I created this recipe tonight and couldn't be happier. Just what I had been aiming for. Sturdy, a little crumbly, with an interesting texture, not too sweet, a hint of almond. A perfect tea cookie. And that's what we got here. I finished them with a few lines of pale pink royal icing in honor of St. Valentine.
Yield: 20 cookies
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white flour - 1 cup
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almond meal - 1 cup
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baking powder - 1 teaspoon
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nondairy (& non-hydrogenated) butter, such as Earch Balance, room temp - 1/2 cup
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granulated sugar -1/2 cup
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Ener-G Egg Replacer* - 1.5 teaspoons
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water - 2 Tablespoons
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almond extract - 1.5 teaspoons
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vanilla extract - 1/2 teaspoon
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optional royal icing - recipe below
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Sift flour, almond meal and baking powder into a medium bowl and set aside. There will be some coarse almond bits left in your sifter. Just dump them into the bowl too and give it all a quick stir to combine.
In aother medium bowl, with electric beaters, beat the butter and sugar one to two minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the Ener-G, water, and both extracts. Beat for another minute.
Now add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until they come together.
In the bowl, it will not form a single mass around the beaters, but easily form a ball when pushed together by hand. Do this now and dump out onto a large sheet of plastic wrap.
Form into a log about 2" in diameter for 20 cookies. Log size is not critical but just know that the larger in diameter the log, the larger and fewer cookies you'll slice. A longer log will produce more and smaller cookies.
Wrap the log tightly in the plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour. If making royal icing, now's a good time to do it.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Remove the cookie dough log from the refrigerator and unwrap. Slice into 1/4-inch thick cookie dough slices and place them onto your parchment-lined baking sheets about 1/2-inch apart. They don't really spread much during baking.
Bake 15 - 20 minutes, until nice and brown around the edges and underneath.
Cool on baking sheet a few minutes to ensure they're firm enough before removing to wire rack.
*Ener-G egg replacer powder is carried in most super markets. I rarely use it, but it's cheap, lasts forever in your pantry and good to have around for some baked goods.
Royal Icing - Yield: about 1.5 cups
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Ener-G egg replacer - 1.5 teaspoons
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water - 2 Tablespoons
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lemon juice - 1 teaspoon
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almond extract - 1/4 teaspoon
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powdered sugar - 1.5 - 2 cups
In medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the Ener-G powder with with the water 'til super frothy and thickened, about 2 minutes.
Add lemon juice and almond extract to the mixture and beat to combine.
Sift in 1.5 cups powdered sugar gradually and beat until desired consistency, scraping down sides of bowl frequently.
To test for if more powdered sugar is called for, scoop up some icing, let it fall in a ribbon back into the bowl. Cosistency is correct when that icing remains on the surface 5 seconds before disappearing.
When complete, beat two drops of red food coloring into the mixture for a pink blush.
Pipe or spread onto the cooled cookies. It may take up to over night for the icing to firm up fully.
p.s. Roger Moore says "GO VEGAN - WHY NOT"?
