Thursday, December 24, 2009

CHRISTmas cookies for butter lovers and vegans too!




happy holidays ya'll! this week has been busy! parties, gift swaps, going through holiday hate mail at work (it's not a HOLIDAY tree, it's a CHRISTmas tree), spending time with old friends, spending time with new friends, and baking my little heart out!

i decided to make cookies for the guys that work in my building. i was going to make classic butter cookies for all, until i discovered my 50-something dominican handyman is a VEGAN (upon saying my handyman was a vegan all my friends pictured a young skinny hipster--- but this is not the case). i have had some pretty delicious vegan desserts, but i have never gone out of my way to bake something vegan before. this cookie making extravaganza also gave me a chance to make some brooklyn bridge cookies (YESSSS).

for the butter cookie dough, i used martha's recipe. i added a tiny bit of maple syrup and brown sugar to add a bit more sweetness to these.







for the icing- i combined 2 cups of confectioners' sugar with one egg white and 1/3 cup of water. i beat this until it looked smooth (like paste) and then i added one drop of food coloring.

i also added some snow flake sprinkles to the sugar cookies with icing. WOOT! snowflakes.







i made nutella sandwiches out of some of the sugar cookies as well. i want to nom nom all of them. also some sugar for dusting... gorge.







some of these are going to my doormen, but some of them are going to my lovely bon bons, who i spend christmas day with every year. when i gave my super his box of cookies, he said ' i am going to eat them all- none for my children or my wife'... what an awesome man he is. i also discovered one of my doorman is a vegan as well--- so i am happy both the vegans in my building were taken care of... especially after i stressed how delicious kangaroo tastes to one of them (adorable AND delicious).

for the vegan cookies, i decided on a mexican wedding cookie. i combined the following in my lovely electric mixer:
2 sticks unsalted vegan margarine (room temp)
2 1/4 cups flour
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup ground pecans
1/2 cup ground walnuts
nice pinch of salt
2 big spoonfuls of maple syrup
splash of vanilla extract
pinch of cinnamon


after i mixed this together, i wrapped in cling film and put in the fridge for 2 hours. after that, i rolled the dough into small dough balls, and placed on a baking sheet. bake it at 350 for 15-18 minutes. after that, let them cool for a few minutes. then, while they are still a tiny but warm, toss them in confectioners' sugar until well coated. let them set and cool. then... nom nom nom your vegan sweets for days.




the packaging for my cookies were courtesy of blue ribbon general store and a cook's companion. i LOVE both those stores--- i could spend hours debating between sprinkles, stickers and gift boxes...




a very merry brooklyn chrismakkah to all!

x

4 comments:

  1. These are AMAZING. I don't normally have the patience for sugar cookies, but lord I need, need, NEED that cookie cutter. Which store is it from?

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  2. cook's companion! a knew you'd be a fan...

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  3. sooooo jealous right now. i love the little boxes you got for them!

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  4. bk bridge cookies! you are a baking genius! xo

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