These virtually too-pretty-to-eat cookies (a winner in our 2022 VegNews Vacation Cookie Contest) make an exquisite selfmade present. Want a shortcut? Swap the selfmade jam for storebought.
What you want:
For the cookies:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup vegan butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅓ cup plain unsweetened vegan milk
For the raspberry filling:
3 cups frozen or contemporary raspberries
¾ cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
For the royal icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon plain unsweetened vegan milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon chopped dried cranberries, for garnish
What you do:
- For the cookies, into a big bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt, and put aside. In one other bowl, cream butter, sugar, and vanilla. As soon as fluffy and easy, add milk, and proceed beating till fluffy.
- Add in half of flour combination, and proceed beating till easy. Add remaining flour combination, and beat till it’s half mixed. Combine remaining batter with a wood spoon till mixed.
- Right into a sheet of plastic wrap, place cookie dough. Wrap dough, barely flatten right into a disc form, and refrigerate for no less than half-hour. If you happen to refrigerate longer than an hour, enable dough to sit down at room temperature for 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325 levels. Evenly flour a clear work floor, and lower chilled dough in half. Wrap different half, and return it to the fridge, so working with one portion at a time. Roll out dough to ³⁄₁₆-inch thick. Utilizing a 2-inch scalloped cookie cutter, lower out cookies.
- Onto a parchment lined baking sheet, place cookies. For extra dough, gently press right into a flattened disc and roll out once more. Lower out as many cookies as doable with remaining dough, being cautious to not knead or overwork dough. Repeat course of with second half of chilled dough.
- Bake one sheet at a time on center rack of oven for 14 minutes, or till bottoms are simply barely brown, being cautious to not overbake. Take away from oven, and instantly switch to wire racks to chill utterly earlier than assembling.
- For the raspberry filling, right into a sauce pan over medium warmth, add all components. Whisk to mix, and cook dinner 10 minutes. Via a wonderful mesh sieve over one other sauce pan over medium-low warmth, pressure combination. Utilizing a spatula, press raspberry combination via sieve. Cook dinner strained combination for one more 5 minutes. Take away from warmth to chill utterly.
- For the royal icing, right into a medium bowl, mix all components and whisk till easy.
- To assemble cookies, unfold ½ teaspoon raspberry jam on a cookie and prime with one other cookie. Then unfold ½ teaspoon of icing on prime to edges of cookie. End by putting a small piece of dried cranberry in heart. Repeat with remaining cookies.
