Tender, buttery gluten free shortbread may become your go-to quick cookie! You'll need just five simple ingredients to make crisp, endlessly adaptable cookies that are wonderful with tea or nibbled as a snack.
Shortbread is such a lovely, classic cookie and a good gluten free shortbread should taste just like the original! When it's done right, you'll sink your teeth into a buttery-crisp cookie that melts in your mouth without being too sweet. In my gluten-free shortbread recipe, gluten free flour stands in for regular flour and you'd never be able to tell! Add them to the holiday cookie tin along with gluten free peanut butter blossoms, oat flour sugar cookies, or gluten free sugar cookies, or enjoy them year-round.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Crisp and buttery. There's a whole cup of butter in these cookies and it makes them gorgeously crisp and buttery!
- You won't be able to tell they're gluten-free. I promise, NO ONE will be able to guess that these gluten free shortbread cookies are gluten-free!
- Perfect for gift-giving. Shortbread is a sturdy cookie and they make lovely edibly edible gifts.
- Great in the holiday tin or anytime! A quintessential cookie around the holidays, you'll love tucking shortbread into the holiday tin.
What Is Shortbread?
Shortbread is a cookie (or, biscuit) that originated in Scotland. Traditional recipes call for one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three to four parts plain wheat flour. Shortbread differs from many other cookies because it doesn't contain any leavening agent (like baking soda and baking powder) or eggs. In my recipe, I swap the wheat flour for gluten-free flour. Shortbread can be baked in bars, wedges, or shapes.
What You'll Need
You only need five ingredients to make this gluten-free shortbread recipe. You'll find the full ingredient amounts plus detailed instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Butter - Use unsalted butter softened to room temperature for the best results. You want the butter to blend in well with the sugar so there are no lumps or streaks.
- Granulated sugar
- Salt - Use fine sea salt or table salt.
- Vanilla - A little pure vanilla extract adds extra flavor. You can omit this if you wish.
- Gluten free flour - I always use my homemade gluten free flour blend but you can use your preferred 1:1 gluten-free flour blend.
Variation Ideas
- Citrus zest - Add in some citrus zest like lime, orange, or my favorite, lemon zest!
- Chocolate - You can add chopped chocolate or mini chocolate chips to the dough, or drizzle the tops of the cookies with melted chocolate.
- Nuts - Fold in ½ cup of chopped almonds, walnuts, or pecans.
- Spices - For holiday-spiced cookies, add ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger, cardamom, or nutmeg to taste.
- Candy canes - My girls loved a smattering of crushed candy canes added to the dough or sprinkled over the top of the cookies right when the come out of the oven.
Have a hankering for maple shortbread cookies? You will love my easy gluten free recipe!
How to Make Gluten-Free Shortbread
Just a few minutes are all you'll need to make this easy dough. Here's a look at how you'll do it:
- Cream butter: In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla until well blended.
- Add flour: Mix in the flour to form a smooth dough.
- Place in pan: Butter 2 8-inch round cake pans and line them with parchment. Press the dough into the pans.
- Add holes: Prick the dough all over with a fork.
- Bake: Bake the shortbread at 325F for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.
- Cool and cut: Turn out the cookie rounds and use a sharp knife to cut them into cookies.
Baking Tip: Use Good Butter
Because there are so few ingredients in these cookies, try to make each one count. Use good-quality butter in this shortbread recipe - you'll be able to taste the difference.
Tips & More Variation Suggestions
Take this basic recipe for gluten free shortbread and run with it! I love to make these into lemon shortbread cookies, or you could add little cocoa nibs or whatever you like. Here are a few ways you can easily adapt this solid recipe:
- Sprinkle with flaky salt - If you're a salt-lover like me, you may want to sprinkle your finished shortbread with flaky salt for that elusive sweet-salty combo.
- Another flour - Try using another gluten free flour such as oat flour or sorghum flour for the gluten-free all-purpose flour blend (use 300 grams of whatever flour you choose).
- Make them dairy-free - Swap the butter for non-dairy butter.
- Add citrus - I love to make these into fragrant little lemon shortbread bites! Add the zest of 1 organic lemon to the dry mix. You can use any other citrus fruit you like - orange, clementine, lime, etc.
- Try other glazes - A simple melted chocolate drizzle is the easiest and quickest way to dress up these cookies. I also like to make a quick lemon juice and powdered sugar glaze, especially if I'm making these as lemon shortbread cookies, to drizzle on top.
