Tea Time.

These lemon tea cookies are tart and will make you pucker as you try to smile and say, "Oh my! It's vegan?" They are delish. Best baked good I've made post-veganizing my life. Also super easy and quick. Why aren't you preheating your oven already??

Lemon Tea Cookies

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons lemon juice (really, really needs to be fresh)
1/2 cup soy milk (I use lite Vitasoy)
1 3/4 cups flour (I use 1/2 unbleached white and 1/2 whole wheat pastry)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup soy butter (I use Earth Balance)
1 tablespoon flax seed combined with 3 tablespoons water (GREAT binding agent, I used milled flaxseed for this, instead of crushing seeds myself)
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind (or a little more if you're a lemonhead like me)
1/2 to 3/4 c sugar (can reduce sugar and add applesauce or banana to sweeten if you'd like, I use 1/2 c of turbinado and no additional sweetner)

Lemon glaze:
1/2 (overflowing) cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Stir 2 teaspoons lemon juice into soymilk and set aside.
Stir together the flax seed and water and set aside.
Combine flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, beat soy butter for 30 seconds (it's better to have the margarine set out and kind of room temp-ish, but not necessary, have faith), then add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add flax mixture and lemon rind; beat well.

Stir in the dry ingredients and soymilk mixture alternately to the margarine/sugar mixture.

Drop from a teaspoon (seriously, just a teaspoon, trust me) onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Remove at once onto a wire rack.

While baking, mix together the lemon glaze to be brushed on the cookies while cooling.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies. I dare you not to eat them all.

Preparation time: 20 minutes