VEGAN BUTTERNUT SQUASH SUGAR COOKIES

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INGREDIENTS

Googly Eyes

  • 1 cup (130g) powdered sugar (or icing sugar)
  • 1 tsp tapioca starch (cornstarch works also)
  • 1 TBS brown rice syrup
  • 2 tsp soy milk (or any non-dairy milk)
  • 1/4 tsp almond extract
  • vegan chocolate chips

Butternut Squash Cookies

  • 1/2 cup (90g) vegan buttery spread, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (105g) organic cane sugar
  • 1/4 cup (57g) turbinado sugar (regular brown sugar works also)
  • 1/3 cup (90g) butternut squash puree*
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups (205g) gluten-free flour blend (all-purpose flour works also)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1/8 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Icing

  • 1/2 cup + 2 TBS (80g) powdered sugar (or icing sugar)
  • 2 TBS unsweetened soy milk
  • 1 tsp maple syrup

INSTRUCTIONS

Making the Googly Eyes

  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. I used a sandwich bag to pipe the white part of the googly eyes, and it worked like a charm. If you’re using a zippered sandwich bag, cut off the zipper. Next, snip off the tip of one corner of the bag. Drape bag over a drinking glass.
  3. Mix all the ingredients of the googly eyes together. It will take a little stirring, but eventually, you’ll get a very thick paste. Spoon paste into the prepared sandwich bag. Remove bag from the glass and twist the top. Pipe about 1/4 tsp of the paste onto prepared baking sheet, and top each dollop of paste with a chocolate chip. Continue piping until all the paste is used up.
  4. Let the paste set overnight. You’ll end up with more googly eyes than you need for these cookies, so store them in an airtight container. As long as you store them in a cool, dry area, they will keep for a while.

Baking the Cookies

  1. Place buttery spread and sugars in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer at low speed, cream all ingredients for a minute. Add butternut squash puree and vanilla extract, and mix until everything is just incorporated. This should take no more than 10 to 15 seconds.
  2. In a separate bowl, mix the gluten free flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt together.
  3. Sift flour mixture into the bowl with the wet ingredients. Mix until all ingredients are just incorporated, and be careful not to overbeat the mixture.
  4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes. Freezing the dough will make it easier for you to scoop and and shape the dough later.
  5. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
  6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Position the oven racks to the top third and bottom third slots.
  7. Scoop out a heaping tablespoonful of cookie dough and shape into a ball. Place the dough onto a baking sheet and flatten with your fingers. Repeat for the rest of the cookie dough.
  8. Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden. I also like to swap the sheets around halfway through so that the cookies get the same amount of heat. Let the cookies sit on the sheet for 5 minutes before cooling them off on a rack.

Making the Icing

  1. While the cookies are cooling, mix the icing ingredients together until you get a runny mixture. Once the cookies have cooled, drizzle icing on the cookies. Top with sprinkles, more turbinado sugar, or googly eyes. It takes a few hours for the icing to set completely. To store these overnight, place all the cookies on baking sheets and cover with aluminum foil.

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