The Conscientious Eater: Simple Sugar Cookies (Dairy and Egg Free)

Before we get to talking about sugar cookies, I gotta say that this has been a great weekend. Friday night Brett and I went to his office Christmas party decked out in our ugliest Christmas sweaters and ready to fight for the best white elephant gifts. I brought Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower Bites from Skinnytaste and they were a big hit!

Saturday morning we got coffee with some friends before heading to the beach for the afternoon. It was my friend Kelley's birthday and she just had a baby, so it was a fun day of celebrating with friends. We finished the night eating so much delicious, Mexican food that we all left in pain...but happy.

Today Brett and I got up early and went to Starbucks to study, read and work on random projects. Then we went for a "hike" at a park near our house. It was cloudy and cool today, perfect for being outside. We looked out for some alligators by the river banks, but didn't see any. Thank goodness.

And Brett took a nap.

But now...onto the sugar cookies.

I love sugar cookies. That is, sugar cookies smeared with icing and covered with sprinkles. I used to pride myself on how easy it was for me to tolerate large amounts of sugar. I could eat a piece of Costco sheet cake (you know the kind...white cake, creamy middle layer with about an inch of icing on all sides) like it was nothing. Most of my friends could only handle a few bites, but man, I loved that stuff. Soft, store bought sugar cookies have always been some of my favorites too. They're basically like a piece of Costco sheet cake in cookie form. Delicious.

Since I've stopped eating dairy my sweets intake has increased dramatically. Most desserts have egg, milk or butter in them which don't sit well usually, so I just pass them up. This has also caused my sweet tolerance to decrease a ton as well, which I'm fine with, but I still love a piece of cake or a warm cookie every once in a while. With all these Christmas parties happening, I've been seeing a good amount of decorated sugar cookies so I quickly decided that I needed to make some dairy and egg free ones for myself to enjoy...oh right, and give to others.

This recipe is so easy and only requires 7 ingredients. The cookies stayed plump and uniform after baking and tasted great. No one will know their vegan. I'll be making these a holiday staple for sure!

Simple Sugar Cookies

(Makes 20 cookies)

Ingredients:

· 1 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

· 3/4 teaspoon baking powder

· 1/4 teaspoon salt

· 1/2 cup earth balance spread, softened to room temperature

· 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons natural cane sugar

· 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

· 2 tablespoons almond milk

Easy Icing

· 1 cup powdered sugar

· 1 tablespoon + 2-3 teaspoons almond milk

Directions:

1. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream the earth balance butter and sugar together with a hand mixer.

3. Add in the vanilla extract and milk and mix a little more.

4. As you continue to mix, slowly add in the dry ingredients. Mix until everything is combined and a dough forms.

5. Take the dough and form it into a disk and wrap it in wax paper. Let it chill in the fridge for about an hour.

6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

7. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it is about 1/4 inch thick.

8. Use cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes and place the cut outs on the baking sheets.

9. Re-roll the remaining “scrap” dough and continue to cut out cookies until all the dough is used.

10. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes and the underneath is golden brown.

11. Let cool completely before icing and decorating.

12. To make the icing, put the powdered sugar in a bowl and add a tablespoon of milk and stir. Continue adding a teaspoon of milk at a time, stirring in between, until a thick frosting forms. Be careful not to add too much milk! A little goes a long way.