Gluten Free Vegan Sugar Cookies

Kid decorated!

I have never been too excited about sugar cookies.  But then I had kids.  And what kid doesn't love first and foremost "frosting cookies" in all sorts of fun shapes?!  In fact the couple times my little Kinder has come home crying from school, it has been because she couldn't have the frosting cookies with all the other kids.  So this was a recipe I had to master....quick.  And today for the Easter/Earth Day celebration in class, she got her "frosting cookie" just like everyone else.  Most people would be shocked to find out these cookies don't have any gluten or dairy.  They are quite tasty, even by my standards.  I prefer my cookies more on the moist and soft side, not crunchy like many sugar cookies: so increase the bake time if you are the latter.  The original recipe I tweaked was from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Moskowitz and Romero: truly an amazing book with dynamite recipes (their Vegan Cupcake one rocks too). (Oh and please notice how NOT perfect my cookies are...there's my impatience thing again...I am not particular about how things look, only taste!)

3/4 cup sorghum flour

3/4 cup brown rice flour

1 cup potato starch (or any starch)

1 teaspoon guar gum

(Or omit the above flour and gum and use 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour and 2 T cornstarch)

2-3 tablespoons flax seed meal

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup margarine, slightly softened (like Earth Balance "butter" sticks)

1/2 cup Spectrum shortening

1 cup sugar

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp lemon extract (you can also use almond, maple or any other flavor)

Frosting:

1 tablespoon melted Earth Balance or butter

1 cup powdered sugar (see my corn free  powdered sugar post for options)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon or less of non-dairy milk to desired consistency (1 teaspoon at a time, it thins quickly)

Spring version

Whisk the dry ingredients. In a larger bowl, cream the shortening, margarine and sugar . Add the vanilla and lemon extracts and milk until everything is just combined. Beat in flour mix to form a soft dough.
Divide the dough into two and pat each portion into a disc. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. (Or if you're crunched on time, freeze it for 20-30 minutes or so)
On a lightly floured surface and with the plastic wrap still covering the dough (keeps it off the rolling pin) roll each disc to desired thickness, mine were over an inch thick as I like my cookies thick and soft.    You could also rolls balls and smoosh them on the cookie sheet.  Sometimes, after handling the dough, it gets quite soft, which means they might spread all over your cookie sheet!  After shaping them, if they seem to be getting soft, I throw them, shaped, back into the freezer to firm them up for 10-15 minutes.  This recipe seems very temperamental with the liquid/flour ratio and the current ambient humidity...so I always test one out in the oven first to make sure it stands and add more flour if necessary!  Bake in 350-degree oven for about 10 minutes until done.   When cool, frost!  

To make the frosting:  Melt the butter in a dish.  Add the powdered sugar and mix with the vanilla and 1-2 teaspoons of milk to start.  A thick and stiff frosting will dry and become firm and is easier to decorate with and store, and a little bit of milk goes a LONG way!


This recipe was shared on Gluten Free Wednesdays,