Just to be on the safe side, Brynn thought it might be a good idea if we gave Santa some safe treats this year…some of her dairy free and egg free sugar cookies with a glass soymilk. I didn’t try to reason with her that a chubby guy like Santa doesn’t look like he’s avoiding many foods…but those rosy cheeks could be uncontrolled eczema…who knows?
This is our recipe for sugar cookies, and I never seem to do it the same way twice. I have this chronic experimental nature and I’m always tweaking this recipe around with different fats, liquids and flavorings. So far, with the exception of a fail trying to substitute 1/3 of the sugar with a box of vanilla pudding mix (don’t do that)…the recipe has been pretty forgiving.
The icing is pretty cool. It’s my version of an egg-free royal icing. If you’re in a hurry, you can just dip the tops of the cookies directly into the icing, let the extra drip off and then dry flat. If you’re feeling fancy, you can pipe it on….I guess I was feeling fancy for Santa.
PrintBasic Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup shortening or margarine
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup dairy free milk + 1T cider vinegar
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 t. baking soda
- 1/4 t. salt
- 1T. vanilla (optional)
- 1/8 t. lemon oil (optional)
- a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream the sugar and shortening together until smooth, add in the thickened dairy-free milk and beat until smooth again.
- Add the vanilla, lemon oil or whatever spices/flavorings you are using and mix well.
- Add soda, salt and flour. Mix until everything comes together.
- Wrap in plastic wrap, shape into a big disk and freeze for 1/2 hour.
- Roll to 1/4 inch thickness and cut out as you like.
- Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheets at 350. 10 minutes will give you soft cookies (they may seem barely baked, but they’ll firm up when cooled), 14-16 minutes will give you golden brown edges and they’ll be crispy.
- Cool completely before icing.
Notes
There are a million things you can tweak in the recipe! You can use shortening or margarine, or half of each. You can use white sugar, or for softer cookies, you can use brown sugar. You can use any flavor of soymilk (the Silk Nog is pretty good). If you’re avoiding soy, you can use rice milk or my favorite tweak…Silk PureCoconut. For flavorings, I really like vanilla and a few drops of lemon oil…but a few pinches of cinnamon and nutmeg make them more holiday spicy.
Egg-Free Royal Icing
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 T. corn syrup
- 2–3T. water
Instructions
- Mix well, getting out all the lumps.
- Color as you’d like. Dip the cookies or pipe on the decorations!
E Lohroff says
Oooh OOOh! I see it in the background of the cookie pics!!! I used mine tonight, too. And both of my silpats.
Speedbump Kitchen says
I did that for you E!! I love that silly like you can't imagine! Thanks for enabling me!
bittersweetblog says
These cookies are -too- cute! So perfectly decorated, and just adorable.
Alisa says
Could those snowmen look anymore perfect?!
Glass of Whine says
Thank you thank you for this recipe!!
Corri Kohn says
This recipe looks great. Just wonder if I was understanding the coconut milk use
In this recipe do you omit the vinegar or keep it in the recipe? I can’t wait to use for my dairy and nut free nephew
Meg says
Hi Corri, I do add the vinegar to coconut milk. It helps thicken the milk a bit and provides acidity to help the baking soda work.
Jaime says
Hi, my son is not allergic to dairy and I was wondering if I could use regular milk in the recipe and if the amount would change?