vanilla wafer cookies

here is another one from fran costigan’s more great good dairy-free desserts, these little cookies are similar to animal crackers or arrowroot biscuits but with a strong vanilla kick. the texture is firm and perfect for dipping into a cup of tea or coffee. although the recipe states that the dough may be a bit sticky, i found that mine was firm enough to roll out and cut without chilling…perhaps because i reduced the amount of oil. now all i have to do is find myself some little itty bitty animal shaped cookie cutters...

vanilla wafer cookies
3/4 cup unbleached white flour
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
3 Tablespoons canola oil (i reduced this to 2 T. and added 1 T. soymilk)
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
sugar for sprinkling, if desired

sift the dry ingredients together and set aside. in another bowl, whisk the oil, maple syrup and vanilla until well blended. pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until a shiny dough forms. the dough should be a little wet. add a few drops of soymilk or water if the consistency is crumbly or too dry. roll the dough out into two disks, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm (a few hours in the refrigerator or less time in the freezer). preheat oven to 350. between two pieces of parchment paper, roll out the dough to about 1/4" thick and, using a cookie cutter, cut into the shapes of your choice. if you are choosing to sprinkle your cookies with sugar, now is the time to do it. on a plate, sprinkle some sugar and press each cut cookie into the sugar before placing on a non-stick cookie sheet. if at any time the dough becomes too soft to work with place it in the freezer until it firms up again. bake for 8-10 minutes.