As you may recall, back in July I took over ownership at the yoga studio where I teach (along with two friends/partners). At the end of September, we had a weekend of festivities to celebrate our new ownership as well as the many years of loving stewardship that came before us. We had free classes, an evening of kirtan, and an official ceremony followed by a little party!
Of course we wanted to have some treats for our guests to enjoy - so we had tea and nuts and fruits... and cookies!
I knew just which cookies to make: Sugar Yogis! I made a double batch of sugar cookies and used my special yoga-pose cookie cutters. These cookie cutters weren't cheap, but I love them so much. Usually I made a ton of gingerbread yogis at Christmas time for all my students... but I'd never used them for sugar cookies before. My go-to recipe for sugar cookies comes straight out of the Joy of Cooking, believe it or not. I just use Earth Balance for the butter and EnerG for the egg. It's super easy to veganize, and the results are fantastic.
I also wanted to make a batch of gluten-free cookies, because I didn't want anyone to feel left out from the Sugar Yogi fun. So, I turned to a recipe I've been eyeing for a while, but I'd never actually tried: Allyson Kramer's gluten-free Simple Rolled Sugar Cookies. I read the comments (I always do before trying a recipe) and saw that one person loved them (good sign!) and another person loved them, but thought there was a tad bit too much vinegar. So, using that advice, I reduced the vinegar by half.
The dough was quite delicate, and a little hard to work with, but I persevered, and the cookies were GREAT. I thought gluten free sugar cookies would be a tough task, but these cookies were totally enjoyable and delicious... not just for the gf-ers amongst us. I was super impressed, and I would definitely recommend this recipe. The only suggestion I'd have is to stick with cookie cutter shapes that are forgiving (no long giraffe necks or whatever), and keep the dough cold.
Of course we wanted to have some treats for our guests to enjoy - so we had tea and nuts and fruits... and cookies!
I knew just which cookies to make: Sugar Yogis! I made a double batch of sugar cookies and used my special yoga-pose cookie cutters. These cookie cutters weren't cheap, but I love them so much. Usually I made a ton of gingerbread yogis at Christmas time for all my students... but I'd never used them for sugar cookies before. My go-to recipe for sugar cookies comes straight out of the Joy of Cooking, believe it or not. I just use Earth Balance for the butter and EnerG for the egg. It's super easy to veganize, and the results are fantastic.
the gluten-free yogis
I also wanted to make a batch of gluten-free cookies, because I didn't want anyone to feel left out from the Sugar Yogi fun. So, I turned to a recipe I've been eyeing for a while, but I'd never actually tried: Allyson Kramer's gluten-free Simple Rolled Sugar Cookies. I read the comments (I always do before trying a recipe) and saw that one person loved them (good sign!) and another person loved them, but thought there was a tad bit too much vinegar. So, using that advice, I reduced the vinegar by half.
The dough was quite delicate, and a little hard to work with, but I persevered, and the cookies were GREAT. I thought gluten free sugar cookies would be a tough task, but these cookies were totally enjoyable and delicious... not just for the gf-ers amongst us. I was super impressed, and I would definitely recommend this recipe. The only suggestion I'd have is to stick with cookie cutter shapes that are forgiving (no long giraffe necks or whatever), and keep the dough cold.
Me "meditating" on other cookie cutter ideas