Ginger Sandwich Cookies With Cream Cheese Frosting

I received the inspiration for these cookies while munching on some Newman's Own Ginger O's. They're kind of like oreos, except ginger and organic. Pretty amazing. So I thought I'd go ahead and make a homemade, vegan version (The Newman's Own Ginger O's are vegan). While searching on the internet for ginger cookie recipes I found a great candidate for veganization, a Paula Deen recipe. So, here we go.

Ginger Cookies:

• 3/4 cup vegan margarine
  
• 1 cup sugar, plus extra for rolling
• Equivalent 1 egg Ener-G Egg Replacer
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 cup all purpose flour, sifted
• 1 cup whole wheat flour, sifted
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Using an electric mixer at low speed, cream the margarine and sugar. Add the Egg Replacer and molasses and beat until incorporated. Sift together the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and salt. Add the dry ingredient into the wet. Mix until incorporated. Roll the dough into balls about 1-inch in diameter. Roll the balls in the extra sugar. Place 1/2 inch apart on prepared cookie sheets. Flatten the balls slightly with your finger tips. Bake for 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 4 oz. vegan cream cheese, softened (I used Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-2 tablespoons almond milk (Soy or rice would also be fine)
  

Beat together the ingredients until smooth. If too thin, add a little extra cream cheese and sugar. If too thick, add a little extra milk.

When the cookies are cooled, create sandwiches by spreading the frosting in the middle. Devour them. Yum.


A few tips:

• For me, the dough was super sticky, so I rolled the dough into balls with a spoon and then rolled them in sugar.
  
• If you don't have vegan margarine, go ahead and use vegetable shortening, that's what the original recipe called for.
• Make sure to let the cookies cool before frosting, or it'll be extremely messy.