Five spice cookies

These are my mother's ice box butter cookies meets the snickerdoodle, veganized, and with an extra punch. The punch comes from Chinese 5 spice powder, a combination of cinnamon, anise, fennel, ginger, and cloves. They're wonderfully crisp, buttery, and a tiny bit chewy in the center.



Five spice cookies
1/2 c. margarine
2/3 c. unrefined cane sugar
2 tbs. brown rice syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
3 tbs. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. 5 spice powder

Cream together the margarine and sugar with an electric or stand mixer. Add the brown rice syrup and vanilla, and mix for another minute or two.

Sift together the dry ingredients, then slowly mix them into the wet. Once the dough begins to stick together, use your hands to form the dough into a log, about 1 1/2" in diameter, and wrap in plastic. Place on a flat surface in the freezer for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Combine 2 tbs. unrefined cane sugar and 2 tsp. 5 spice powder in a small bowl.

Remove the log from the freezer and unwrap. Slice the log into thin pieces, a little less than 1/4" thick. Dip one side of each cookies into the sugar mixture and place naked-side down on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 9-10 minutes until they just begin to get golden around the edges. Let rest on the cookie sheet for a couple minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.
If you prefer a crisper cookie, you can bake for an additional minute or so. If you would like a chewier cookie, underbake by a smidge.