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gluten_freeThese shortbread cookies are dense and buttery—without butter!—and have that fine, sandy texture you want from shortbread. They're super quick to make and you can do them as simple shortbread cookies or give them a different spin with a jam or chocolate center. Adapted from King Arthur Flour's Gluten-Free Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies.
Ingredients:
1 cup almond flour (97 grams)
1/4 cup powdered sugar (25 grams)
1/4 scant teaspoon salt
1/4 cup neutral tasting oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional:
jam or preserves
chocolate baking discs
coarse sugar
Time: Takes less than 10 minutes to whip these up, then around 15 in the oven, and 15 more to cool.
Tools: Bowl, spoon, small disher if you have one. Parchment paper. Cookie sheet. Oven.
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. I use an insulated sheet as almond flour likes to burn.
2. In a medium bowl, add the almond flour and sift in your 1/4 cup of powdered sugar to prevent it from clumping. Add your salt and give it a stir. Add the vanilla to the oil, then add that to the flour mixture. Combine. You'll have a thick, soft dough that holds together well.
3. Make 1 inch balls of dough—about 2 teaspoons—and place them on your parchment-covered cookie sheet about an inch apart.
4. Flatten the cookies with a fork to make crosshatched cookies, or just use your fingers to gently press them flat, a little less than 1/2 inch thick. You could at this point sprinkle them with coarse sugar if you want a sparkly top.
5. Bake these in the center of the oven for 10-15 minutes. Check on them after 8 minutes and give the cookie sheet a turn. The cookies don't spread much at all, and they're done when they're just getting a little color on them.
6. When they first come out of the oven, they'll be too soft to pick up. I let them cool on the cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes to let them firm up, and then I eat them immediately.
These taste best right after you make them, but if you have to store them, go with an air tight container at room temperature. I've learned--through not being able to eat them all immediately--that the plain shortbread variety will still be crisp and tender the next day.
Makes around 10-12 cookies.
If it's too many for you, you could always make half an order. This recipe would also double well if you need more cookies for your cohort.
Notes: I use avocado oil for these. Measurements in grams are mine, and that cup of almond flour is measured by spooning it in and leveling it off, not packed in. Same goes for the powdered sugar, which I measured and weighed before I sifted it.
I generally make these as jam thumbprints—I like raspberry best, but strawberry or apricot is also very good. The nice thing about these cookies is you can make multiple kinds in the same batch, a couple shortbreads, a couple thumbprints, some with chocolate on top or even tucked inside, whatever you want.
Variations:
*Jam Thumbprints: At step 3, instead of flattening your cookie balls, gently make a well in the center using the tip of your finger (I use my pinky as these are very small cookies) or the end of a wooden spoon. Don't poke all the way down to the bottom, just about halfway through, and be careful not to crack the cookie. Put about 1/8 tsp of jam in the center of each. The jam will shrink during baking so get as much in there as you can, but not too much or it'll bubble over the sides. I mean, it's fine if it does.
*Chocolate Thumbprints: Same as jam thumbprints except make a little dent in the top of your cookie and press a chocolate baking disc in there. They're like chocolate chips only in flat disc form. Or use chocolate chips or chopped chocolate if that's all you have, just stick a couple pieces in there and press them in.
*Chocolate Chip Shortbread: I'm betting you could add some mini-chocolate chips to the dough and make some super great chocolate chip shortbreads. I don't currently have any tiny chips, though, and regular size would be too big for these tiny cookies so this variation is currently UNTESTED.
Questions? Ask 'em!
Ingredients:
1 cup almond flour (97 grams)
1/4 cup powdered sugar (25 grams)
1/4 scant teaspoon salt
1/4 cup neutral tasting oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional:
jam or preserves
chocolate baking discs
coarse sugar
Time: Takes less than 10 minutes to whip these up, then around 15 in the oven, and 15 more to cool.
Tools: Bowl, spoon, small disher if you have one. Parchment paper. Cookie sheet. Oven.
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. I use an insulated sheet as almond flour likes to burn.
2. In a medium bowl, add the almond flour and sift in your 1/4 cup of powdered sugar to prevent it from clumping. Add your salt and give it a stir. Add the vanilla to the oil, then add that to the flour mixture. Combine. You'll have a thick, soft dough that holds together well.
3. Make 1 inch balls of dough—about 2 teaspoons—and place them on your parchment-covered cookie sheet about an inch apart.
4. Flatten the cookies with a fork to make crosshatched cookies, or just use your fingers to gently press them flat, a little less than 1/2 inch thick. You could at this point sprinkle them with coarse sugar if you want a sparkly top.
5. Bake these in the center of the oven for 10-15 minutes. Check on them after 8 minutes and give the cookie sheet a turn. The cookies don't spread much at all, and they're done when they're just getting a little color on them.
6. When they first come out of the oven, they'll be too soft to pick up. I let them cool on the cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes to let them firm up, and then I eat them immediately.
These taste best right after you make them, but if you have to store them, go with an air tight container at room temperature. I've learned--through not being able to eat them all immediately--that the plain shortbread variety will still be crisp and tender the next day.
Makes around 10-12 cookies.
If it's too many for you, you could always make half an order. This recipe would also double well if you need more cookies for your cohort.
Notes: I use avocado oil for these. Measurements in grams are mine, and that cup of almond flour is measured by spooning it in and leveling it off, not packed in. Same goes for the powdered sugar, which I measured and weighed before I sifted it.
I generally make these as jam thumbprints—I like raspberry best, but strawberry or apricot is also very good. The nice thing about these cookies is you can make multiple kinds in the same batch, a couple shortbreads, a couple thumbprints, some with chocolate on top or even tucked inside, whatever you want.
Variations:
*Jam Thumbprints: At step 3, instead of flattening your cookie balls, gently make a well in the center using the tip of your finger (I use my pinky as these are very small cookies) or the end of a wooden spoon. Don't poke all the way down to the bottom, just about halfway through, and be careful not to crack the cookie. Put about 1/8 tsp of jam in the center of each. The jam will shrink during baking so get as much in there as you can, but not too much or it'll bubble over the sides. I mean, it's fine if it does.
*Chocolate Thumbprints: Same as jam thumbprints except make a little dent in the top of your cookie and press a chocolate baking disc in there. They're like chocolate chips only in flat disc form. Or use chocolate chips or chopped chocolate if that's all you have, just stick a couple pieces in there and press them in.
*Chocolate Chip Shortbread: I'm betting you could add some mini-chocolate chips to the dough and make some super great chocolate chip shortbreads. I don't currently have any tiny chips, though, and regular size would be too big for these tiny cookies so this variation is currently UNTESTED.
Questions? Ask 'em!