Halloween Sugar Cookies
No spread cookies that are a must have for all your holiday cookie cutouts!
Ingredients
For the Sugar Cookie Dough
- 3 cups All Purpose Flour (375g)
- 1⅓ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Vegan Butter (226g)
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar (200g)
- ¼ cup Aquafaba (60ml)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract (5ml)
- 1 teaspoon Butter Emulsion *see notes (5ml)
- ¼ teaspoon Lemon Extract
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest *optional
For the Vegan Royal Icing
- 4½ teaspoon EnerG Egg Replacer *see notes (20g)
- 6 Tbs Warm Water (90ml)
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 4 cup Confectioner's Sugar (480g)
Instructions
- For the cookie dough, with your electric mixer (paddle attachment) cream the vegan butter with the sugar until light & fluffy about 3- 5 minutes.
- Add the lemon zest, aquafaba & the extracts to the creaming butter/sugar mixture until incorporated (it will probably look slightly curdled) then stop the mixer & scrape the sides of the bowl then whip it on high speed for 20 seconds to emulsify
- Next sift together the flour, baking powder & salt & add it all at once to the creamed mixture. Mix just until it is all combined do not overmix.
- Turn the dough out onto a large piece of plastic wrap, bundle it up & chill for at least 1 hour (or up to a week in the refrigerator) before using~ this allows the dough to relax & absorb the flour so it will roll better
- When you are ready to cut out your shapes you must re work this dough with some additional flour to a pliable consistency after it has been chilled. Do not skip this step. *see video for visual
- Roll the dough to ¼" thick or to your desired thickness & cut shapes as desired
- Transfer cookie cutouts to a parchment lined sheet pan & bake in preheated 350℉ oven for approximately 18-22 minutes or until light golden brown. (time depends on thickness & size of cookies)
- Cool the cookies while you prepare the vegan royal icing
- For the Royal Icing: combine the egg replacer with the warm water & whisk smooth
- Place the sifted confectioners sugar in a mixing bowl then add the vanilla extract & the egg replacer mixture.
- Whip on medium to high speed until it is smooth
- Color as desired with gel paste food colors & decorate!
- Allow cookies to dry at room temperature overnight
Video
Notes
Earth Balance vegan butter is my preference for this recipe
But I've used Country Crock Olive Oil Sticks with good results as well Butter Emulsion is a vegan extract that really adds a nice flavor to butter heavy recipes like this one and buttercream You can leave it out if you do not want to buy an extra ingredient * no changes to the recipe needed Lemon extract and lemon zest is always a must for me but you can leave that out as well
Of course if you want to forgo the egg replacer altogether you can leave it out and substitute aquafaba as a binder instead of water Like I do here for my 3 ingredient Sprinkles Recipe which is essentially ROYAL ICING! Storage Cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks Cut out shapes can be frozen in a single layer on a parchment lined sheet pan for up to 2 months
But I've used Country Crock Olive Oil Sticks with good results as well Butter Emulsion is a vegan extract that really adds a nice flavor to butter heavy recipes like this one and buttercream You can leave it out if you do not want to buy an extra ingredient * no changes to the recipe needed Lemon extract and lemon zest is always a must for me but you can leave that out as well
The icing recipe listed is a perfect amount for 12 large cookies.
The ghosts and pumpkins cookies cutters were approximately 4" diameter to give you an estimated size. You will notice I am using EnerG Egg replacer for the icing recipe which I'll admit is a strange ingredient for an icing, but it is what I believe gives it that "softer" dryOf course if you want to forgo the egg replacer altogether you can leave it out and substitute aquafaba as a binder instead of water Like I do here for my 3 ingredient Sprinkles Recipe which is essentially ROYAL ICING! Storage Cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks Cut out shapes can be frozen in a single layer on a parchment lined sheet pan for up to 2 months
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!