Holiday Cocktail & Cookie Swap

Ingredients

• 1 cup Earth Balance vegan margarine, at room temp
• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
• ¼ cup almond milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 2 ½ cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 2 oz. bourbon
• 2-3 dashes of Angostura bitters
• a squeeze of orange, plus an orange slice for garnish
• rosemary sprig, for garnish
• ice
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp
• ⅔ cup sugar
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2¼ cups flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• colored sanding sugar

Instructions

1. With an electric mixer, beat margarine until creamy. Mix in powdered sugar until creamy, and then add almond milk, vanilla and almond extract. Combine flour, baking soda and baking powder. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients until blended. Spoon dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap dough and refrigerate at least two hours.
2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Divide dough in half. On a floured surface, roll each half to ¼ inch thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut into desired shapes.
3. Bake 7 to 8 minutes. Let cool and frost (optional).
4. Fill a tumbler glass with ice. Pour the bourbon, bitters, orange juice and stir. Add an orange slice and a sprig of rosemary and stir.
5. Preheat the oven to 375 F and set aside 2 ungreased baking sheets.
6. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and mix well. Add the egg and almond extract and mix until smooth.
7. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well.
8. Spoon dough into a cookie press and follow the instructions on the press to create shaped cookies. If the dough becomes too sticky, chill it in the fridge to firm up.
9. Sprinkle cookies with sanding sugar and bake 8-10 minutes.