So, I was trolling around the interwebs (as I do a bit too much), looking for inspiration for an Easter-themed baking project, when I saw these homemade vegan sugar cookies that someone had posted on Vegweb.com. They looked so pretty and Eastery, that I simply had to rip-off the idea and make my own. :P
The sugar cookie recipe on Vegweb uses Ener-G egg replacer, so I went with this one with a few modifications. For the vegan butter/margarine, I used 'Better than Butter,' which is one of the very few non-dairy, trans-fat-free buttery spreads you will find in Korea. You can buy this brand at most E-Marts. The other one is Nuttelex, which you can get at certain Loving Hut locations, their online store, or Veggie Holic bakery. You can also order it online here.
Here are my bare naked cookies. I might've measured the flour wrong because they came out a lot softer than what I think sugar cookies should be like. They also spread a lot more than I expected, which resulted in thinner cookies. Next time, I might reduce the butter-content so that they're less buttery and more substantial...
Anyway, once the cookies cooled, then came the fun part: decorating with icing sugar! :) I felt like a kid, mixing all these pastel colors and drawing polka dots on my 'eggs.' So much more fun than painting actual chickens' eggs.
It took a bit of practice to get clean thin lines and neat dots, and it was all quite time-consuming, but it was all worth it in the end!
Anyway, here's the recipe, adapted from Tablespoon.com:
{ Vegan Sugar Cookies }
1 1/2 cups organic cane sugar
1 cup vegan margarine, softened
1/4 cup soymilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
{ Icing }
4 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons vanilla soymilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
{ Directions }
In large bowl, beat sugar, margarine, soymilk, and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed to combine. Stir in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and cream of tartar until blended. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
Heat oven to 375° F. Lightly grease cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray. Divide dough in half. Roll each dough half to 1/4 inch thickness on generously floured surface. Cut into desired shapes with 2- to 2 1/2-inch cookie cutters. On cookie sheet, place cutouts about 2 inches apart. **To get the oval 'egg' shape, I rolled the dough out a bit thicker than normal and used a circular cookie cutter to get the basic shape. Then I rolled each cookie again slightly in one direction, to make them more oblong.
Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are light brown. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.
In large mixing bowl, beat icing ingredients with fork or whisk until smooth. If icing is too thick, beat in 1 additional teaspoon soymilk. Frost cookies, and let fully harden before enjoying! :)
If you're looking for a sugar-rush, these are just for you. Sugar cookies, topped with sugary sweet icing. I'm not used to eating such sweet things, but these were a nice little treat. I wouldn't eat more than a few though, for fear of getting a toothache!