Description
Delightfully light and airy vegan sparkling strawberry sugar cookies that combine the sweetness of strawberries with a perfect sugar crust. These cookies use aquafaba as an egg substitute, making them completely vegan while maintaining a tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture. Perfect for a sweet treat or special occasions, these cookies offer a fruity twist on a classic favorite.
Ingredients
Scale
Dough Ingredients
- 1 cup shortening
- 1/2 cup organic vegan cane sugar
- 1/2 cup organic confectioners sugar
- 3 tablespoons aquafaba (liquid from canned chickpeas)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional, but recommended!)
- 1/3 cup pulverized freeze dried strawberries
- 2 1/4 cups cake flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
For Coating
- Granulated sugar to roll in
Instructions
- Preheat and Cream: Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Using an electric hand mixer, stand mixer, or by hand, cream together the shortening, vegan cane sugar, and confectioners sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Add the aquafaba, pure vanilla extract, and almond extract if using. Mix for a couple of minutes until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the pulverized freeze dried strawberries, cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, and kosher salt.
- Mix Dough: Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Avoid over-mixing to keep the cookies tender.
- Form Cookies: Using a scoop or spoon, form the dough into balls. Roll each ball in granulated sugar or colored sugar for a sparkling effect.
- Prepare for Baking: Place the sugared dough balls evenly spaced on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Flatten each ball slightly using the bottom of a glass.
- Bake Cookies: Bake for 8-9 minutes, watching closely and removing the cookies before they start to brown to maintain softness.
- Cool Properly: Immediately lift the parchment paper with the cookies and place it on a cool surface to stop further cooking. Leaving cookies on the hot baking sheet causes them to crisp up rather than stay soft.
- Store: Once completely cooled, store the cookies in an airtight container to keep them fresh and soft.
Notes
- Use cake flour for a softer, more tender cookie texture. If unavailable, you can substitute with all-purpose flour but reduce the quantity slightly or add a teaspoon of cornstarch for tenderness.
- Rolling the cookie dough in sugar creates a sparkling, slightly crunchy outer layer that contrasts beautifully with the soft inside.
- The use of aquafaba in place of eggs ensures the cookies are vegan and imparts a slight lightness to the dough.
- Be careful not to overbake; removing the cookies from the hot sheet immediately after baking preserves the soft texture.
