Instructions

1. You don't have to worry about preheating the oven, because you are going to be refrigerating this dough for a few hours before rolling it out and cutting the cookies. Keep this in mind in your planning! The dough can be left overnight, but I think about 4 hours is enough.

2. In a mixing bowl, cream together the vegan butter, baking soda, salt, sugar, and spices. Whisk in the molasses and the apple juice. Once everything is well mixed, add the flour until you form a stiff dough. For this step, I use my electric mixer with the paddle attachment. Once you have a big, firm ball of dough, wrap it in plastic and chill it for about 4 hours. During this time, you can make your frosting and prepare your decorating ingredients. You can use the frosting recipe at www.myveganplanet.com, or you can use your own! I prefer the vegan cream cheese frosting at maximum stiffness because it tastes delicious and holds its shape well.

3. When the dough is ready, cut it into sections and roll each section out to about 1/3 inch thick. Cut with the cookie cutters and place them on baking sheets either lined with parchment paper or lightly greased.

4. When ready to bake, bake at 350 F for about 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before decorating.

5. Enjoy!