Halloween Post: (Vegan) Sugar Cookies

I love Halloween.  It may very well be my favorite holiday.  I love dressing up, the excuse to make lots of desserts, and being able to eat candy all day.  But let's get real, it really is a holiday that's all about kids.  I'm super bummed to live somewhere where there's no trick-or-treaters running around, so I'm offering a fun recipe instead (yes, I realize that I am posting this after Halloween).  What better recipe to make with children than sugar cookies?  You can make any shape, use any colors, and go sprinkle crazy.

I found this recipe for sugar cookies a long time ago, and was intrigued by the addition of cream cheese to the dough.  Plus, their cookies look, well, perfect.  Why fix something if it isn't broken?

(Vegan) Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

(I halved the original recipe) 

- 1/2 cup vegan butter

 - 1 1/2 cups + 6 tablespoons AP flour

 - 1/2 cup sugar 

- 1 teaspoon baking powder

 - 1 whole egg replacement (Ener-G)

 - 1/8 cup vegan cream cheese

- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

Method: 

- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the egg replacement and vanilla. 

- Gradually add the flour, baking powder and tofu cream cheese. You may have to use your hands at this point to finish the mixing. 

- Form the dough into a long loaf and wrap in cellophane. Refrigerate for a couple hours. 

- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease the cookie sheets or use a non-stick foil. 

- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. 

- Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters.

- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes in the preheated oven, until bottoms and edges just start to get light brown.

- Remove from baking sheet and let cool.

While they are cooling, prepare your decorations!  I got really ambitious a few weeks ago, and bought a ton of Halloween decorations, sprinkles, and colorings at AC Moore.  Of course, I forgot that I had an 8-hour class on the Friday and Saturday before Halloween, and on Halloween day.  I also had to make two costumes, so yeah, the "Snookie-doodle Cupcakes" and multiple original and themed desserts I had planned have been pushed back.  And yes, I usually theme desserts to go with my costumes (I was Snooki for class, and Katy Perry for going out)... anyway... instead of straying from the recipe, I decided to also try John & Kristie's icing recipe.  On point!

Ingredients:

- 2 cups powdered sugar

- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

- 6-8 teaspoons of almond milk

- 4 teaspoons light corn syrup 

- Assorted food coloring (optional) 

Method:  

- In medium- sized bowl, stir together powdered sugar and almond milk until smooth. 

- Beat in (or wisk if your mixer is broken...) corn syrup and vanilla until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup. 

- Add food coloring to desired intensity. 

- Dip cookies and allow to dry overnight.

Decorating: 
Obviously, decorate these however you would like. What I did: 
- I had the "brilliant" idea to make the front of the tombstones look "real" by making the front face of the cookie messy (I pushed the rigid edges of the rolled dough on the front). I think it kind of worked...?
- I dipped the cookies in gray icing, and allowed them to dry.
- I made a simple buttercream and added some orange food coloring at the last minute because the fun Halloween icing pens I bought disappeared.. this is what I used to pipe on the names.