Vegan Shortbread Cookies
These easy to make vegan Valentine’s Day shortbread cookies are melt in your mouthdelicious. Topped with a lemony glaze that gives them a wonderfully tart andrefreshing flavor. These heart shaped shortbread cookies look incrediblyimpressive and taste delicious. No one will ever guess they’re vegan.
Servings: 8 4 inch Cookie Hearts
Calories: 230kcal
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup All-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon Salt
Ingredients to cream
- ¾ cup Non-Dairy butter, softened - which equals about a stick and a half of non-dairy butter.
- ½ cup Powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Icing
- 1 cup Powdered sugar
- ½ cup Freezer-Dried Strawberries - finely crushed
- 2 tablespoons Fresh lemon juice
- Water - you will need approximately another tablespoon of water to thin the frosting, add slowly until it reaches right consistency.
Instructions
Prepare the Dough
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Allow the butter to fully soften to room temperature.
- In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and powdered sugar with a hand mixer on low speed for about 1 minute, until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla extract and mix for about 5 seconds, just to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and salt until evenly combined
- With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Beat for about 1 minute, until a soft dough forms.
Chill the Dough
- Shape the dough into a ball. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.
- The dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, making this a great make ahead recipe.
Roll and Cut
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F:
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it rest at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes, just until cool but pliable and able to bend slightly without cracking when pressed. If it cracks, it is still too cold. If it feels greasy or smears, it has warmed too much.
- Roll the dough between parchment paper, using a lightly floured surface only if the dough begins to stick. Flatten into a 1 inch thick puck, then roll to ¼ inch thickness using light pressure, rotating as you roll. If the dough resists or cracks, let it rest 3 to 5 minutes before continuing. Patience here helps maintain clean edges and ensure your cookie isn’t dry, crumbly shortbread or too greasy.
- Cut out cookies using a cookie cutter. We used a 4 inch heart cookie cutter. Since these cookies will be iced, you can skip docking the dough.
Chill Before Baking
- Transfer the cut out cookies to the prepared baking sheet and freeze for 15 minutes, until firm.
Bake and Cool
- Bake for 17 minutes, until the edges are set but not browned. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Lemon Glaze and Decoration
- Finely crush the freeze dried strawberries and set aside.
- In a small bowl, sift the powdered sugar to remove any lumps. Add the lemon juice and water and stir until smooth.
- Using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon, spread the glaze over one cookie at a time.
- Immediately sprinkle the tops with crushed strawberries. The glaze will set quickly.
- Let the cookies stand for about 15 minutes, or until the glaze is fully set. Repeat with remaining cookies.
Notes
- 2 inch cookie cutter yields about 32 cookies.
- 4 inch heart cookie cutter yields 8 cookies.
Nutrition
Calories: 230kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 3g | Sodium: 276mg | Potassium: 35mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 1mg
