Gluten Free Vegan Shortbread with Almond Flour
Who doesn’t love a shortbread cookie?? These easy vegan shortbread cookies have it all: think one bowl, 4 ingredients and just minutes to mix up. Once chilled, you can turn the dough into a rolled cookie with a perfect tendercrisp texture or a soft drop cookie. Plus, they’re gluten free thanks to nutrient dense almond flour and a bit of brown rice flour. Make the dough ahead of time and keep in the fridge so you can bake a fresh batch when people come over!
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I’m all about big flavours…so I’m not typically one for choosing the ‘plain’ version of anything, especially in a cookie. More is more in my book, but shortbread is an exception to that rule! Shortbread is kind of perfect just as it is, so I didn’t want to fuss with it. These plant-based shortbread cookies are crisp but not crumbly, buttery, and most importantly, not too sweet!
I do a lot of gluten free baking because I got my start as a gut health dietitian, and I know that my friends with celiac disease or IBS don’t always have a great selection of goodies. And the secret to making a good gluten free shortbread cookie that everyone will actually like, in my opinion, is almond flour.
As a dietitian, I love that almond flour is nutrient-dense and adds satisfying plant-based protein and healthy fats to a recipe. But as a recipe developer and cookbook author, I love that almond flour has a mild sweet flavour that doesn’t interfere with other flavours and it produces a tender, moist crumb.
Planning your holiday cookie box? Need a few more cookies to fill it? You might like my crinkled ginger molasses cookies, almond flour thin mints and these vegan and gluten free snickerdoodles!
How to make super easy vegan shortbread cookies
I really wanted these almond flour shortbread cookies to taste and feel like a classic shortbread, with as few ingredients as possible. I tried a bunch of different variations while I was testing and I was struggling with getting that classic shortbread texture from almond flour alone.
Even with two flours, you only need 4 ingredients (plus salt!) making these the perfect low effort holiday cookie: just beat the butter, salt and maple syrup together and mix in the flours. Sit with a cup of tea while they chill and then scoop or cut with your favourite cookie cutters!
Hot Tip: The shortbread dough keeps very well in the fridge for a few days. Just tightly wrap in parchment! So you can make the dough ahead of time and then quickly bake the cookies right before you need them. Perfect for holiday entertaining!
I’m not gonna lie: I am more of a cook than a baker. And gluten free vegan baking is its own challenge! I really went to the mat for this one so you can have a foolproof, zero compromise treat. The only thing you need to worry about is getting the right vegan butter.
Not all vegan butters are the same…some taste great or have great ingredients but don’t perform well. My two faves for baking are Miyoko’s Creamery, which is cashew-based and quite a treat (it’s a bit pricey). The other good option for baking is Earth Balance Baking Sticks (NOT the tub). It has the best structure of the vegan options I’ve tried, although other bakers I trust say that Becel Vegan Butter Sticks are also good…we just don’t have them at my local store so I haven’t tried!
Yes, I’m all about eating more nutrient-dense plants. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a cookie every now and then! Treats are treats. Eat your kale, eat your cookies…it all fits in a healthy life.
More Easy Vegan Holiday Cookie Recipes
- Vegan Gingerbread Cookies (Gluten Free)
- Vegan Snowball Cookies (Gluten Free)
- Easy Mini Vegan Turtles
- Vegan Thumbprint Cookies with Almond Flour
Gluten Free Vegan Shortbread with Almond Flour
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups almond flour
- ½ cup brown rice flour
- ⅔ cup vegan butter, I like Earth Balance Baking Sticks
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Equipment
- Handheld mixer
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit (175° Celsius) and prepare a large baking sheet with parchment.
- In a medium bowl, beat butter, maple syrup and salt with a handheld mixer or a wooden spoon for 1-2 minutes. It's okay if it still looks a bit separated!
- Next, add the rice flour and almond meal and mix at low speed (or with a fork) until a loose dough forms. Then, get in there with your hands to form into a ball.
- Wrap the dough ball in parchment and toss the dough in the fridge for at least 60 minutes to chill. You can easily leave it overnight, so this is a great make ahead!
