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Bake this buttery, crisp, gluten free shortbread in one of those fancy British shortbread pans with only 5 simple pantry ingredients. Sprinkle the top with some powdered sugar, and impress your guests the easiest way possible!
Why this recipe works
Crisp and tender, with melt-in-your-mouth crumbles, this easy recipe is made with only 5 simple ingredients: gluten free flour, butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla. It's the simplest recipes that require the most precise ingredients in the right balance.
Be sure you measure your ingredients by weight, since it's impossible to avoid human error when measuring ingredients by volume. And use butter that's at cool room temperature, which means it's not at all greasy.
The temperature of the butter will warm up just enough when you beat it properly with the light brown sugar. If the butter starts out too warm, the shortbread will be chewy instead of tender.
This recipe also requires a pan made from cast aluminum, that's truly nonstick but greased fully with butter, and that's light in color so it doesn't attract or retain too much heat.
We love our cookies around here so if you do too be sure to try out my gluten free sugar cookies, my gluten free mexican wedding cookies and gluten free spritz cookies.
Making shortbread cookies in a pan
Whenever I've shared other shortbread recipes like our classic gluten free shortbread cookies with flavor variations, I'm often asked if they can be baked in a pan. I honestly didn't know the answer, so I started to experiment!
When I tried baking each of those recipes, as written, in an English shortbread pan like you see above, the cookies were terrible! They were way too dry and crumbly, likely because they had to be baked too long for the amount of gluten free flour in the recipe.
To bake gluten free shortbread in a pan, I learned, you need less gluten free flour, on balance. You also need to beat the butter and the sugar together quite well, and to use a flour blend with less starch.
The pan I use, and that you see in the photos here, is a cast aluminum nonstick “English shortbread pan” made by Nordic Ware. I think King Arthur Flour makes another, similar pan. Be sure yours is nonstick and light in color, so the shortbread doesn't burn or stick to the pan.
Expert tips
This recipe works like a charm when it's made exactly as written. But some more detail can be quite useful, so here goes:
Working with the raw dough
This raw shortbread dough isn't especially wet, especially when compared to other gluten free cookies. But it will still stick to your fingers as you scrape it off the spatula and out of the mixing bowl. That's part of why we let it rest before pressing it into the pan.
Dock the dough
Docking raw dough of any kind means piercing small holes into it, usually with the tines of a fork. It helps air escape during baking that might cause unsightly bubbles in the cookies.
Use the right doneness test
This shortbread is ready when it no longer has a wet shine, even all the way in the center of the pan.
Removing the shortbread from the pan
To remove the shortbread from the pan in one piece, let it cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, undisturbed. Then, run a thin knife or spatula around the edge so it doesn't cling to the pan, place a cutting board or other flat surface on top of the pan, then invert both over quickly. The shortbread will come right out.
Slice immediately
You can make the cleanest cut in shortbread baked in a pan when it's still a bit warm from the oven, since it will crisp as it cools. Cut along those perforations left by the pattern in the pan the moment you turn it out.
Ingredient substitutions and variations
This is a very, very simple recipe, so substitutions can be risky. It's already egg-free, and if you're interested in trying to accommodate other food allergies, here is what I recommend (although I can't promise results):
Dairy free
I think you should be able to make this recipe with block-style vegan butter in place of dairy butter. Try Melt brand or Miyoko's Kitchen brand vegan butter. Don't use Earth Balance buttery sticks, as they contain way to much moisture.
Vegan
If you replace the butter with vegan butter, these cookies are vegan! There's no egg or other animal product in this recipe as written.
Topping suggestions
I briefly considered dipping the underside of each of these cookies in melted chocolate, much like we did our gluten free coconut macaroons. I was thinking they may look like the LU Petit Ecolier, or Little Schoolboy, cookies I really love.
You can also try sprinkling the top of the shaped raw cookie dough, which does end up being the bottom of the cookies, with coarse sugar before baking. I'd also brush the surface with a bit of water first to help the sugar crystals adhere.
You might be able to fix a few miniature chocolate chips into the cookie dough for some subtle variation, but I wouldn't add more than 2 ounces.
Can I use cookie cutters for this recipe?
No, I don't recommend using this same recipe for cutout cookies. This recipe is designed to be made in a single layer in a pan. For cutout cookies, try using our gluten free sablé cookies.
If you want another quick and easy treat, my granola bar recipe is perfect for you!
Storage instructions
To maintain the shortbread's texture, allow them to cool completely, then store in a sealed glass container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Storing anything crispy in plastic will encourage the baked goods to absorb more moisture and become chewy.
For longer storage, you can flash-freeze the cut cookies in a single layer on a small baking sheet. Then, pile them into a freezer-safe container (plastic is fine in the freezer, just limit trapped air as much as possible) and store for up to 3 months.
Classic Gluten Free Shortbread Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons (140 g) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature
- ½ cup (109 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups (210 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (See Recipe Notes)
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325°F. This recipe works best with a 9-inch x 9-inch nonstick English shortbread pan. (See Recipe Notes)
- Chop the butter into cubes about 1 tablespoon each. Place them, with the sugar, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or a large bowl with a handheld mixer.
- Beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, pausing to scrape down the bowl as necessary (at least 3 minutes). Add the vanilla and salt, and beat to combine.
- Add the flour, and xanthan gum, and mix until just combined. The dough will seem crumbly at first, but just keep mixing until it comes together.
- Place the cookie dough in plastic wrap and press it into a disk. Allow it rest at room temperature for at least 10 minutes and up to one half hour.
- Unwrap the cookie cookie dough and transfer it to the prepared baking pan. Using clean hands, press the cookie dough into an even layer in the pan.
- Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the pan, and press it into an even layer using the palms of your hands and/or a bowl or bench scraper.
- Remove the paper, then pierce the cookie dough all over with the tines of a fork to prevent bubbles from forming during baking. This is called docking.
- Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven and bake until lightly golden brown on the edges and set all the way to the center (about 18 minutes). It’s set in the center when it no longer glistens.
- Remove the pan from the oven allow it to cool for about 10 minutes, or until no longer hot to the touch (but still warm). The baked shortbread is easiest to work with when it’s still warm.
- Run a thin spatula very carefully around the edge of the pan to free the cookies from the pan. Place a large, flat cutting board on top of the pan.
- Invert both the pan and the cutting board, together, and carefully lift the pan off the cookies.
- Using a large, sharp knife, slice along the perforations in the cookies that the pan has left. . Allow the cookies to cool completely.
- Dust with the optional confectioners’ sugar before serving. Store any leftover cookies in a sealed glass container at room temperature or in the freezer for longer storage.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
do you think this recipe could be used as the base for millionaire shortbread
Hi, June, stay tuned! I’m working on a recipe for millionaire’s shortbread right now that I hope to publish very soon.
Can’t tell the difference between this and the traditional version. Flaky, tender, totally indulgent. Great recipe – thank you Nicole!
Love to hear it, Mary! Thank you for sharing that, and you’re so welcome!