Cut Out Christmas Cookies (GF & Vegan!)

• 2 1/3 cups Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour
• 1 tsp baking powder (I use Hain corn free)
• 1/2 tsp Real salt
  
• 1 1/2 cups organic powdered sugar (Wholesome brand is corn free)
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, room temp*
• 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp unsweetened plant based milk
• 1 Tbsp alcohol free vanilla extract

*NOTE: can sub for a vegan butter


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper.
2. In medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat together powdered sugar, coconut oil, coconut milk and vanilla until smooth. Add flour mixture slowly to the wet ingredients. Continue to mix until combined, about 2 minutes.
4. With your hands, knead the dough for 30 seconds to ensure it is evenly combined.
   
5. Form into a large ball and cover in plastic wrap. Let the dough rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
6. On counter, lay out large piece of unbleached parchment paper. Take out 1/4 of the dough and place in the center. Top with another piece of parchment paper. Roll with a rolling pin until dough is about 1/4 inch thick. You don't want thin cookies as they will be overdone and crunchy.
7. Using your favorite Christmas cut outs, cut the dough into pieces and gently place onto a lined baking sheet.
8. Bake cookies for 5 minutes. DO NOT over bake! Please set a timer. They will be crunchy and hard if you bake them longer than 5 minutes.
9. Remove cookies from oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Move onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
   
10. Continue baking until all the dough is gone. Do not put raw cookie shapes onto a hot sheet, let cool or use a new one!
    
11. Store in air-tight container for up to a week.

Frosting:

You can use Simple Mills OR Miss Jones vanilla frosting with 1 TBSP almond extract added in but you can also make your own from the recipe below! 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup unrefined (virgin) coconut oil
• 1 lb bag of organic powdered sugar (Wholesome brand is corn free)
• 4-6 Tbsp unsweetened plant based milk
• 1 Tbsp alcohol free almond extract

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, add the coconut oil and mix with a hand held mixer until it is  smooth and no more clumps appear.
2. Add in 1/4 of the powdered sugar, the almond extract and 2 Tbsp of milk. Mix together until smooth.
3. Continue adding in the powdered sugar along with tablespoons of milk as needed until everything is combined well and creamy.
4. Frost your  cookies and use sprinkles if desired!!

*recipe adapted from Sarah Bakes GF*