Tender Cardamom Orange Shortbread
Made with nutrient-dense almond flour and a touch of brown rice flour, these tender and fragrant cardamom orange shortbread cookies are a perfect make-ahead vegan cookie because you can keep the dough in the fridge ready to slice and bake whenever folks are dropping by!
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup cold vegan butter stick type, like Earth Balance sticks
- ½ cup cane sugar
- 2 ½ cups almond flour
- ½ cup brown rice flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom variation: try cinnamon!
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ orange zest only
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together using a handheld electric mixer (or stand mixer, or a wooden spoon and lots of elbow grease!) You want the mixture to look fluffy and a bit paler than you started out.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, rice flour, salt, cardamom and orange zest and then add the flour mixture, ⅓ at a time, to the butter mixture, mixing after each addition until well combined (you can’t overmix!)
- Divide the dough into 2 halves. Place each half on a piece of parchment and form into logs about 1 ½ inches (4 cm) in diameter and 8-9 inches (20-22 cm) long. The dough won’t be super firm, so I use my hands to shape it and then gently roll the parchment over it.
- Chill logs for 2 hours in the fridge // 1 hour in the freezer…or stop here and store until you want to bake! As long as the dough is wrapped well and protected from air, it will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months (recommend a second layer of foil if freezing).
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (175℃) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Give the log a gentle roll if it flattened and slice in 1 cm (just less than ½ inch) slices. Place 1 inch apart on baking sheet. Bake for 10-13 minutes. You want them golden on bottom - you’ll see it at the edge. Cookies will NOT be firm at this point.
- Gently slide the parchment and cookies onto a cooling rack and let them cool fully so they firm up. The more air exposure you give them, the firmer they’ll be. So feel free to store them uncovered on the counter for up to a day. You’ll want to transfer any leftovers to an airtight container for up to 4 days more. Or freeze!
Notes
Texture note: I've used cane sugar here to give a "sparkling" effect with the orange which I love but you can absolutely use ultra fine sugar - NOT powdered sugar - if you want less of this.
Low FODMAP friends: Two cookies is a low FODMAP serving!