Healthier Shortbread Cookies

Yum, what's better than a delicious shortbread cookie? I randomly was craving this combination of chocolatey biscuit goodness last week and had to make them right away!

I hadn’t planned on creating a new recipe to satisfy this craving, however when I started browsing the web for the perfect recipe, I found that they all called for a lot of butter. And I mean a LOT of butter….like nearly a pound of butter. Considering I didn’t even have any butter on hand, this was not an option.

So, I opted for a healthier shortbread cookie recipe. This recipe uses coconut oil instead of butter. It is gluten-free, vegan friendly, and still completely satisfying and delicious.

Recipe Notes

• I used half almond flour (not almond meal) and half all-purpose gluten-free flour for this recipe (Pamela’s brand). I also tried using only almond flour, which did not provide the texture or consistency I was looking for. I have seen gluten-free shortbreads successfully made with coconut flour as well, however, I have not experimented much with coconut flour myself.

• I used almond extract because that’s all I had on hand, but it provided a great flavor. If you prefer vanilla or that’s all you have on hand, vanilla extract definitely will work too.

• On my first batch, I used maple syrup for the liquid sweetener, which worked great. For the second batch, I used Lakanto’s sugar-free maple syrup, which is made from monkfruit sweetener. If you’re not vegan, liquid honey will also work. Do not replace liquid sweetener with dry sweetener as the dough will be too dry.

• I used melted coconut oil in all batches of this recipe. If you prefer to use vegan butter or regular butter I’m sure this will work too. In traditional shortbread cookies, using chopped up chilled butter is the preferred method for rich texture.

• I used approximately 1/4 cup plus 1/2 tbsp, or 4.5 tbsps, of oil for this recipe. This may need adjusting depending on the types/brands of flours you choose to use.

• When chilling the dough, if you opt for the freezer, take special care to not let it freeze! I got distracted on one batch and the dough was completely frozen by the time I took it out. This led to damage control, which made the rest of the recipe a bit of a challenge and not as delicious in the end. Learn from my mistakes!

• For the melted chocolate, I think the proper way to do this is to place the chocolate chips in a heat-safe glass bowl and place that over a pot of boiling water, stirring until it forms desired consistency. I personally don’t have the patience for this so I simply microwaved mine in 30-second stints, stirring after each until reaching liquid consistency. Just a word of caution, the chocolate is more likely to burn with this method. In another batch, I poured the chips in a pyrex and let that melt up in the oven, still warm from baking the cookies.

  • Note: I tried 2 different types of vegan chocolate chips. First I used Enjoy Life brand, which melted up great. Then I used Lily’s Chocolate Chips, which did not melt well at all and was not sweet enough for my preference.

Shortbread Cookies, Vegan, Gluten-Free

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup almond flour

• 1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt

• 2 teaspoons vanilla or almond extract

• 1/3 cup liquid sweetener (maple syrup, honey, or other liquid sweetener)

• 1/4 cup plus 1/2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

• 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips, melted (I recommend Enjoy Life brand)

• Optional: Powdered sugar or Swerve Confectioner’s Sweetener for dusting

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

2. Add both flours, baking soda, and sea salt to a mixing bowl. Mix together with a fork until well combined.

3. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredient mixture. Add all liquid ingredients except for the melted chocolate. Fold in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. Form the dough into a ball with your hands.

4. Place the dough in the freezer for 10-20 minutes (careful not to let it freeze), or in the fridge until it’s chilled and easier to roll out.

5. Roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper large enough to fit size of baking sheet. Roll out to about a 1/4 inch thick.

6. Use cookie cutters to cut out desired shapes. I placed my parchment paper on top of a cutting board and used a small sharp knife to hand-cut heart shapes in the dough. If you want to work quickly you can skip this altogether and just roll out dough into small 1-2 inch balls and flatten them with your fingers. This will create a more freeform looking cookie shape.

7. Remove excess dough and transfer parchment paper with cookies to a baking sheet. Bake for 6-9 minutes until edges are lightly golden. Center of cookies may still be slightly doughy, that’s okay as over-cooking will make them dry out. When done, remove from oven and immediately move parchment paper with cookies to the counter to cool.

8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 until dough is all used up.

9. Allow cookies to completely cool. Melt vegan chocolate and use a spoon to either drizzle chocolate across cookies or cover a full half of each.

10. Lightly dust with powdered sugar once chocolate has cooled. Enjoy!