Buttery lemon cutout cookies

Made cookies from VwaV for my sister and her family as a welcome-home-from-a-very-long trip-in-europe-gift.

The cookie itself was vegan, but the icing was not:( So I left a plain one and had that. Yum! The icing was supposed to have soymilk powder, which Whole Foods did NOT have. They didn't have shortening either which affected the fluffy white icing texture.

Anyways. They were very pretty! I made a mess in my kitchen, and since our dishwasher is being stupid, I handwashed everything. Made me appreciate Mr. Dishwasher more! And all the other things I take for granted. Oops dont mean to get all deep. :D

1 cup earth balance

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp lemon zest

1/4 tsp salt

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour in 2 batches, beating well after each addition. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Mold the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. (Crucial!!)

Preheat the oven to 325'F, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. (I sprayed it, I didn't think we had any parchment but turns out we did :( )

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut with a 2 inch cookie cutter ( I used a cap of a large water bottle, probably 3 inches). Place the cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets, sprinkle with sugar, and bake for 6-8 minutes. ( I found it took 10-12 minutes.) Cool on the sheets for a minute, then transfer to a cooling rack for a little while. Roll out and bake the rest of the dough scraps.

FOr the fluffy white icing: (very much like frosting)

1/4 cup earth balance

1/2 cup nonhydrogenated shortening

3/4 cup superfine/caster sugar

1/4 cup soymilk powder

2 tsp vanilla

pinch salt

In a medium sized bowl, beat the margarine and shortening together with an electric mixer, on medium speed until well combined. Add the sugar and soy milk powder and beat for a good 10 minutes until very fluffy. Add vanilla extract and a pinch of salt, and beat for another minute.

Royal icing (Hardens, much like the squiggles on hostess cupcakes. Good drizzle.)

2 cups confectioners sugar

2 tbsp soymilk powder

2 tbsp water

Sift the sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the soymilk powder. Add 1 tbsp of water, stir, and add the rest a little at a time until it reaches the consistency a bit like toothpaste. It should not be dripping, if it is add a bit more confectioners sugar.

Pipe the fluffy white icing on COOLED cookies, in any design you like. Drizzle the royal icing like string over the cookie, and top with confectioners sugar. Pretty!

My taste testers said the icings and full cookies were very yummy, I will be making these vegan (completely) soon, and I encourage you to do the same!!