There’s no better holiday gift than a tin of freshly-baked sugar cookies, especially if they’re frosted. You can just sort of taste the love and the time that went into it, the dough rolled by hand and stamped into trees and snowflakes and festive things.

In our book, no holiday season is complete without cookies, so we set to work to make a health-conscious version that tastes just even better our childhood favorite. Almond extract is a common ingredient in traditional sugar cookie recipes, so we started there, with a cookie base of fine almond flour commonly used in delicate French cookies. Next we added arrowroot to lighten things up and make for easy rolling of the dough. Coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and a pinch of sea salt round things out, with a simple white chocolate frosting that makes decorating a breeze. The result is enough to thrill butter lovers and plant-based princes alike.

This recipe bakes a crisp, almond-based cookie topped with a melt-in-your-mouth white chocolate frosting made of simple ingredients. Tastes best topped with sprinkles.

PREP TIME: 30 minutes

BAKE TIME: 30 minutes

ASSEMBLY TIME: 30 minutes

MAKES 16 cookies

COOKIE INGREDIENTS

1/3 c coconut oil, melted

1/3 c maple syrup

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 c finely ground blanched almond flour

1 c arrowroot flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp sea salt

FROSTING INGREDIENTS

1 c white chocolate

1/4 c almond milk

2 tbsp coconut oil

3/4 c tapioca flour

RECIPE

1 PREP

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Reserve a bit of arrowroot flour and set aside.

2 MIX & REFRIGERATE

In a large bowl with an electric or stand mixer, mix together coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla. Add almond flour, arrowroot flour, baking soda, and sea salt. The mixture will begin to  clump a bit once incorporated. Then use a spatula or bare hands to form a ball of dough with the mixture. Wrap completely in wax paper and freeze for 30 minutes, or until dough is firm but just malleable.

3 ROLL DOUGH & CUT COOKIES

Sprinkle arrowroot flour on smooth, clean surface. Sprinkle arrowroot flour on rolling pin, too. (In a pinch, you may use a smooth-sided drinking glass or bottle to roll dough.) Roll dough to desired thickness, placing pressure in the center of the rolling pin. We recommend no more than 1/8". Cut shapes with cookie cutters and gently transfer to lined cookie sheet.

4 BAKE & COOL

Bake cookies at 350F for 13-15 minutes, or until edges just begin to turn golden. Gently remove from pan and cool on cooling rack before frosting.

5 CREATE FROSTING

Create a double boiler over a saucepan on low heat and whisk white chocolate and almond milk until combined. Remove from heat and whisk in coconut oil until very smooth. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. Using a mixer, whip frosting with tapioca flour. Frost cookies at room temperature.

6 FROST, TOP & SERVE

Frost cookies with knife or spatula as desired. To pipe icing, spoon into frosting bag and cool in refrigerator until desired consistency is reached. Store covered at room temperature. Top with sprinkles or festive jimmies and serve with a glass of ice cold milk.

 

 

TIPS

-Make sure that dough is sufficiently firm before rolling.

-Flour your surface, and your pin! This is so important. Add arrowroot gradually to the surface as you continue to recycle, roll, and cut excess dough into shapes.

-Gently transfer cookies to sheet by sliding a thin spatula or frosting spreader under the cookie  and using a gentle hand on top of the cookie to guide it.

-Sprinkle cookies just after frosting so the sprinkles stick well.

-Store cookies covered at room temperature. Keep refrigerated for a harder cookie.