Sugar Cookies, Gluten Free, Vegan and 5 Minute Healthy Frosting

By seamline

Mywholefoodlife.com
I used palm shortening in this recipe and here is why. One of the key ingredients in sugar cookies is butter. I don’t want to use margarine or some other kind of vegan butter. I also didn’t think coconut oil would have worked in this recipe. So I used the palm shortening. I used Nutiva palm shortening which comes from a sustainable source. Since it’s not something I use on a regular basis, I was okay with it in this recipe. One thing I did different than most sugar cookie recipes is that I cut the sugar amount in half.

This is a great base frosting recipe that you can add in your own flavors too. I can see it easily becoming a strawberry frosting with a little fruit added. Or you can add some cocoa powder to make it a chocolate frosting. It was very easy to spread. I could see this frosting being a great addition to my flourless chocolate muffins.
This frosting literally takes minutes to make. Hence the 5 minute frosting name.
image: http://mywholefoodlife.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/simple-smile.png

:) It’s also vegan, gluten free and paleo approved. This healthy frosting recipe would make a great dairy free alternative as well. I highly recommend only using this frosting right before you eat it. Once it refrigerates, it becomes hard. However, since ti does become hard in the fridge, it would be a great frosting for sugar cookie cutouts. Or even frosted gingerbread cookies.

Ingredients

• Cookies:
• 3 cups sorghum flour or gluten free oat flour or gluten free all purpose
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1 cup palm shortening (softened)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 flax eggs (real eggs work too)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• Frosting:
• 1 cup coconut butter
• 2-3 T maple syrup
• 1 tsp ground vanilla beans
• almond milk

Details

Servings 30
Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 30mins
Adapted from mywholefoodlife.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In one bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together.

3. In another bowl, mix the softened shortening and the sugar together.

4. Then add in the vanilla and flax eggs.

5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix only until combined.
If the batter looks too dry, add in the almond milk one tablespoon at a time.
6. Gather the dough into a ball.

7. Cut the dough in half with a bench scraper.

8. Wrap both pieces of dough and place in the fridge for 20 minutes.

9. Grab one piece of the dough and roll onto a floured surface until it's about 1/4 inch thick.

10. Cut into shapes. Place the cookie shapes onto a lined baking sheet.

11. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the cookie edges turn a golden brown.

12. Let cookies completely cool before removing them from the baking sheet.

13.Repeat these steps with the second ball of dough.

14. Store these cookies in an airtight container in the fridge. You can also freeze them for longer storage. Enjoy!

Frosting is optional
Frosting: