Shirley Temple Cookies recipe from Mad City Vegan Fest

Kelly Peloza ♦ June 21, 2011 ♦ 5 Comments

I was lucky enough to be at Mad City Vegan Fest in Madison, WI over this weekend giving a baking demo! I demo-ed my new recipe for Shirley Temple Cookies, a light lemon orange-flavored cookie that melts in your mouth, topped with a cherry grenadine frosting, sour straws, mini umbrellas, and a cherry on top! Mad City Vegan Fest was a great time, the demo went fantastic, and I left simultaneously inspired and needing a good night’s sleep!
I’ll be out of town for the next week, so I’ll be doing a full write up on the fest when I get back (and check Vegansaurus soon for a write up I’ll be doing later today on the demo)! Here is the recipe:

Shirley Temple Cookies

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

These cookies are meant to replicate Shirley Temple drinks. Not the sad, fake lemon-lime corn syrup-flavored concoction, but real kiddie cocktails—fizzy citrus cherry flavored drinks topped with fruit slices, umbrellas, and cherries on cocktail swords to make every eight year old at weddings and social functions their parents dragged them along to feel grown up and sophisticated.

½ cup margarine
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup powdered sugar
1 ½ teaspoons lemon zest
1 ½ teaspoons orange zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed orange juice
¼ teaspoon almond extract

2 cups flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt

Frosting:
1/3 cup non-hydrogenated margarine
1/3 cup non-hydrogenated shortening
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon grenadine
1-2 tablespoons juice from maraschino cherries

Maraschino cherries and sour or fizzy candies for garnish (I used Sour Patch Sour Rainbow Belts rolled up and stuck in thick milkshake or bubble tea straws cut into 1-inch pieces)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Stir together the margarine and oil in a large mixing bowl. Gradually add the powdered sugar, then stir in the zest and juice and almond extract.

Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined. The dough should be somewhat thick. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes until the bottoms are golden and the cookies are firm. The flavors are so delicate, so be careful not to overbake them. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

In the meantime, make the frosting.
Beat together the margarine and shortening, then gradually add the powdered sugar, beating after each addition. Add the grenadine and vanilla extract and beat for 5-8 more minutes until smooth and fluffy.

To decorate the cookies, spread or pipe the frosting on. Top each frosted cookie with a cherry half and candy, then serve!