Vegan Sugar Cookies For One!

 

Ever want something sweet but don't have the time to get out the mixer and measuring cups? Would you like a cookie with your late-morning tea, but you don't want to spend the next half hour cleaning up the kitchen? Don't like making a big recipe of cookies because nobody is gonna help you eat them? Intentionally never buy any treats at the store while secretly knowing you can still get a cookie out of some random pantry items? If any of these things sound familiar to you, then boy have I got a cookie recipe you're gonna love!  

This simple chewy sugar cookie can be customized with your choice of extract. Consider the sea salt optional, but I really think you will like getting a surprise burst of salt in the middle of the sweet. 

I have written this recipe so you won't need to carefully measure ingredients and thus won't make more work for yourself in the end. 

Preheat your oven to 300F. 

Prepare a small baking tray as needed to be nonstick.

Melt 1/4 cup of vegan butter on the stove on in the microwave. That's 1/2 stick, to make it easy. You want it just melted. If you let it cook too long, it will begin to evaporate and the amounts will be off.

In a small bowl, stir together...

3 heaping tablespoons of plain flour

3 level tablespoons of sugar. 

A large pinch of coarse sea salt

Tip of the spoon's worth of baking powder. 

Add in a splash of extract (vanilla, almond, or lemon your choice!). Stir again.

Stir in your melted butter thoroughly until you get a tennis-ball-sized ball of dough. Your dough should be thick like PlayDoh. You may need to hand-knead to fully incorporate the flour. 

If your dough crumbles or won't mix fully, it is too dry. Add in a tiny splash of a neutral-flavored oil. You could add in water or plant milk here, but it could change the consistency of your cookie from chewy to more cakey, depending on the ratio. \

Divide your dough into 4 parts and roughly press onto your pan in a cookie shape. No need to be precise or fancy. They're not going to last long enough for anyone to admire them. 

Bake for 10 minutes at 350F. Turn off oven and allow cookies to sit in the cooling over for another 5-10 minutes until the cookies are to your desired brownness. Cooling even further at room temperature will enhance their chewiness.