Shortbread: it's pretty hard to resist that baked buttery goodness. We were recently over at my Ma-ma's (Grandma on my Dad's side) for dinner and she pulled out her annual tin of perfectly baked shortbread. It just felt like the perfect intro to the holidays.
I've never been much of a baker. But recently I have really been getting into it! I don't know if it's the season, my savory tooth that seems to be trading itself in for a sweet tooth or the creative process of baking with the decorating, but I have loved it!
As per usual, once I get in the kitchen, I got to thinking about how I could make this recipe a tad more nutritious. Don't worry! I know when not to ruin a good thing, so today I'm sharing two shortbread recipes: a traditional and a gluten-free grain free version.
A lot of recipe testing went on with this one. The version with coconut flour was a total flop, and pretty much tasted like dust. Almond flour seemed to work best and I tried a version with maple syrup instead of white sugar but they were too chewy. Still tasty, but not shortbread. So I ended up settling with something in between using almond flour, regular sugar and butter.
I hope you enjoy these decadent little holiday treats! I'd love to hear what you think if you try out the almond flour version!
I am going to be taking a little break next week to enjoy time with my family up in Kamloops and I will be back in January with some recipes and inspiration to kick the new year off in a super feel good way. I hope you all find the time to do the same. You deserve it!
Sending lots of love and warmth this holiday season.
Xo Lindsay
Classic shortbread
Ingredients
- ¾ cups butter, room temperature
- ½ cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Chocolate Drizzle
- ¼ cup dark chocolate chips
- 1-2 tsp coconut oil
- Optional decorations : edible dried roses, toasted nuts like pecans or almonds, toasted coconut, dried lavender
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350F
- Add sugar, flour and salt into a medium sized mixing bowl and whisk with a fork to combine evenly
- Cut your butter into pea sized pieces with a knife or pastry cutter and add to the flour mixture. Add the vanilla. Use the back or a fork or an electric mixer with a paddle attachment to combine the mixture until a ball of dough starts to form.
- Use your hand to form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Once ready, dust a clean surface with flour and roll the dough into a ½ inch thick square. Cut the dough into approx one inch by one inch squares. (At this stage, I sprinkled some of the dough with lavender, some with rose petals and some with toasted coconut. Feel free to add in ingredients as you'd like or leave plain. You can also sprinkle them on top when you drizzle the chocolate on once baked.)
- Place on two parchment lined baking sheets. You may need to do more than one batch. Sprinkle with a little bit of sugar.
- Place in the oven to bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until edges become golden brown. They may seem a bit soft when you first remove the from the oven but they will harden up once cooled.
- While cookies cool, melt your chocolate and coconut oil together either in a double boiler or in the microwave placing it in for one minute at a time, removing to stir and repeating until all melted. This will ensure it doesn't burn.
- Drizzle or dip your cookies in chocolate and place in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes to set before packing up.
Almond flour shortbread (gluten-free, grain-Free)
Ingredients
- Two cups almond flour ( I used Bob's Red Mill)
- ½ cup (8 Tbsp) butter, room temperature
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp. Salt
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350F
- Add sugar, flour and salt into a medium sized mixing bowl and whisk with a fork to combine evenly
- Cut your butter into pea sized pieces with a knife or pastry cutter and add to the flour mixture. Add the vanilla. Use the back or a fork or an electric mixer with a paddle attachment to combine the mixture until a ball of dough starts to form.
- Use your hand to form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Once ready, dust a clean surface with flour and roll the dough into a ½ inch thick square. Cut the dough into approximately one inch by one inch squares. (At this stage, I sprinkled some of the dough with lavender, some with rose petals and some with toasted coconut. Feel free to add in ingredients as you'd like or leave plain. You can also sprinkle them on top when you drizzle the chocolate on once baked.)
- Place on two parchment lined baking sheets, you may need to do more than one batch.
- Place in the oven to bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until edges become golden brown. They may seem a bit soft when you first remove the from the oven but they will harden up once cooled.
- While cookies cool, melt your chocolate and coconut oil together either in a double boiler or in the microwave placing it in for one minute at a time, removing to stir and repeating until all melted. This will ensure it doesn't burn.
- Drizzle or dip your cookies in chocolate and place in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes to set before packing up.
Happy Holidays!
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