Christmas Vanilla Sugar Cookies
Buttery vanilla cut-out sugar cookies perfect for decorating with family and friends. Use your favorite colors or paint on them for a unique watercolor effect.
Servings: 24 cookies
Calories: 127kcal
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Dough
- 1 tbsp flaxseed
- 3 tbsp water
- 325 g (2½ cups) all purpose flour* sifted
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 160 g (¾ cup) white sugar
- 150 g (¾ cup) vegan butter softened
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract optional
Icing
- 240 g (2 cups) confectionary sugar sifted
- 5-8 tsp plant based milk
- ½ tsp vanilla optional
- pinch of salt
- food coloring
Instructions
Sugar Cookie Dough
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line 1-2 baking sheets with parchment paper then prepare two separate parchment paper sheets (about the 11"x15" in size) for rolling out the dough later.
- In a small bowl, mix the flaxseed with the 3 tablespoons of water and set aside. Meanwhile, combine the flour, baking powder and salt in another bowl.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Pour in the flax egg and the extracts and mix. Slowly add in the flour mixture on low speed until a cohesive dough has formed.
- Plop the dough onto one of the prepared parchment paper sheets, flatten and shape quickly into a rough rectangle. Place the other paper over the dough (this makes rolling super neat) then roll out until ¼" thick. Chill the rolled out dough for 15 minutes in the freezer. Once cool, cut out shapes with your favorite cookie cutters and lay the cookies on to the baking pan. Rerolling the excess dough to make more cookies. If your dough gets too soft, place back in the freezer for a few minutes to solidify. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cookies have browned slightly at the edges. Leave to cool before decorating.
Icing
- Using a whisk, combine all the icing ingredients except for the food coloring, starting with 5 teaspoons of milk then adding more if the icing is too thick. Get ⅓ of the icing to use for outlining the cookies sort of like creating a dam. This icing will be on the thicker side (this is usually 6-7 tsp of milk for me). The remaining ⅔ will be the "flood" icing to fill in the cookies after outlining. This frosting will be thinner and more drippy (I use 8 tsp here). Add in the food coloring if using.
- Transfer the thick icing to a piping bag with a Wilton tip 2 or 3 then make sure to cover the unused/left icing with a damp paper towel to prevent it from drying out. Start outlining the cookies. When done, fill your piping bag with the "flood" icing then flood each cookie, using a toothpick to nudge the icing if there are any gaps.
Watercolor Design
- Once the icing has entirely dried on the cookie, lightly dip a paint brush to your chosen food coloring. Use the clear vanilla as your "water" if you need to thin out the coloring. Proceed to paint your design on to the cookie using light strokes. Leave the paint to dry. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
*I find that different vegan butters vary in hydration so I start with 2¼ cups (270g) flour then add another ¼ cup if the dough is too wet/sticky.
*If not vegan, you can sub the flaxseed and water with 1 egg.
*If not heavily decorating your cookies like I did, half the icing recipe.
Recipe adapted from It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken