Paleo soft sugar cookies w/ “cream cheese” frosting

Paleo SOFT SUGAR COOKIES! Another family remake of a beloved recipe we used to make EVERY year for Christmas. A tradition that had been taking place for well over 25 years before we took the Paleo route.

I’d always avoided trying to recreate this soft sugar cookie recipe because it called for sour cream and wasn’t sure how to get around that. However, with the onset of so many fabulous non diary ingredients available today, I knew it was time to have a go at remaking them! I am thrilled with the results of these new Paleo SOFT SUGAR COOKIES and could not be happier about being able to pick this tradition back up and make it a part of our family traditions again.

This recipes makes A LOT of cookies, so gather your family and friends together and have a cookie making party! It’s the best time of year to find a “reason” to get together and create memories in the kitchen. Send everyone home with a plate (or two) of cookies!

The best size of cookie was using a 2½’ round cookie cutter. By all means rummage through your cookie cutter bin and find some cutters that might work for you. Avoid going any larger as bake times might be affected and edges might be done before the middle.

I tested several variations, with great results and have listed a couple subs you can use in the list of ingredients. Couple things to note:

• If you choose to use organic sugar, your cookies will have a more traditional color to them. Maple sugar has a more golden color and the cookies will as well. A tasty cookie either way, with varying flavor profiles. Same goes for the frosting, if you use a powdered maple sugar* it will have more of a golden hue to it.
• If you roll the cookies out thicker than ¼” they will tend to puff up more and crack a bit. Doesn’t affect the bake or taste of the cookie, but keep that in mind if you’re not going to frost them. The tops will not be as smooth.
• You can make this dough in advance and store in the refrigerator wrapped in plastic. Let it come up to room temperature before rolling.
• Sprinkles and/or food coloring. Let’s keep things real here, not all sprinkles and food coloring are created equal and I know that. 😉There are great, naturally colored options available for both, but not so festive. For me, and since it’s one time a year, I opted for some fun sprinkles to keep them festive. YOU DO YOU, and do what works best for you current health situation m’kay.
• *To make maple powdered sugar, combine 1 cup maple sugar & 1 tbl tapioca starch in a high speed blender (I used a blendtec) and blend for about 30-45 seconds. Place a kitchen towel on top of the lid to keep a fine mist of powder from getting all over your counter top! You should get a perfect powdered sugar…I got almost 2 cups! Your results might be different depending on your blender.

Links to our favorite items used in this recipe:

• Otto’s Cassava Flour
• Kite Hill yogurt and cream cheese
• Organic powdered sugar
• Shaped cookie cutters

paleo soft sugar cookie w/ “cream cheese” frosting

Recipe by MichelleCourse: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: easy

Servings

60

cookies

Prep time

25

minutes

bake time

8

minutes

Ingredients

• cookies

• 1 cup dairy free plain yogurt/sour cream, or organic sour cream if you tolerate dairy

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 3½ cups cassava flour

• 2 cups maple sugar, or organic sugar

• 2 tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp fine sea salt

• 1 cup grass fed butter, melted & slightly cooled – or ghee

• 3 large eggs, room temperature

• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

• 1 tsp vanilla

• “cream cheese” frosting

• ½ cup ghee, or softened grass fed butter

• 8 oz dairy freel cream cheese spread, or organic cream cheese

• 2 tsp vanilla

• 3½-4 cups powdered maple sugar* or organic powdered sugar

• sprinkles or coloring for decorating (opt)

Directions

• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 400°.
• In a small bowl, combine yogurt (or sour cream if using) and baking soda. Stir to combine and set aside. Be aware, this mixture will bloom a bit because of the chemical reaction, so make sure your bowl can accommodate this.
• In a large bowl, add cassava flour, maple sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
• In a medium sized mixing bowl, add melted butter (or ghee), eggs, lemon juice and vanilla. Mix well with a hand mixer until eggs are thoroughly combined. Pour into dry ingredients and mix again til well combined. Mixture should have the consistency of wet, clumpy sand.
• Add bloomed yogurt mixture to the dough and continue mixing until the dough comes together enough that you can use your hands to roll it into a large ball. Divide into two dough balls and keep one covered while you roll out cookies from the first.
• Roll dough out in between two pieces of well dusted parchment paper to ¼” thick. Cut out into desired shapes, place on a baking sheet about ½” apart. They don’t spread too much, but you don’t want them touching. Re-roll crust scraps and cut out cookies until the baking sheet is full. Bake for 7-9 minutes until the edges just become brown. Remove from the oven, let them cool slightly on the baking sheet and then remove to the cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Once cookies are all baked/cooled, prepare frosting by adding ghee, cream cheese and vanilla to a large mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer, whip on high speed until well combined. Add 2 cups of the powdered sugar and mix well. From here, continue adding powdered sugar until you reach a desired consistency. I like using nearly 4 cups, but depending on the ingredients you use you may not need as much. Frost and decorate cookies as desired.