Small's World

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

We are all ready for some trick-or-treaters....

Vegan + Gluten Free Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

I LOVE sugar cookies. It was such a fun and memorable part of my childhood. So being gluten and dairy free, I wanted to find a way to continue this tradition with my son. My mom had a great recipe for sugar cookies, so I used this as my base and adapted it to be gluten, dairy, nut, free, and therefore vegan! I found this awesome kit for making pumpkin cut outs and it included different pieces to make eyes, mouths, and noses. So much fun!

 

Here is how the cookies turned out...

And of course for the recipes. If you would like to make your own little treats...enjoy!

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup softened butter (I used Earth Balance)
• 1 cup sugar
• Egg replacement for two eggs (I used Ener-G)*
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup arrowroot flour
• 1/4 cup oat flour
• 1/4 cup sorghum flour

Method

Mix thoroughly butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Blend in flours, baking powder and salt. Cover and chill for one hour or more. (I actually stored my overnight). Roll out the dough on a floured surface and cut out the cookies with cookie cutters of your choice. Bake at 400 degrees for 6 to 8 minutes or until lightly brown along the edges. Take off cookie sheet quickly to prevent over cooking.

*When using an egg replacer follow the packaged instructions. If using Ener-G you will use 3 tsp Ener-G + 4 Tbs water. I have found the best method for using this product is to place the egg replacement powder and water in a bowl or measuring cup and beating it has you would scrambled eggs. This creates some "fluffiness" with the mixture that seems to help with the baking.

Icing

Ingredients

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) + 2 Tbs butter (softened)
• 1 tsp vanilla

Method

Mix until smooth. Add color if desired, or leave white to spread over the sugar cookies

Halloween and Pumpkins

Every year my husband and I host a Halloween pumpkin carving party with our friends and family. It is a ton of fun and always includes lots of pumpkin guts, seeds and of course some apple cider. 

We also have an annual photo of all the pumpkins lined up. As you can see we do have a few creative friends. The one in the middle is lighted by an actual light bulb, making it extra bright! And the second from the right is for our son...Mr. Potato Head as a ghost. My Dad did most of the work for him.

But for the fun part...the apple cider! We always have this as part of the party snacks, and it is always a hit! It is a very simple recipe with some good results.

Apple Cider

Ingredients / Equipment

• Crock pot or large pot
• 5 cinnamon sticks
• 96oz apple juice
• Ground Cinnamon (if desired)
• Carmel Syrup (if desired)
• Whipped cream (if desired)*

Method

Mix the apple juice and cinnamons sticks together in a crock pot or pot and bring to boil. Once boiling, let simmer for about 30 minutes (can do more), and serve hot with caramel syrup, whipped cream, and a dash of cinnamon if desired! For parties we will often have the caramel, whipped cream and cinnamon next to the warm cider for people to add to their drinks. We usually have an assortment of mugs as well for people to enjoy.

*For a dairy alternative whipped cream I have used Soyatoo with decent results

 

Photo taken by Erik Melander of Pattern Draft Imaging