Sunday 24 April 2011

Vanilla & Sugar Easter Cookies

Jazzy Easter Cookies ~ Baby Chicks, Baby Bunnies, Mummy & Daddy Bunnies and Bugsy Bunnies. lol 
Happy Easter All! We had the pleasure of making these fabulous Easter cookies with our nephew M and niece N yesterday. The cookies were simple Vanilla Sugar Cookies and then they were topped with coloured glace icing which the little ones helped to mix up. Then they were let loose with the sprinkles and jellies. The hard part was trying to stop N eating the jellies before they had a chance to be used as toppings! lol But we had a lot of fun whilst my sister enjoyed some time to herself. A lot of fun..highly recommended. The cookie recipe was from The Joy of Vegan Baking

Vanilla Sugar Cookies
(Recipe from Joy of Vegan Baking/Patrick-Gourdreau)

1 3/4 cups (220g) all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup (112g) vegan butter
3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp egg replacer (equivalent of one egg) 
2 tbsp (30ml) water
1 tsp vanilla extract

Various coloured glace icing
sprinkles for toppings

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a bowl combine the flour and baking powder and set to one side. 

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg replacer, water, and vanilla extract and beat for at least another minute. Add the flour mix  and beat until you have a smooth dough. 

Divide the dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour or until firm enough to roll. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350'F/180'C/Gas Mark 4. 

Remove one half of the dough and on a lightly floured surface, roll out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out the cookie shapes using cookie cutters and place them on the baking sheets and then place the sheets into the fridge for 15 minutes to chill the dough, which stops the cookies from spreading and losing their shape while baking. 

Bake the cookies for 11 - 15 minutes, or until they begin to brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and place on cooling racks until completely cooled and then glaze with icing and top with sprinkles of choice. 

But they are lovely just plain and the decorating part is purely for fun! lol 

Frosted cookies will keep for several days in an airtight container. Store between layers of parchment paper or waxed paper.