With only a few more days left until Christmas, everyone is scrambling to finish their shopping and get every detail ready for the holiday!  In my family, we used to bake a ton of goodies and deliver them to our extended family and friends on Christmas Eve. One of our favorites to bake were sugar cookies! They are so much fun and can be really creative. It is also a great activity to do with the whole family.  As a child, I used to spend hours designing and decorating my sugar cookies. Below we have a recipe for vegan sugar cookies, as well as frosting and suggestions for other decorations.  Happy Christmas and Merry Baking!!

Vegan Holiday Sugar Cookies

Cookie Recipe

Prep Time: 20-60 minutes    Bake Time: 8-10 Minutes per sheet

2 3/4 Cups Organic Flour

1 1/2 Cups Organic Evaporated Cane Juice (or other sweetener)
1 Cup Organic Earth Balance
3 Tbsp Warm Water
1 1/2 Tbsp Ener-G Egg Replacer
1 Tsp Organic Baking Soda
1 Tsp Organic Vanilla Extract
1/2 Tsp Organic Baking Powder
1/4 Tsp Salt

Frosting Recipe:

2 Cups Organic Wholesome Sweetener Powdered Sugar
1/4 Cup Hot Water
1/2 Cup Earth Balance
1 tsp Organic Vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small mixing bowl, beat the Ener-G Egg Replacer and warm water until the consistency of an egg and set aside. Combine and sift all dry ingredients together: flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another mixing bowl cream the Earth Balance and sugar. Beat in “egg” mixture from earlier and vanilla into the Earth Balance and sugar. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Once they are combined, you can make the cookies! If you are making simple round cookies, roll about a tsp worth of cookie dough and place on cookie sheet. If you are making fun holiday designs: santas, reindeers, trees etc, on a cutting board sprinkle flour and roll dough out to thin layer. Cut out shapes and place on cookie dough. Make sure to give enough room for each cookie to rise. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cookies have risen and are golden. Let cool for 10-20 minutes and decorate!

While the cookies are cooling, in a mixing bowl combine the Earth Balance, vanilla, and hot water. Slowly add in the powdered sugar (use Wholesome Sweeteners, they are confirmed vegan). Beat with electric mixer until smooth. This will make a standard frosting. If you want chocolate add in about 1/3-1/2 Cup vegan cocoa powder and mix. If you would like different colors you can add in food coloring (at your own risk). Be careful of chemical dyes, especially red as they may not be vegan and can include harmful ingredients. Seelect Food Coloring and Nature’s Flavors are all natural and vegan dyes. You can also find vegan sprinkles! Now it is time to decorate your sugar cookies however you would like. Trust us this is the best part, well aside from eating the cookies that is!