Vegan Citrus Glitter cookies

I have to admit I'm a real sucker for citrus desserts. And this cookie so perfectly hit the spot for me. I will definitely be making these again. This recipe is from "Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar"

Vegan Citrus Glitter Cookies





3-4 Tablespoons turbinado or other coarse sugar
1/2 cup nonhydrogenated vegan shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup non-dairy milk (I used rice milk)
2 Tablespoons finely grated citrus zest (I used a combo of orange & lime; I didnt have any lemons in the house)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup a/p flour
2 Tablespoons fine ground cornmeal (I ran my regular cornmeal in a spice mill)
1 Tablespoon corn starch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

*preheat oven 350 F
*line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
*spoon the coarse sugar onto a plate or shallow bowl & set aside
*cream the shortening & sugar together until light & fluffy, about 90 seconds
*mix in milk, zest, & vanilla
*sift in all remaining ingredients & mix until soft, pliable dough forms (it might look crumbly, but when pressed between fingers it should form easily)
*roll heaping Tablespoons of dough into balls & flatten ball into coarse sugar (only on one side)
*place sugar side up on baking sheet
*bake 10-12 minutes, let cool on baking sheet 2 minutes & then transfer to wire rack
*store in tightly sealed container

Golden Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

This cupcake recipe comes from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World". But the frosting recipe is my very own. The combo was very delightful. :)

Golden Vanilla Cupcakes







1 cup non-dairy milk (I used rice milk)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 cups a/p flour
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup oil (I used sunflower oil)
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

*preheat oven to 350 F
*line muffin tin with paper liners
*whisk milk & acv together & set aside for a few minutes
*beat together milk mixture, oil, sugar, vanilla, & almond extracts
*sift in dry ingredients & mix until no large lumps remain
*fill liners 2/3 way full & bake 20-22 minutes
*transfer to cooling rack & let cool completely before frosting

Buttercream Frosting

8 Tablespoons vegan butter
3 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
3-4 Tabkespoons non-dairy milk (I use rice milk)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

*beat butter 30 seconds, until fluffy
*stop, add sugar, milk, & vanilla
*blend on low about 1 minute
*increase speed & beat another minute

Vegan Snickerdoodles

Vegan Snickerdoodles (from "Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar")

Cookie:
1 Cup vegan butter  (I use the soy free earth balance)
1 1/4 Cups sugar
2 Tablespoons nondairy milk (I use rice milk)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 2/3 Cups all purpose flour
1/4 Cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping:
1/3 Cup sugar
1 rounded teaspoon ground cinammon

*preheat oven to 350 & line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
*cream butter & sugar until lighty & creamy, about 2 minutes
*add milk & vanilla & mix in
*sift in dry ingredients & beat until a soft dough forms
*chill dough in refrigerator at least 30 minutes
*combine topping ingredients
*scoop dough out (tablespoon at a time), rolling into a ball
*roll ball in topping & place on baking sheet (space cookies about 3" apart)
*sprinkle tops of cookies with more topping
*bake 10-12 minutes
*allow to cool on baking sheet 5 minutes before transferring to cooling racks
*store in loosely covered container

Lemon Bars

Ok, I haven't actually made these yet, so far I have never posted a recipe without trying it first, BUT I trust Brandi so I'm gonna take a leap of faith & post this & I do plan to make these VERY SOON.  I LOOOOOVE lemon desserts & lemon bars are very high on that list.  I can't wait to try these!!

Lemon Bar Recipe

Cake Decorating Icing

Making cakes & decorating them is something I really enjoy.  Although I'm good at making cakes, the decorating part is still pretty new to me & I have a long ways to go really.  But I plan to continue on that journey.  A friend of mine gave me this recipe a while back.  She is REALLY good at decorating cakes.  I found myself struggling when it came to "decorating" the cake--frosting is easy, but "decorating" was hard for me.  I always found the decorating stuff too soft & melting away later on.  I could never get it stiff enough.  This recipe works well.  I think the original recipe said to use either "lard" or "vegetable shortening", I can't remember, but I know it sounded very unappetizing for a cake.  I just subbed butter myself & it worked great.  However, today I was trying to do this recipe "vegan", so I used my Earth Balance instead of butter & it didn't turn out too great, it was very soft.  I do think it can be done, but I'm thinking don't add water & maybe more flour is needed.  If I do end up perfecting the vegan version at some point (maybe next month when I make Lil J's birthday cake) I will post it here, but for now I'm just gonna post it as the regular non-vegan version that I know works great.  I've used it several times.  It's exactly how I want it, where it's soft enough to work with while decorating & then as it dries it firms up nicely.

Cake Decorating Icing

1 Cup flour
1 Cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup water
Sugar
Coloring of choice

*Mix flour & butter until fluffy
*add salt
*add water, a little at a time & mix well
*add sugar & coloring

Note 1: I often split this into several batches after it's made & add the coloring separately to each batch so I have several different colors to work with.

Note 2: I am very health conscious, but I have used natural colorings & am not happy with them (if I had a girl I think I woud be--they come out very pastel & usually pinky or lavenderish) so I do use the artificial colors sometimes.  A couple of drops of food coloring goes a long way in this recipe so the actual amount eaten is super small & I honestly don't think that small amount once or twice a year is going to do any major damage in the grand scheme of things. 

Note 3: This makes quite a large amount, I often have too much left over.  Unless you need A LOT consider halving the recipe or even quartering it.

Note 4: You will need a pastry bag with decorating tips to use this.  I LOVE mine, I had never used one up until a couple of years ago.  They are so nice & easy to use.  At some point I ordered one (from someone's kid's school fund raiser I think) that is more like a syringe, but I don't have the same amount of control over it as I do with the pastry bag.  A simple one with only a couple of attachments is pretty cheap, definitely worth buying if you plan to make cakes.  I would still love a more deluxe kit with more tip attachments myself, maybe someday.......