Vegan Anise Seed Shortbread Cookies

You might have seen my trials and tribulations with trying to make stamped springerle style cookies on my instagram stories last week. I really wanted to use this vintage springerle roller my mother gave me from her collection of vintage rolling pins, but after researching springerle and realizing that eggs play an important role in creating a dough that will hold the stamp shapes I switched over to a shortbread style cookie dough. They puffed up a bit during baking but the stamping held, although faded a wee bit. They kind of remind me the chessman cookies we used to get from the pepperidge farm bakery outlet near my hometown when I was kid. (That place was dangerous LOL–and this was during the 1990’s when we were not super conscious about checking ingredients and labels.) Anyway, these are so yummy with a spot of afternoon tea. The anise flavor and crunch from the seeds is lovely and perfect for the holidays.

These cookies keep well, making them great to package up and send for holiday gifts. I used to bake a ton of cookies with my mom every year to give to family and friends. It’s one of my fondest holiday memories. The holiday season isn’t complete without a marathon cookie baking session where the entire kitchen gets covered in flour and sugar and the dining room table stacked up with trays of cookies waiting ribbons and bows.

I have a few more new cookie recipes coming to this space in the next few days so your weekend baking plans will be all sorted. Until then, happy baking!!! Oh, and make sure the Christmas tunes are blaring when you bake these! “Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow”….

xx Kaity

recipe after the jump…

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Vegan Anise Seed Shortbread Cookies

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• Author: Kaity Farrell
• Yield: 2 dozen cookies 1x

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Ingredients

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• 1/2 cup vegan butter or vegan shortening
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons anise extract
• 2 tablespoons coconut milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, minus 2 tablespoons
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher sea salt
• 1 tablespoon anise seeds

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
3. Cream together butter and powdered sugar in a mixing bowl with a beater or stand mixer until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Add anise extract and coconut milk and cream together until incorporated.
5. Add flour, arrowroot powder, salt and anise seeds and combine until a stiff dough forms. You may have to use your hands to knead it together. If the dough is too crumbly and won’t come together in your hands, add another tablespoon of coconut milk.
6. If using a stamped rolling pin, roll dough first into a rectangle to about 1/2″ thickness on a lightly floured work surface with a floured regular rolling pin. Roll a floured stamped rolling pin over the dough pressing hard enough to leave an imprint, which will flatten the dough to about 1/4″ thickness.
7. Cut out stamped cookies and carefully transfer to the baking sheet. (An offset spatula works well for this.) 
8. Rework dough scraps and continue with whichever method you’ve chosen.
9. Once cookies are cut out, place the baking sheet into the freezer for 5-10 minutes. This will help preserve the stamping and/or cutout shapes during baking.
10. Bake at 350˚F for about 15 minutes until cookies have started to turn golden around the edges and bottoms. You will also smell the lovely anise aroma when they are done. Enjoy!

 

 

Notes

If using cookie cutters, roll dough out to about 1/4″ thickness. Then cut out cookies and transfer to baking sheet.

You can also cut cookies into rectangles with a sharp kitchen knife and prick them with a fork for a traditional shortbread cookie look.

Cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks at room temperature.

Powdered sugar contains cornstarch and is necessary for this recipe to help create a stiff dough, which will preserve the stamping effect. I used organic/non-GMO powdered sugar. You can also make your own by processing 1 tablespoon cornstarch per 1 cup of sugar in a food processor/dry blender until a powder is formed.

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Prop Love: Ceramic pinch bowl by Facture Goods