Eggless sugar cookies

1. In a small bowl, combine the flour and baking powder.
2. In a larger bowl, beat together the butter and caster sugar until its pale and fluffy. You can do this with an electric mixer, but its not necessary if you don’t have one.
3. Add the cream cheese and vanilla extract to the larger bowl, and combine.
4. Add the dry ingredients into the larger bowl and mix everything until incorporated. Bring the dough together, using your hands if needed.
5. Split the dough into two sections.
6. Place one section of cookie dough onto a large sheet of lightly floured greaseproof paper. Lightly scatter flour over the dough, and place another sheet of greaseproof paper on top.
7. Use a rolling pin to roll the cookie dough out to a 1/4 inch thickness.
8. Repeat the process with the second section of dough. Place one rolled out section onto a baking tray, and stack the other section on top. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
9. Once the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 180c. Using a cookie cutter, cut out your cookies into the desired shapes. Place onto a lined baking sheet, leaving some space between each cookie.
10. Bake in the oven for around 12 minutes, or until turning lightly golden brown. Place the cookies on a wire rack to cool.

Frosting

1. Place the butter and icing sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer with a whist attachment. Gently beat together until they are combined.
2. If the buttercream feels stiff, add 1 tablespoon of milk, and beat on high until the buttercream is fluffy. This should only take a couple of minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as the mixer beats everything together.
3. Add a couple of drops of food colouring if desired, and beat for another minute. Gel food colouring can be strong, so just add a little bit to start with.
4. Once the cookies are completely cooled, use a palette knife to spend a generous layer of frosting to the cookies.