Christmas Sugar Wafers with Vanilla Icing

Well, when my boyfriend saw these cookies straight from the oven he told me they were "bakery quality." Couldn't ask for a higher compliment than that! Bring a batch of these to the relatives' house and I bet they won't believe they're vegan.

In a large bowl, combine 6 tablespoons raw sugar, 1/4 cup vegan butter (such as Earth Balance) and 2 tablespoons organic brown sugar (the recipe said dark, but I used light with fine results). Beat with a mixer until smooth and creamy (about 4-5 minutes). Add a teaspoon and a half vanilla extract and beat until combined. Beat in the equivalent of 2 eggs using egg replacer such as Ener-G, adding one at a time and beating after each addition.

In a separate bowl, combine a cup and a half of all-purpose flour with 3 tablespoons corn starch, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp. baking soda and 1/4 tsp. salt, stirring with a whisk. Add to the sugar mixture and beat until combined.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface (it will be soft). Form into a ball, then divide into 4 smaller balls. Working with one portion at a time, roll each into an 8-inch circle in between two sheets of plastic wrap, and place in the freezer for 20 minutes.

This part of the recipe gets a little complicated, but it's not hard, just involved. Remove one portion of dough from the freezer and leave the others inside. Remove the top sheet of plastic wrap. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter (any shape you like!), cut 3 cookies and place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Gather the scraps from the dough, re-roll into a smaller circle (about a 4-inch diameter this time) and refreeze for about 15 minutes.

Repeat with the remaining dough! I found it was easiest to bake the first round of 12 cookies while the second rolling-of-the-dough froze in the freezer. Either way, bake in 2 batches of 12 for 8 minutes at 375 degrees until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

Once the cookies cool, combine the icing: mix 1 cup powdered sugar (try the organic powdered sugar from Whole Foods' 365 brand) with 2 and a half teaspoons warm water, 1 teaspoon light corn syrup, 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract and a dash of salt. Stir with a fork.

You can drizzle the icing haphazardly over the cookies, or put into a zip-top plastic bag, cut a hole in 1 corner and pipe onto the cookies in a pattern. Alas, you can see that my decorating skills are not quite up to par, otherwise I would have made pretty snowflakes.

You'll have 24 cookies. Each one is 100 calories.

Cost:
powdered sugar $3.69
light corn syrup $5.69