These 5-ingredient Grain-Free Shortbread Cookies are both paleo and vegan but taste JUST like the original. This easy recipe is the perfect addition to your cookie tray.
Cookies are here and they are here to stay! From now until Christmas, every Saturday will be filled with something sweet: a Christmas cookie recipe.
Use these recipes to compile cookie platters for holiday parties, make a few extra batches and take them to neighbors, and most importantly, make sure there are enough cookies for late-night pajama-clad cookies and (almond) milk in front of the fireplace. What are the holidays if they aren't filled with sweet dunkable treats?
Kicking off our Cookie Saturday's are these Grain-Free Shortbread Cookies. Thanks to an all-star lineup of ingredients like coconut oil, maple syrup, and almond flour, these cookies are made without gluten, refined sugars, or dairy and taste just like your favorite shortbread recipe. Almost too good to be true!
It took me many attempts to get these Grain-Free Shortbread Cookies to have the right taste and texture. They had to be crumbly, but not dry and have a mild, delicate flavor. We were going for an all-star shortbread that tasted just like the real deal.
The first tip for perfect Grain-Free Shortbread Cookies is to overbeat those cookies. Regular shortbread is a crumbly, barely mixed dough that magically turns into a beautiful and smooth cookie as it bakes. Not the case with our Grain-Free Shortbread Cookies. The same magic did not grace this dough. They were crumbly and speckled with holes. Time for take two.
And three, four, five, six....
It took me a few rounds before I hit gold. I was making yet another batch of these Grain-Free Shortbread Cookies and multitasking in the kitchen. Marinara was simmering, soups were coming together, and the kitchen was littered with bowls and measuring cups galore. Among the kitchen chaos, I completely forgot about the cookies. The dough was overmixed. Instead of being crumbly and sandy, the dough was soft and smooth. Not shortbread material.
Just before I was about to throw the dough out, I decided what the heck, let's bake these cookies.
And that was all it took. Overbeating our Grain-Free Shortbread Cookies makes for perfect cookies every time. So don't be afraid of the mixer, just dump in all the ingredients in and let the machine do the work. 10 or so minutes later, your dough will be mixed to perfection and ready to roll.
Literally. The next step is to roll the dough into a log. I use a sheet of parchment paper to help get a tight roll. Roll the dough up in the parchment paper tootsie roll style and twist in the ends to make a tight roll. Then unroll, slice and bake.
Get ready for more Cookie Saturdays!
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Grain-Free Shortbread Cookies
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 20 cookies 1x
- Category: Sweet Things
- Cuisine: gluten-free, grain-free, paleo, vegan
Description
These 5-ingredient Grain-Free Shortbread Cookies are both paleo and vegan but taste JUST like the original. This easy recipe is the perfect addition to your cookie tray.
Ingredients
- 1 cup cassava flour
- ½ cup almond flour
- ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add all of the ingredients into a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix, on medium speed, until the dough is smooth, about 5-10 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a large piece of parchment paper and roll into a tight log, about2 inches wide. Unwrap the dough and slice it into cookies that are just less than ½ inch thick. Arrange them on an ungreased baking tray and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges just start to brown. Remove from the oven and let them cool completely on the baking tray. Serve.
bummer - this look so good but alas i don't have a mixer and i don't think i could get that nice smooth consistency by hand. oh well. Happy Cookie Season to you.
I don’t have a mixer either. And i can’t do almond flour. Wonder if i could try coconut flour instead...and just mix forever with hand mixer?
Hi Jen, I tested these cookies with coconut flour and they turn out far too crumbly and won't hold together. I am afraid almond meal or flour is the way to go.
But yes, a hand mixer will work just as well as a stand mixer in this recipe :)
I made these exactly as the recipe said the first few times. Turned out perfect. This time I just glanced at it and was like, eh, I don’t want to clean my mixer. So I used a spatula and mixed by hand… for like a minute. Turned out perfectly still. 🤷🏻♀️ I think it’s worth trying! I did use melted butter instead of coconut oil though - so maybe that made the difference in being able to do it by hand?
Looks delicious! I will definitely try the recipe :)
I hope you love it!
Do you think these would work in a cookie press?
Hi Tatiana, I think the dough is too thick to work in a cookie press.
Can you use Cashew flour instead of Almond?
Hi René, I haven't tested the recipe with cashew flour, but I think it would work!
I don’t have a mixer could I use a blender or hand mixer? Food processor maybe? Thank you! Also how did you do the chocolate topping?
Hi Jamie, I think a food processor could work! I just dunked the cookies in melted chocolate. Then you can sprinkle on any toppings that you'd like!.
These look wonderful! I cannot wait to make them. Could you give more details on what chocolate you dipped them in etc. They look beautiful,
hello! could I sub the coconut oil with some yummy butter?
sorry!!! I found your recipe looking for gluten-free cookies but didn't realize that your diet is plant-based. So I imagine you don't have an answer for my butter question!! I'll try it myself. Happy Holidays!!!!!!
Hi Jennifer! I do think that would work wonderfully :) Do let me know how it turns out! Happy cooking, Laurel
Finally found some use for my cassava flour. This is great. Subbed the almond flour for Okara. Thanks for posting. Will be making again.
★★★★★
Hi - if I don't have Cassava flour would I be able to substitue 1:1 all purpose flour?
Hi Alli, another starchy flour like tapioca or arrowroot would be the best substitute here. Using all purpose flour in this recipe would create a tough shortbread.
Do you think this recipe would work as well with all almond flour, rather than cassava and almond?
Hi Nancy, I haven't tested the recipe with all almond flour and do not know how it would behave.