- Once chilled, you can either scoop or roll the dough. Want soft, puffy cookies? Scoop out 1 tablespoon (15ml) of dough and roll into a ball. Gently press ball into a 1 cm (⅓ inch) thick round.
- Looking for a classic, crisper shortbread? Roll between two layers of parchment to 1/4-1/3 inch thick. You might need a little rice flour on the parchment to prevent sticking as it's a softer dough. Cut with your favourite cutters and carefully lift onto the baking sheet.
- Bake for 11-14 minutes, until the bottoms turn golden brown. The rolled cookies will cook faster than the drop cookies. Remove cookie sheet to a cooling rack and let fully cool before handling as they only firm up when cool.
- Keep cookies in a sealed container at room temperature for up to three days, or store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to a month.
16 Comments on “Gluten Free Vegan Shortbread with Almond Flour”
Any chance I could substitute the almond and rice flour for another GF flour? My grandchildren can’t have either one nor wheat flour. I use sorghum a lot and have just tried cassava flour.
Hi Heather,
I have only tested this recipe with the almond flour/rice flour mix so I can’t guarantee it. All of the GF flours are very different in their texture, binding and water absorption capacity. You could try a sorghum/millet mix or a GF all purpose but I have no idea whether it will work. Apologies! But Vegan/Gluten Free baking is very picky. Gluten and eggs are really good binders and without them, substitutions become a lot more complicated.
Could I use real butter since I am not strictly vegan??
Hi Valerie,
I haven’t tested but honestly I couldn’t see why not! There isn’t a ton of texture difference and it’s still 100% fat. Hope you love the cookies 🙂
Can I use coconut oil instead of butter?
Hi! You absolutely can – it will lose a bit of the buttery shortbread flavour but it will still be a nice cookie 🙂
Amazing!!! Most gluten free cookies have the worst texture, these are incredible! They stay together so nice, and have the best texture and flavour. Easy to customize (cherry, chocolate dipped ect). I also did a batch with walnut flour instead of almond for someone with allergies, and they also were really good.
Thank you so much Amanda! I am so glad you like them. You’re right, gluten free baking is really tough (add vegan to that and, well….). I literally do a happy dance when recipes turn out like this. I am so happy to hear that walnut flour worked too! My hubs can’t have almonds and he just looked longingly at this cookies and then glaringly at me, ha! Now I can make him some.
For the butter, you recommend Miyoko’s Creamery Vegan Butter? Would Coconut Oil or Coconut Butter work?
Thanks!
Hi Danna,
Miyoko’s is fantastic! Definitely not coconut butter (manna) but coconut oil would work too…you just lose the buttery flavour. I used Melt Organic when I made these and it worked great.
Thanks DESIREE! I’m about to make them…since we’re in full lockdown mode here on the east side of Canada, why not make Christmas cookies everyday. Do you have anymore recipes?
In regards to the Miyoko’s butter, I notice it has Sunflower Oil in it. I don’t eat a lot of it as it’s anti-inflammatory. Since it’s cold pressed is it okay to eat in moderation?
Thanks for responding to all your notifications.
Truly appreciate it.
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas Danna!
I don’t worry about small amounts of these oils…we need a bit of omega 6 in our life and yes, cold-pressed will have excellent nutrient retention. I love Miyoko’s. If you haven’t tried them already, look for the gingerbread cookies on my site – search ‘gingerbread’ – they are really delicious and simple too!
Fabulous! I tried the recipe subbing out the BR flour for all purpose GF flour, and I only had butter on hand. Well let’s just say even my picky liked it. Great job!
Hi Cristina,
That’s high praise!! Also, so good to hear that they were nice with a GF flour too. Not everyone has rice flour on hand. Thank you!
Hi!
Since December is crazy busy for small business owners and all for that matter, I’m doing a little baking in January. With the lockdown, it’s another good reason to do so. For the butter ingredient, can one use Ghee? Thanks1
Hi Danna,
I haven’t tried it of course, but it should work. What I might suspect is that you’ll need to chill it a bit longer so that the dough is firm. If you do attempt it, please reply back so others can know how it works!