vegan burnt sugar bourbon gingerbread cookies
Bourbon, soft vegan gingerbread cookies, orange anything, these are a few of my favorite things.
So what if you take all of those things and roll them into one delicious very grown up vegan cookie.
Well, that is exactly what I just did.
I recently saw a recipe in Bake From Scratch, by Brian Hart Hoffman, for a burnt sugar bourbon gingerbread cookies, and I was instantly intrigued. I had never made a burnt sugar cookie and all of the sudden it was top of my list of to-dos.
I love soft ginger bread and well, bourbon. So this seemed like a winner. And that burnt sugar…I needed this in my life and I mean like the instant I saw it. Hats off to the genius that decided to put this magic inside a cookie. I am not that genius, and am giving credit to the one who did.
I am a fan of all things orange and especially when holiday baking. Orange and cranberry, orange all by itself, and orange with gingerbread. Orange and gingerbread spices are a delicious combination that screams “HOLIDAY TIME '“so I decide to make an orange bourbon buttercream and turn these cookies into little vegan sandwich cookies.
And before you question burnt sugar, its not really burnt. More candied/ caramelized. Its quick and easy to do and is what makes these cookies really special.
These cookies are 100% for adults. There is bourbon in the dough, the burnt sugar, and the frosting. If you don’t like bourbon then this is not your cookie. If you love bourbon, then I have high hopes for you loving this vegan soft ginger bread cookie as much and my husband and I did!
These cookies are also beautiful, which makes them a terrific idea for holiday gifting. Since the recipe makes about 3 dozen cookies, more than a few of my neighbors just received these as an early holiday treat. I don’t think any of them were mad about this either!
Although these cookies take a little time to make and put together, they are worth it!!! I mean honestly the holidays only roll around once a year, and these are worth the work to celebrate! They are also so flipping good that I will probably be making serval more batches to share with family later this month.
INGERDIENTS:
1 and 2/3 cups granulated sugar ( I use Florida Crystals, they are vegan)
4 tablespoon bourbon, divided
1 cup vegan butter (I like to use Earth Balance)
2 cups brown sugar
2 starch eggs (2 tablespoons corn or tapioca starch plus 6 tablespoons water)
1/3 cup molasses
4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon each cinnamon, and ground ginger
1 teaspoon each cardamon, allspice
1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
zest form 1/2 of an orange
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (no this is not a mistake, trust me here)
1/2 cup granulated sugar for rolling the dough
ORANGE BOURBON BUTTER CREAM:
1/2 cup vegan butter (I used Earth Balance)
2 tablespoons shortening (I used Spectrum)
3 cups powdered sugar
zest from one orange
1 teaspoon bourbon
INSTRUCTIONS:
Line a cookie sheet in parchment paper or with a silicone mat.
In a medium sized pot add 1 and 2/3 cups sugar over medium low heat. Allow the sugar to melt completely, stirring continuously as it does, until ALL of the sugar has melted and is liquified. It will golden brown. Carefully and slowly add 1 tablespoon of bourbon to the melted sugar. This will cause the sugar to seize up but keep stirring and it remelt and mix in.
Carefully pour the melted sugar over the parchment lined cookie sheet. Spread the mixture out to a thinnish layer. Maybe 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick. Allow the mixture to cool completely.
Mix the starch with the 6 tablespoons of water in a small bowl.
In a large bowl using an electric hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer add the butter, orange zest, and brown sugar. Beat on medium speed for a minute or two. Add the molasses and mix until well incorporated. Beat in the starch eggs, and finally the 3 tablespoons of bourbon.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and spices. Slowly mix the flour mixture into the butter and sugar mixture, adding a little flour at a time, beating on a low speed just until all the flour is mixed in.
Break up the hardened burnt sugar into small pieces. It will break pretty easily, and you want the pieces no bigger than a chocolate chip. I fold the parchment in half and use a kitchen mallet to break it up. Reserve 1/4 cup of the sugar piece. You will end up with sort of a sugar dust and that along with the super tiny pieces are what I reserve for dipping the cookie edges in.
Fold the burnt sugar pieces into the cookie batter.
Using a small 1 tablespoon kitchen scoop, scoop the cookie dough and roll into small balls. Pour 1/2 cup granulated sugar onto a plate and roll the dough balls in the sugar to coat.
Place the cookies a few inches apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet. They will need room to spread. Bake for 12 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool a bit on the pan before transferring them to a wire cooling rack.
Prepare the buttercream by beating the butter and shortening together in a large bowl or in the bowl of your stand mixer. Add the orange zest, powdered sugar and bourbon. Beat until all ingredients are incorporated. If the frosting is too thick you can add a few more drops of bourbon. If it seems to thin to pipe, add a bit more powdered sugar.
To assemble the cookies, fill a piping bag with any tip you like with butter cream. Pipe a thin layer of butter cream on one cookie and sandwich another on top. Dip one side of the cookie in the reversed burnt sugar dust/pieces for garnish.
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