#265 The Case of Gingerbread Soldiers

I will follow with a recipe for vegan Royal Icing. It uses aquafaba!

1/2 tablespoon ground flaxseeds

1-1/4 tablespoons water

1-5/8 cups flour

1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 tablespoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/8 cup vegan butter, softened

1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1/3 cup fancy molasses

1 teaspoon vanilla

To make half of a flaxseed egg, in a small bowl, mix together the flaxseeds and water and set aside to thicken.

Mix together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, ground cloves, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl, beat the vegan butter with the brown sugar for 2 min., until creamy and fluffy.

Beat in the half of a flaxseed egg, molasses and vanilla, until smooth and well combined.

Gradually beat in the flour mixture until just combined.

Form the dough into a ball, flatten into a 1-inch disk, wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

On a floured surface (I have a pastry cloth that I love but a cotton tea towel also works very well), roll out the dough to 1/8" thick. To begin, you might have to lay the plastic wrap over the dough to prevent it sticking to the rolling pin.

Cut out as many shapes as you can then transfer them to the baking sheet. (Gather leftover cuttings together to form a ball and repeat the process—minus the chilling—for another batch of cookies.)

Bake for 14 min. on the centre rack of the oven.

Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 min. then transfer them to a rack to finish cooling.

Makes 35 small soldiers that freeze well.

♥ Becki

Comments

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#266 The Case of Royal Icing

T o make filling your pastry tube easier, cut a tiny bit off the very tip to allow air to escape before you add your icing. Later, make the hole larger if you wish. 19-oz-can chick peas, shaken 2 cups icing sugar 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon vanilla food colouring (optional) Add 3 tablespoons of liquid from the chick pea can (aquafaba) to a large bowl. Beat on high for four min., until foamy and thick. (Make Hummus with the chick peas.) Add the icing sugar, salt, vanilla, and colouring as desired. Beat until combined then on high for six min., occasionally scraping down the side of the bowl. A spoon stuck upright in the icing should remain standing but you want the mixture to be thin enough to squeeze easily out of your pastry tube. Add drops of water to thin, if necessary. Fill your pastry tube. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge, in an airtight container with a clean, damp cloth. ♥ Becki

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