Combining pink dough flavored with peppermint and white dough creates a delicious cookie that looks harder to make than it is. Peppermint is part and parcel of Christmas, and here’s another way to enjoy it.
Yield: 2 dozen
Active time: 20 minutes
Start to finish: 33/4 hours, including 3 hours to chill dough
21/2 teaspoons egg replacement powder, such as Ener-G
11/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) soy margarine, chilled and cut into small bits
1/2 teaspoon peppermint oil or pure peppermint extract
3 to 5 drops red food coloring
1. Mix egg replacement powder with 3 tablespoons cold water, and set aside. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Blend for 5 seconds. Add margarine to the work bowl, and process, using on-and-off pulsing, until mixture resembles coarse meal.
2. Drizzle egg replacement mixture into the work bowl, and pulse about 10 times, or until stiff dough forms.
3. Remove half of dough from the food processor, and set aside. Add peppermint oil and food coloring to the food processor and process until dough is evenly colored. Wrap each dough in plastic wrap. Press dough into a pancake. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour, or until firm, or up to 2 days.
4. Roll out each dough separately into a rectangle approximately 1/4-inch thick. Place peppermint dough on top of vanilla dough, and press together around the edges. Using waxed paper or flexible cutting board underneath as a guide, roll dough into a log shape. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
5. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
6. Cut chilled dough into slices 1/4-inch thick with a sharp serrated knife, and arrange them on the baking sheets.
7. Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until edges are brown. Cool cookies for 2 minutes on the baking sheets, and then transfer them with a spatula to cooling racks to cool completely.
Note: Keep cookies in an airtight container, layered between sheets of waxed paper or parchment, at room temperature for up to 5 days. Cookies can also be frozen for up to 2 months.
Variations:
Substitute green food coloring for the red food coloring, and add 1/2 cup crushed peppermint candies to the vanilla dough.
Substitute pure orange oil for the peppermint extract, and color the dough with orange food coloring.