coloring. Usually the red food coloring is not vegan, and the other colors have a lot of artificially food coloring that is not healthy to consume. You can buy much healthier food dyes, but I wasn't about to spend that kind of money. White is simple and minimalistic. Lol. That's my reasoning.
We made these for Valentine's Day for our Papai (Daddy in Portuguese), and he loved them. As well as our neighbors. They make great personal gifts, and are wonderful to share.
