Easter Cookies

 Easter Cookies

I hope everyone that celebrates Easter had a wonderful one. This was the first time in over a year since COVID-19 that Allen and I were able to go to a small family gathering. It was great spending time with everyone, and I hope things get back to normal soon. Now onto cookies and I mean it when I say these are the best vanilla sugar cookies I ever tasted. The ingredients feature vanilla 3 ways: vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract, and vanilla sugar. The taste is a perfect vanilla flavor profile, and the cookie texture is chewy but firm. Since my nephew has an egg allergy, I did not use royal icing but an egg-dairy free icing. I love this icing as it has a lovely shine, tastes great, and have used it for many years. I highly recommend this recipe alternative if you cannot use egg whites. Happy Spring and stay safe!

Vanilla Sugar Cookie Ingredients
5 cups All Purpose Flour

1 1/2 cups Vanilla Sugar

1 teaspoon Coarse Salt

2 cups (4 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened

1 tablespoon Coconut Milk Cream (or Almond or other dairy free blend)

2 Large Eggs

2 teaspoons Clear Vanilla Extract

1 tablespoon Vanilla Bean Paste

Directions
Whisk together flour and salt; set aside. 

Cream butter and vanilla sugar in a hand held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment on low; 1-2 minutes. Do not overmix.

Scrape sides of bowl with spatula and mix for 10 seconds.

Add eggs one at a time, mix until incorporated. Scrape sides of bowl and mix for 5 seconds.

Add coconut milk, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean paste, and mix on low until incorporated; about 20-25 seconds.

Scrape sides of bowl and mix for 5 seconds.

Turn off mixer and add the flour mixture, and cover mixer with kitchen towel, and turn mixer on low speed and incorporate. 

The dough is ready when it begins to clump around paddle attachment.

Form into a disk shape and cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for 1-3 hours or overnight. I chilled the dough for 2 hours.

Heat oven to 350°F.

Use two sheets of parchment paper with dough in between and roll with rolling pin until desired thickness is reached.

Take cutters and make shapes. Repeat until you use all the dough.

Place onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, and put in freezer for 20-30 minutes. The cookies hold their shape when you do this.

Bake 12-15 minutes or until the edges have slightly browned. 

Wait 2-3 minutes before transferring cookies on cooling racks to complete cooling.

Decorate once cookies have cooled completely.

Egg-Dairy Free Icing (Double recipe if you have more than 40 cookies)

6 cups Powdered/Confectioners' Sugar, sifted

1/2 cup Coconut Milk + 1 tablespoon extra (for flooding cookies) (or Almond)

1/4 cup Light Corn Syrup

2 teaspoons Clear Vanilla Extract 

Directions
In a large bowl, sift powdered sugar; set aside.

Using stand or hand held mixer with paddle attachment on medium-high speed, combine sugar and 1/4 cup of coconut milk and mix for 1-2 minutes until smooth.

Add remaining 1/4 cup of milk one teaspoon at a time until you reach the consistency you need.   

Add corn syrup, vanilla extract, and mix for 10 seconds.

I separate the icing in plastic containers with lids according to how many different colors needed for tinting.

Keep the containers covered until you are ready to color.

Transfer the icing immediately into squeeze bottles, pastry bags fitted with desired tips, or tipless bags.

Outline each cookie and then immediately flood it.

Decorate as desired.

Let cookies dry overnight.

For the Icing recipe visit, The Slow Roasted Italian:
http://www.theslowroasteditalian.com/2013/12/best-tasting-sugar-cookie-icing-recipe.html

The flower designs were inspired by, The Cake Blog:

https://thecakeblog.com/2019/04/flower-sugar-cookies.html

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys