Do I sense a blog name-change? 
Happy 4th of July! I have a lovely recipe for you all today! It’s vegan, gluten-free, and healthy! Without further ado, I give you…
Simple Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
- 3 cups GF flour (I used this flour)
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg
- 1/2 cup vegan margarine (I used Smart Balance Light*)
- 1 cup raw cane sugar
- 1 Ener-G egg
- at least 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
- jimmies!
- Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and nutmeg into a small bowl. Set aside.
- With an electric mixer (or, if you’re me and would rather build arm muscles ;D ), cream together the margarine, sugar and vanilla until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg replacer mixture and beat to mix well.
- Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk to make a soft dough. (For me, to get the right texture that wasn’t too sticky, I had to add a little bit more milk and flour than originally called for.)
- Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 45-60 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into rounds or other shapes with floured cookie cutters.
- Transfer to ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle with colored or raw sugar. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
My alterations: While I adore fall flavors, I 86-ed the nutmeg and added another ½ tsp. of vanilla, to make it more summer-friendly. Since I was in a bit of a time crunch, instead of using cookie cutters, I used a spoon to portion out the dough, which might be why they rose more than the traditional sugar cookie. I try to stay away from using margarine (ick!), but since I was making these for a party, it didn’t really bother me. Feel free to use another butter substitute, if you wish.
The recipe says it makes 36 cookies, but I only got out 32. (Again, probably due to the spoon-portioning.) Like any baked good, these taste best the next day! 
Plans for today include: a morning run/workout, brunch with the family, an early showing of Woody Allen’s new film, Whatever Works, some soccer (weather permitting!), and then a party with fireworks at a local park!
I hope you all have a great holiday, and are as grateful as I am to live in such a wonderful country!
xoEr
