Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!

E wanted to make a happy pumpkin, while I went for a crazy vampire pumpkin.

I wanted to make some Halloween cookies for E to bring to work and I have my Halloween cookie cutters that must be used! I was looking for a vegan sugar cookie recipe but then came across these chocolate cut-out cookies which seemed like more fun.

The dough was super easy to roll out, which made me so happy as rolling out dough can be stressful. The cookies tasted good, though I didn't love them. They could have been more chocolate-y. The texture was like a chewy sugar cookie. I was going to use royal icing to frost them but saw this confectioner's icing (which is vegan) and the recipe said it dries hard. Perfect! Sadly, it does not dry hard. Or maybe I put on too thick of a layer - but I did follow the recipe. The icing does dry to some degree, just not hard like royal icing. Which means if you stack the cookies for a length of time, the icing will come off on the cookie on top of it. Anyway, I had fun making them and go to use up some of my black sprinkles too. :)

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Sugar Cookie Bars
Ginger Spice Cookies
Dark and Dangerous Triple Chocolate Cookies
Peanut Butter Chocoalte Pillows

Chocolate Cut-Out Cookies
Adapted from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

Makes 2-3 dozen 2-3 inch cookies (depends on your cookie cutter, I got about 28)

2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup safflower oil
1/4 cup nondairy milk (I used unsweetened plain soy)
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch cocoa powder
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

1. In a mixing bowl, vigorously mix the sugar, oil and nondairy milk. Mix in the vanilla extract.

2. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Mix until well combined. The dough should be stiff but pliable. Divide in half, and form into discs; flatten and refrigerate for about an hour.

3. Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats. Roll dough out about 1/8 inch thick onto a lightly floured surface. Use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes and a thin spatula to transfer the cookies to the baking sheets. Roll the dough scraps out to get a few more cookies.

4. Bake for 7 minutes. Let cookies cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes before moving them to wire racks to cool completely. Store in a tightly sealed container.

Confectioner's Icing
Adapted from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

2 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 tbsp nondairy milk

1. In a large bowl, whisk together all the ingredients using a wire whisk until smooth. Combine to form a glaze that can be easily spread with an icing spatula or piped from a pastry bag with a small round tip.

2. If the icing is too thick, whisk in 1 tsp at a time of either nondairy milk or water. If too thin, whisk in more powdered sugar by the tablespoon until a desired consistency is reached.