Recipe: Holiday Sugar Cookies by Jennah Jensen
Baking sugar cookies is a classic holiday pastime that’s perfect for spending quality time with your littles! Traditional sugar cookies call for standard white sugar but these cookies are made using coconut sugar. I confess that neither are particularly “healthy” although coconut sugar is a bit of a better option. It has a slightly lower glycemic index, it’s sucrose content is about 70% whereas standard sugar is essentially 100% and coconut sugar also contains a small amount of antioxidants. All logistics aside, it’s the holidays which means it’s time to enjoy living in the moment and treat your family with a little holiday sweet! Whether you’re looking for something to leave out for Santa, want a fun family project or just craving some holiday cheer, these cookies are sure to be a hit!
Makes about 24 medium - medium/large cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegan butter, melted
3/4 cup coconut sugar - sometimes called coconut palm sugar + can be found near other sugars
(not to worry, they will not have a coconut flavor!)1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour - I’m using Bob’s Red Mill Unbleached All-Purpose Organic Flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons oat milk or plant milk of choice
Icing Ingredients:
1.5 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons oat milk or plant milk of choice
Cooking Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl add vegan butter, coconut sugar and vanilla extract then combine.
Next add in the flour, baking soda and salt then combine.
Add in plant milk and continue to combine until dough comes together. Using your hands, form a large ball that should be around the consistency of Play-Doh. You may want to work the ball with your hands for a bit before rolling.
Dust a clean rolling surface with a light layer of flour. Place dough ball onto rolling surface, add an additional light layer of flour to the top of the dough ball and roll out.
Once you’ve rolled the dough to desired consistency, use cookie cutters to create festive shapes. Alternatively you can use the top of a water glass to create classic circles! Add cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using the extra scraps of dough, re-roll into a new ball ensuing to re-dust the rolling surface and top of newly formed ball with flour. Repeat this process until there’s not enough dough to form another cookie. - I was able to repeat about 3-4 times. You may need to use two baking sheets to accommodate all cookies.
Bake for about 8-9 minutes on middle rack. Cooking times may vary per appliance. Check at 8 minutes and bake up to 9 minutes keeping a close eye. Enjoy plain or let cool completely before icing.
Icing Method:
Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl. Icing should look smooth but not runny - If icing seems too thick add a tiny bit more plant milk until a smooth consistency is reached.
Add icing to a piping bag or zip lock bag. If using a zip lock, cut a tiny hole in one of the bottom corners for icing to flow through. The smaller the hole the more control you’ll have!
Decorate cooled cookies and allow icing to harden for several hours - especially if stacking!
Jennah Jensen is a vegan, blogger and recipe extraordinaire! You can follow along her adventures, find her recipes and be inspired by her musings here and follow along on Instagram @jennahjensen