Christmas Sugar Cookies (dairy, gluten, nut free & vegan)
These lovely little Christmas Sugar Cookies are gluten free & nut free and suitable for vegans! Make these simple biscuits with ground ginger, vanilla bean paste or simply leave plain. The soft dough is easy enough for little hands to handle and can be re-rolled as many times as you like OR kept in the fridge for a week for all those last minute festive get togethers!
Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper or silicone baking sheet
For the Dough
Beat the margarine, granulated sugar and icing sugar together. Add the golden syrup and beat again until completely combined.
Gently stir in the flour and tip out onto cling film. Use your hands to mould into a ball of soft dough & wrap tightly in cling film.
Chill in the fridge for at least 30minutes.
Cut the dough into quarters. Take one quarter and re-wrap the rest. The best thing about this dough is that you can roll & re-roll as many times as you like!
Gently roll until about the thickness of a pound coin. Dip your chosen cutters in a pile of flour and press into the dough. Remove excess dough and transfer the shapes to the lined baking sheet.
TO MAKE THE BUTTONS....Use a large piping nozzle or small round cutter & cut out a circle. Flatten slightly and then press the original cutter gently into the surface to make the button edge. Then make four small holes in the centre of the buttons with a skewer.
Bake for 12-15minutes until just starting to turn golden brown. They will harden as they cool.
For the Icing
Mix the icing sugar with a small amount (1/8tsp) of gold dust and then turn into a fairly thick but pourable paste with some of the lemon juice. You need it to hold itself into blobs but still be able to dip the biscuits in.