Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar: 100 Dairy-Free Recipes for Everyone's Favorite Treats (29 page)

6. Use a very thin, flexible spatula to transfer the crackers to a baking sheet. It helps if you spray the spatula with cooking spray so that it slips off the crackers easily.

7. Gather up the scraps of dough and form them into a ball, then roll it out into a 4 by 8-inch rectangle, or whatever size you can manage. We were able to get four more crackers out of the deal, but your mileage may vary. Cut the edges evenly and slice into four crackers, then transfer them to the baking sheet.

8. Score each cookie with a fork four times in two columns. You don’t need to poke all the way through. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes—14 minutes will give you nice crispy crackers, 12 will be better for making ice-cream sammiches.

9. Let the crackers cool completely on the baking sheet.

2⅓ cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup nonhydrogenated margarine,
slightly softened
½ cup nonhydrogenated vegetable
shortening
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond, lemon, maple, or
other flavor extract
¼ cup vanilla nondairy milk

1. In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, use electric beaters to cream together the margarine, shortening, and sugar until light and fluffy, at least 4 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula. Beat in the vanilla extract, the flavor extract, and the nondairy milk to combine. Beat in half the flour mixture until moistened, then carefully mix in the remaining flour mixture to form a soft dough.

3. Divide the mixture in two and pat into discs about 1 inch thick. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and chill for several hours or overnight.

4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly flour a large, clean work surface. Roll the dough to a ⅜-inch thickness and cut into shapes with cookie cutters. If the dough seems too stiff to roll or cracks too much, let it rest at room temperature for 10 minutes, then try rolling again. Pull away excess dough and use a thin metal spatula to carefully lift cookies onto cookie sheets, leaving an inch of space between cookies. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cookies have just started to turn golden around the edges. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on sheets for 5 minutes before using that spatula again to transfer them to wire racks. Use only completely cooled cookies for decorating or filling. Store in a tightly covered container for softer cookies; store loosely covered for crisper cookies.

Morsels

 

✦ Cookie dough gets a little tougher and drier each time you reroll it, so for best results don’t reroll more than once. Wrap dough scraps in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator between rolling out and cutting cookies.

✦ Make a quick and cheap BIG rolling space by using masking tape to secure the edges of a nice big piece of wax paper onto a stable rolling surface.

 

CONFECTIONER’S ICING

 

Easy icing that dries to a hard, matte finish. If desired, divide this recipe into separate portions in small mixing bowls and tint each one a different color, evenly blending in food coloring with a fork or whisk.

4 cups sifted powdered sugar
4 tablespoons nondairy milk
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all the ingredients using a fork or a wire whisk until smooth. Combine to form a glaze that can be easily spread with an icing spatula or piped from a pastry bag with a very small round tip.

2. If the icing is too thick, whisk in 1 teaspoon at a time of either nondairy milk or water. If too thin, whisk in more powdered sugar by the tablespoon until a desired consistency is reached.

 

⅔ cup sugar
¼ cup oil
¼ cup nondairy milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup Dutch cocoa powder
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt

1. In a mixing bowl, vigorously mix the sugar, oil, and nondairy milk. Mix in vanilla and almond extracts.

2. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Mix until well combined. The dough should be stiff but pliable. Divide in half, and form into discs; flatten and refrigerate for about an hour.

3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough out about ⅛ inch thick onto a lightly floured surface. Use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes and a thin spatula to transfer the cookies to the baking sheets. Roll the dough scraps out to get a few more cookies.

4. Bake for 7 minutes. Let cookies cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes before moving them to wire racks to cool completely. Store in a tightly sealed container.

⅓ cup canola oil
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup molasses
¼ cup plain soy milk
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or allpurpose
flour (or a mix of both)
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon each ground nutmeg,
cloves, and cinnamon
1½ teaspoons ground ginger

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil and sugar for about 3 minutes. Add the molasses and soy milk. The molasses and soy milk won’t really blend with the oil but that’s okay.

2. Sift in all the other dry ingredients, mixing about halfway through. When all of the dry ingredients are added, mix until a stiff dough is formed. Flatten the dough into a disc, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill for an hour or up to 3 days in advance. If the dough chills longer than an hour you may want to let it sit for 10 minutes to warm up a bit before proceeding.

3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two baking sheets or line them with parchment paper.

4. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a little less than ¼ inch thick. Cut out your shapes with your cookie cutters and use a thin spatula to gently place the cookies on the sheets. If you are using the cookies to decorate a tree or something, remember to punch a hole in their heads (!) before baking. Bake for 8 minutes.

5. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet, then move them to a wire rack. Wait until they are completely cool before icing.

2 cups pecans, divided
½ cup brown rice syrup
A scant ¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (use
bourbon vanilla extract from Trader
Joe’s if you’ve got it)
1 cup chocolate chips, melted (page 24)

1. Place 1 cup of the pecans in a food processor and process into coarse crumbs. Roughly chop the other cup.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, use a fork to mix together the brown rice syrup, salt, and vanilla. Mix in the pecan crumbs and chopped pecans. Last, mix in the melted chocolate.

3. Line a large cutting board or cookie tray with parchment paper. Have a bowl of water close at hand. Use a tablespoon to drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto the parchment. Wet your other hand and flatten each spoonful into rustic cookie shapes. The water will keep your hand from getting all sticky and stuff.

4. Place the cookies in the fridge until set, about an hour. If it’s a hot day out, keep them chilled, but they should be fine left out if the weather’s not too warm.