Perfect Vegan Sugar Cookies and Icing

Kristie and I baked these vegan sugar cookies from scratch for an annual harvest party that several vegan friends were attending. We were surprised how well they turned out. The cookies were just hard enough to keep their shape, but soft when bitten. They tasted buttery and melted in your mouth. The icing was glossy, smooth, and sweet. Like the cookies, the icing was just hard enough to allow stacking, but soft to bite. They were a hit at the party!

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 12 mins
• Total Time: 27 mins
• Calories: 146 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup margarine
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons light corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon egg substitute (such as Ener-G® Egg Replacer®)
• ¼ cup tofu cream cheese (such as Tofutti®)
• 2 tablespoons vanilla soy milk (such as Silk®), or more to taste
• 3 drops assorted food coloring, or as desired

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Beat margarine and sugar together in a large bowl using an electric mixer until creamy. Stir in egg substitute and vanilla extract. Add flour, cream cheese, and baking powder slowly. Mix into a dough, using your hands if necessary. Form dough into a long loaf and wrap in cellophane. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease baking sheets or line with aluminum foil.

Step 3

Roll dough out onto a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place about 1 inch apart on the baking sheets.

Step 4

Bake in the preheated oven until bottoms and edges just start to get light brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheets and cool on wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

Step 5

Stir confectioners' sugar and soy milk together in a bowl until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy, adding more corn syrup if too thick. Add food coloring to desired intensity. Dip cookies into the icing; let dry, 8 hours to overnight.