- Add-ins - You can try other add-ins to these cookies other than citrus zest! Try chopped chocolate or cocoa nibs, finely chopped almonds, chopped shredded coconut, and whatever else you can think of.
- Colors - If you want to make pretty pink Valentine cookies, add dried strawberries to the dough (make sure to process them to a fine powder in a food processor first) and cut the dough into hearts. You can also add food coloring if you wish to color your dough another shade of the rainbow.
- Flavors - Easy flavor additions include vanilla, almond, orange, or peppermint extracts.
Serving Options
Gluten free shortbread absolutely needs to be served with a cup of tea! But you can also nibble on a cookie with your morning coffee. You can also use gluten-free shortbread cookies as a base for other dishes, including in a crust for a gluten-free pie, or use them to make ice cream sandwiches! I love taking two plain shortbread cookies and filling them with chocolate or strawberry ice cream for a cold summer treat.
Storage Suggestions
You have a few options when it comes to storing gluten-free shortbread which, by the way, keeps well. Here's how:
- Counter - Store your gluten free shortbread in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days.
- Fridge - Place gluten-free shortbread in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 7 days. Bring the cookies to room temperature before serving.
- Freezer - Shortbread freezes well: Place cookies in a freezer-safe, sealable bag and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost the cookies in the fridge before eating.
How to Package Gluten Free Shortbread for Gifting
I LOVE giving homemade gifts, and a cookie box is one of the easiest and most festive holiday gifts. To package up gluten-free shortbread, transfer baked cookies to a festive tin, container, or cellophane bag (if using a tin or container add a piece of parchment paper between any layers). Give the cookies away immediately, or store the containers in the fridge for up to 3 days.
More Easy Gluten Free Cookie Recipes
If you tried this gluten free shortbread or any other recipe on my website, please let me know how it went in the comments below! And I always appreciate a star rating if you loved it ❤️
Recipe
Gluten Free Shortbread
Ingredients
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, at least 65°F
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups gluten free flour (300) grams
Instructions
- Butter 2 8-inch round cake pans and line each one with a circle of parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla until well blended.
- Mix in the flour to form a smooth dough. Don't worry if the dough is crumbly at first - it'll come together as it's mixed.
- Divide the dough in half and press each half into the prepared pans (alternatively, wrap one half of the dough in plastic and set it aside to bake when the first round is done or refrigerate it for later). Prick the dough all over with a fork so that any steam that forms is released during baking.
- Preheat the oven to 325℉, then bake the short bread for 35-40 minutes until the surface is set and slightly golden brown (the edges will be a darker golden brown). Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes, then gently turn it out onto a cutting board. Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, divide the shortbread into pieces. I cut 8 pieces from each round but you could cut them smaller if you wish. Then transfer the pieces to cool completely on a rack.
Notes
- Sprinkle with flaky salt - If you're a salt-lover like me, you may want to sprinkle your finished shortbread with flaky salt for that elusive sweet-salty combo.
- Another flour - Try using another gluten free flour such as oat flour or sorghum flour for the gluten-free all-purpose flour blend (use 300 grams of whatever flour you choose).
- Make them dairy-free - Swap the butter for non-dairy butter.
- Add citrus - I love to make these into fragrant little lemon shortbread bites! Add the zest of 1 organic lemon to the dry mix. You can use any other citrus fruit you like - orange, clementine, lime, etc.
- Try other glazes - A simple melted chocolate drizzle is the easiest and quickest way to dress up these cookies. I also like to make a quick lemon juice and powdered sugar glaze, especially if I'm making these as lemon shortbread cookies, to drizzle on top.
- Add-ins - You can try other add-ins to these cookies other than citrus zest! Try chopped chocolate or cocoa nibs, finely chopped almonds, chopped shredded coconut, and whatever else you can think of.
- Colors - If you want to make pretty pink Valentine cookies, add dried strawberries to the dough (make sure to process them to a fine powder in a food processor first) and cut the dough into hearts. You can also add food coloring if you wish to color your dough another shade of the rainbow.
- Flavors - Easy flavor additions include vanilla, almond, orange, or peppermint extracts.
Lisa says
Yum! I’m delighted to find you here again! The changes look lovely on my phone. Can’t wait to look from a computer too!
nicole says
Thank you! I'm glad to find you here as well :)
Helen says
Love the new look…these cookies sound appetizing! Crazy for butter cookies & less sugar is great for me! Thanks for sharing.
nicole says
Thank you! Will be working on lower sugar recipes ... yes!