We strive to keep our political promises, so we're putting that vegan snickerdoodle recipe on this year's holiday bill early. Akasha Richmond's version at her namesake restaurant is so heavily spiced with ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves that even the vegan-averse will hardly miss the buttery flavor of the original (well, maybe you'll miss it a little).

The trick with vegan baking is getting the right texture in your cookies and cakes — take out the eggs and you lose both structure and moisture in the finished product. When you're converting carnivore cookie recipes, Richmond recommends substituting one-quarter cup of soy milk for each egg and slightly increasing the baking soda or baking powder in the recipe. But she warns that egg white-based cookies such as meringues and macaroons simply “won't work” no matter how hard you lobby them to go vegan. Get Richmond's Chai-spiced snickerdoodle recipe after the jump.

Chai Snickerdoodles

From: Akasha Richmond

Note: Make the dough at least 2 hours before you plan to make the cookies.

Makes: 3 dozen cookies

3 cups unbleached flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

6 ounces non-hydrogenated palm shortening

¼ cup canola oil

1 ½ cups sugar

½ cup plain Silk brand soy milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Spiced Sugar

½ cup sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

½ teaspoon ground ginger

Pinch of ground cloves

Pinch of finely ground black pepper

1. Sift together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the shortening, oil and sugar at high speed until light and creamy. Add the soy milk two tablespoons at a time, beating after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three parts, beating the dough until smooth after each addition (be careful not to over mix). Shape the dough into a flat disc, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for two hours or overnight.

2. Position oven racks in the center and top third of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, combine the remaining one-half cup sugar with the cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and pepper. Mix well.

3. Shape the dough into walnut sized balls using about a tablespoon of dough for each. Roll each ball in the spiced sugar mixture. Place about two inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Sprinkle each cookie with a little of the remaining sugar.

4. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned and the centers are still a bit soft. Cool on the sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days.

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