You don’t need milk, eggs or butter to make delicious holiday cookies. You also need not use white sugar, which is generally avoided by vegans. Here are a couple of recipes for vegan-friendly holiday cookies.
Gingerbread Cookies
What says “holidays” like gingerbread cookies? Here is a tasty vegan version of this holiday classic.
Ingredients for about 24 cookies
2 1/2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup vegan buttery spread (such as Earth Balance)
3/4 cup molasses
3/4 cup evaporated cane juice
3/4 cup Sucanat
2 tablespoons of soy, rice, or nut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl. In a large bowl, beat the buttery spread, molasses, and sugars until it is smooth and creamy. Add the soy, rice or nut milk and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ones until a dough forms. Refrigerate for two hours or overnight.
After the dough is thoroughly chilled, roll it out to 1/8-inch thickness (for crispy cookies) on a floured board. Cut them thicker if you want chewy cookies. Cut into holiday shapes and place them on a greased cookie sheet (or use parchment paper). Bake them at 325 for 10 to 12 minutes. When cookies have cooled thoroughly on a wire rack, you can frost with vegan frosting, below.
Vegan Frosting
Ingredients
2 cups vegan powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla, lemon, or almond extract
7 teaspoons soy, rice, or nut milk
1 tablespoon of agave nectar
Directions
Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a small bowl. Add food coloring as desired.
Sugar Cookies
Holiday sugar cookies are another classic. Here’s a vegan version.
Ingredients for about 30 cookies
1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour or vegan, all-purpose white flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (use 1/4 teaspoon salt if you used salted buttery spread)
1/2 cup of applesauce
*1/2 cup coconut oil or vegan buttery spread
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup evaporated cane juice
Directions
In a small bowl, sift together the dry ingredients except the evaporated cane juice.
Cream the oil and cane juice until fluffy. This will take about 5 minutes. Add the applesauce and vanilla, and mix well. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Do not overbeat the dough at this point – mix it just until it forms a dough. Wrap and chill the dough for at least an hour.
When it’s thoroughly chilled, roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 or 1/8-inch and cut into desired shapes. Bake on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool on a rack.
You can use the above frosting recipe on these cookies. Or put some evaporated cane juice in a sealed container and add a few drops of vegan food coloring. Shake vigorously to make colored cane juice crystals that you can sprinkle on the cookies.
