Description
Vegan and gluten-free sugar cookies dipped in dark chocolate and sprinkled with pistachios and sea salt. Perfect for healthy holiday baking!
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies
- 1/2 cup vegan butter (at room temperature for 1–2 hours)
- 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
- 1/4 cup unrefined coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 3/4 cups gluten-free all purpose flour (plus more for rolling into shapes)
- 1/2 TBSP arrowroot powder or cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp Himalaan sea salt
- 1–2 tsp unsweetened almond milk
Dark Chocolate Pistachio Topping
- 2 cups Hu Kitchen Gems
- ½ cup pistachios, crushed
- Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Add the vegan butter to a large mixing bowl and cream with a hand mixer.
- Next, add in the cane sugar, coconut sugar, and unsweetened apple sauce and beat for ~1 minute.
- Sift in the gluten-free all-purpose flour, cornstarch, Himalayan sea salt, and baking powder.
- Stir until well incorporated, being careful not to over mix. Next, add the almond milk and mix until a soft dough is formed. If it appears to wet, add in a bit more flour.
- Cover the dough and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes before baking.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Scoop out heaping ~1 Tbsp amounts of chilled dough and roll into balls. Alternatively, roll the dough out between two pieces of parchment paper, lightly flouring the bottom layer. Remove the top layer, and cut the dough into shapes with a cookie cutter. Freeze shapes on the baking sheet for ~10 minutes before baking.
- Remove cookies from the freezer and ensure they’re ~2 inches apart to allow for spreading. If you’ve rolled the dough into balls, gently smash down the balls to form small cookie discs for baking.
- Bake cookies for 8-12 minutes, watching shapes closely to ensure they don’t burn. Cookies are done when they’re golden brown underneath.
- Remove cookies from the oven and allow them to rest on the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare your dark chocolate pistachio topping.
- Melt the chocolate on the stovetop over medium low until completely liquified. Transfer to a small heat safe bowl for dipping. Prepare the crushed pistachios and sea salt in separate bowls for sprinkling.
- Once cooled, dip cookies in the melted chocolate. Sprinkle with crushed pistachios and dark chocolate. Allow chocolate to harden completely before serving.
- Store leftover cookies covered at room temperature for up to a few days and freeze for long term storage.
Notes
Adapted from Minimalist Baker
- Prep Time: 85 min
- Cook Time: 12 min
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Refrigerate/Freezer/Oven-Bake
- Cuisine: Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Oil-Free