Have you baked up a batch of cookies yet for Chanukah? I confess we've baked 2 batches already...and it's not even Chanukah until next week!! We're just obsessed with these no margarine chanukah sugar cookies. For me, Chanukah sugar cookies bring back childhood memories of our blue and white silicone mat that we rolled out for special holiday baking and bowls of sweet colored sugar. Every year I google and look around Instagram for a good sugar cookie recipe. My mom suggested I use my hamantaschen dough recipe! The only tweak I had to make to it was adding chilling time.
There's lot of little bits with Chanukah cookies, the stand of a menorah, the top of the dreidel or the wick of a candle. Though the dough works with 0 chilling time for basic shapes, when it comes to things a little more complicated, it really needs those 30 minutes. I also included how we make our colored sugar (and how to get it to stick!) to recreate those lovely childhood memories.
What ingredients you need for no margarine Chanukah sugar cookies
- Oil- I prefer oil over margarine whenever I can. You can use canola or vegetable
- Sugar- Some for the cookies and some for decorating with colored sugar if you'd like
- Eggs
- Orange juice - I love the flavor this gives sugar cookies
- Vanilla extract
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Flour
How to make the dough
- Start by creaming together the sugar and oil until it's nice and creamy.
- Add in the eggs, orange juice, and vanilla, and mix well.
- Pour in the baking powder and salt. Mix.
- Slowly add in the flour, mixing well after each addition.
- Divide the dough into two and shape into round disks.
- Cover each disk with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Rolling out the dough
Remove the dough disks from the fridge. I like to roll this dough out onto a sheet of parchment paper. That way I don't add any more flour to the recipe. Unwrap the plastic wrap and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to about ¼" thickness. Cutout shapes with the cookie cutters. Remove the excess dough from around the cookies and transfer them to a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
At this point you can go ahead and bake if your planning on decorating them after with royal icing. The other option is to decorate them with colored sugar before baking. You can make your own colored sugar by coloring plain white sugar with food coloring. In order to get the sugar to stick nicely to the cookie, I give it a shpritz with a bit of cooking spray just before adding the sugar!
Bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes. If the cookies are a little bit on the thicker side, they'll need a few more minutes.
Enjoy these Chanukah sugar cookies and have a wonderful and festive holiday!!
Can I chill the dough for longer?
Yes! You can totally chill the dough overnight. Just take it out of the fridge a few minutes before you plan to use it so it's easier to roll. If you have extra dough that you want to store for a different day, you can keep it in the fridge for up to 4 days.
What happens if my no margarine chanukah sugar cookies dough is a little sticky?
Don't panic! Add some more flour, a little bit at a time, and work it in well. This recipe has been tested multiple times with fabulous results, and yours will turn out great too!
More good recipes for Chanukah
Make something dairy with this easy baked cream cheese pasta
Make a hot chocolate board for you Chanukah party or a cozy night by the candles!
Or try these, dairy free olive oil chocolate chip cookies!
No Margarine Chanukah Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1 ¼ cup sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- In a large bowl or in the bowl of a mixer, combine the oil and sugar until creamy. Add in the eggs, orange juice, and vanilla extract. Mix well. Add in the salt and baking powder. Slowly pour in the flour, making sure it's incorporated before adding more. Once the dough is mixed, remove it from the bowl and divide it in half.
- Shape the dough into two disks and wrap them with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Working with 1 disk of dough at a time, remove it from the fridge and unwrap the plastic wrap. Place it on a large piece of parchment paper and roll out until the dough is about ¼" thick.
- Using cookie cutters, cut the dough into shapes. Remove the dough from around the cut out shapes, and transfer them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Roll out the dough scraps and repeat the process. Continue with the second disk of dough as needed.
- At this point you can decorate the cookies with colored sugar if desired. If you'd like to make your own, simply add a drop of food coloring to granulated sugar and mix well. If you need help sticking the sugar to the cookie, spray the cookie with cooking spray before sprinkling on the sugar.
- Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until they are lightly browned around the edges. Enjoy!
As always, I love to hear from you! Please feel free to leave a comment below, or chat with me over on Instagram!
Ahuva Ament
Do you think I can use apple juice instead of OJ?
tomatoestomahtos
I would sub for a non dairy milk