Ingredients

• 1 stick - earth balance butter (softened to room temperature)
• 2 tbsp - vegetable shortening (really helps with the great, crumbly texture so important in shortbread. If you'd rather not, just add 2 more tbsp of the earth balance)
• 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp - sugar
• 1 tbsp - vegan cream cheese, like tofutti
• 1 tsp - vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp - salt (you can even skip this because the earth balance is already quite salty)
• 1/2 cup - very cold soymilk or almond milk
• 1.5 cups - unbleached all-purpose flour
• 4 tsp - sugar for sprinkling on the cookies

How to Make Sable or French Shortbread

• With a hand-held mixer or in a stand mixer with the paddle attached, cream together the butter, shortening, sugar and cream cheese until light and fluffy, around 2-3 minutes. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides a few times in between to ensure everything is evenly mixed.
• Add the vanilla extract and mix in.
• Take the bowl off the stand mixer, and add the flour and 2 tbsp of soy or non-dairy milk.
• Using a fork, mix, adding a tiny bit of soy milk as necessary, until you have a cohesive ball of dough. Don't overwork the dough -- stop mixing as soon as the dough comes together.
• Divide the dough into two halves. Using the palms of your hands, roll each half into a smooth log, about six inches in length and 1 3/4 inches in diameter. Wrap a piece of parchment paper around each log and twist the ends tightly, like a piece of candy.
• Refrigerate both logs for at least an hour so they firm up.
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Take the chilled log of dough and using a very sharp knife slice into 12 round cookies. Repeat with the second log.
• Place the cookies about 1-inch apart on a baking sheet (you can spray lightly with some oil, if you like). Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with some granulated sugar.
• Bake, one sheet at a time, until the cookies are lightly golden brown around the edges. Start checking 15 minutes after baking. If the cookies are turning colour around the edges, take them out.
• Transfer the cookies to a rack with a spatula and cool thoroughly before eating.
• Recipe courtesy: Holy Cow Vegan