Sourdough.
Spelt.
Sugar Cookies?
Yes, I admit it. That series of words doesn’t seem to work together very well. But I promise these will be the best sugar cookies you’ve ever had. The. Best. I actually don’t like sugar cookies, but I love these little babies! I found the original recipe on Food.com, and tweaked it just a bit.
- ½ cup palm shortening
- ½ cup raw sugar or coconut sugar
- 2 eggs (or use equivalent egg replacer)
- ¼ cup sourdough starter
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2½ cups freshly ground spelt flour
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- Beat the shortening and sugar together in a mixer for several minutes until very creamy. Stir in the eggs (or egg replacer), sourdough and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the starter mixture, and stir until combined. If the dough is too wet to be workable, add a little bit more flour a teaspoon or two at a time.
- Sprinkle flour on a hard level surface. Take half the dough and form it into a ball, then press the ball flat. Place it on the floured surface and sprinkle with a bit more flour. Roll to about a ¼" thickness and cut shapes using cookie cutters.
- Place shapes carefully on a baking stone or cast iron pizza pan and bake at 350F for about 15-20 minutes, or until very lightly browned. Cool on wire racks completely.
- Frost, if desired.
Ingredient notes:
You can use freshly ground wheat flour instead of spelt. Other flours might require adjustments.
You can increase sugar to taste. I usually frost these, so I like to use less sugar in the actual cookie to make up for the sugar in the frosting.
I use Ener-G egg replacer in these cookies. You can probably use a flax gel “egg” (1 TBSP ground flax + 2-3 TBSP warm water), but the result will likely be more dense.
Find instructions on making your own spelt (or other grain) sourdough starter here.
the cookie batter – it looks crumbly but it’s actually quite smooth and sturdy
These cookies are light and delicious! They’re also sturdy enough to handle and frost, and the dough rolls out beautifully. I actually found them easier to work with than traditional sugar cookie recipes.
