Gluten Free Shortbread Cookies—1 Recipe 5 Varieties

Ingredients

Directions

• First, make the shortbread cookie mix. Place all of the cookie mix ingredients in a large bowl, and whisk to combine well. Set the dry mix aside.

  Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set it aside.

• To make the Plain Shortbread Cookies, place 1 recipe of the shortbread cookie dry mix (346 g) in a large bowl. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add the butter. Mix until all the dry ingredients are moistened with the butter, and then knead the dough with clean hands until it comes together. The dough should be thick and smooth. If necessary to bring the dough together without any dry bits, add water by the 1/2 teaspoon.

  Place the dough on a large piece of unbleached parchment paper and roll into a tight cylinder about 1 1/2-inches in diameter. Square off the sides of the cylinder as you wrap it in the parchment paper, and twist the edges of the parchment to close. Place in the refrigerator to chill for about 10 minutes or until firm. Remove from the refrigerator, and slice by cross-section into 15 squares, each about 3/8-inch thick. Place the squares about 1-inch apart from one another on the prepared baking sheet.

  Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake for about 8 minutes, or until set in the center and very pale brown underneath. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

• To make the Mocha Shortbread Cookies, place 1 recipe of the shortbread cookie dry mix, 2 tablespoons (10 g) of the cocoa powder and the espresso powder in a large bowl, and whisk to combine. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add the butter. Mix until all the dry ingredients are moistened with the butter, and then knead the dough with clean hands until it comes together. The dough should be thick and smooth. If necessary to bring the dough together without any dry bits, add water by the 1/2 teaspoon.

  Place the dough on a large piece of unbleached parchment paper and roll into a tight cylinder about 1 1/2-inches in diameter. Square off the sides of the cylinder as you wrap it in the parchment paper, and twist the edges of the parchment to close. Place in the refrigerator to chill for about 10 minutes or until firm. Remove from the refrigerator, and slice by cross-section into 15 squares, each about 3/8-inch thick. Place the remaining 1 tablespoon cocoa powder and the extra 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar in a small bowl, and mix to combine.

  Place the squares in the bowl of cocoa-sugar, one at a time, pressing the dough gently in the mixture on all sides to ensure that the sugar mixture adheres to the dough. Place the squares about 1-inch apart from one another on the prepared baking sheet.

  Place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven and bake for about 8 minutes, or until set in the center. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

• To make the Berry Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies, place 1 recipe of the shortbread cookie dry mix in a large bowl. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add the butter. Mix until all the dry ingredients are moistened with the butter. Add the dried chopped berries and chocolate chips, and mix until the pieces are evenly distributed throughout the dough. Knead the dough with clean hands until it comes together. It should be thick and smooth. If necessary to bring the dough together without any dry bits, add water by the 1/2 teaspoon.

  Place the dough on a large piece of unbleached parchment paper and roll into a tight cylinder about 1 1/2-inches in diameter. Square off the sides of the cylinder as you wrap it in the parchment paper, and twist the edges of the parchment to close. Place in the refrigerator to chill for about 10 minutes or until firm.

  Remove from the refrigerator, and slice by cross-section into 15 squares, each about 3/8-inch thick. Place the squares about 1-inch apart from one another on the prepared baking sheet.

  Place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven and bake for about 8 minutes, or until set in the center and very pale brown underneath. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Drizzle the melted chocolate on the tops of the cooled cookies, and allow them to sit until the chocolate is set.

• To make the Toffee Caramel Shortbread Cookies, place 1 recipe of the shortbread cookie dry mix in a large bowl. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add the butter. Mix until all the dry ingredients are moistened with the butter. Add the toffee bits, and mix until the pieces are evenly distributed throughout the dough. Knead the dough with clean hands until it comes together. It should be thick and smooth. If necessary to bring the dough together without any dry bits, add water by the 1/2 teaspoon.

  Place the dough on a large piece of unbleached parchment paper and roll into a tight cylinder about 1 1/2-inches in diameter. Square off the sides of the cylinder as you wrap it in the parchment paper, and twist the edges of the parchment to close. Place in the refrigerator to chill for about 10 minutes or until firm.

  Remove from the refrigerator, and slice by cross-section into 15 squares, each about 3/8-inch thick. Place the squares about 1-inch apart from one another on the prepared baking sheet.

  Place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven and bake for about 8 minutes, or until set in the center and very pale brown underneath. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

  Dip half of each cookie in the melted chocolate, and allow the cookies to sit until the chocolate is set. Place the caramels and milk in a small bowl, and place in the microwave for 30 seconds on 50% power. Repeat, stirring in between, until the caramels are melted and the mixture is smooth. Drizzle the melted caramel on top of the chocolate, and sprinkle lightly with coarse salt. Allow to sit until the caramel is set.

• To make the Glazed Lemon Shortbread Cookies, place 1 recipe of the shortbread cookie dry mix and the lemon zest in a large bowl, and whisk to combine, working out any clumps in the zest. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add the butter and 1 teaspoon of the lemon juice. Mix until all the dry ingredients are moistened with the butter, then knead the dough with clean hands until it comes together. It should be thick and smooth. If necessary to bring the dough together without any dry bits, add water by the 1/4 teaspoon.

  Place the dough on a large piece of unbleached parchment paper and roll into a tight cylinder about 1 1/2-inches in diameter. Square off the sides of the cylinder as you wrap it in the parchment paper, and twist the edges of the parchment to close. Place in the refrigerator to chill for about 10 minutes or until firm.

  Remove from the refrigerator, and slice by cross-section into 15 squares, each about 3/8-inch thick. Place the squares about 1-inch apart from one another on the prepared baking sheet.

  Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake for about 8 minutes, or until set in the center and very pale brown underneath. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

  To make the glaze, place the confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and mix well, until a thick paste forms. Add more lemon juice by the 1/4-teaspoon, mixing to combine well, until the glaze falls off the spoon slowly, in a thickly pourable glaze. Add lemon juice very slowly, as it is much easier to thin, than to thicken, the glaze. If you do thin the glaze too much, add more confectioners’ sugar a teaspoon at a time to thicken it. Dip the tops of the cooled cookies in the glaze and place on a flat surface to sit until the glaze is set.

• Adapted from Betty Crocker’s 5 Way Shortbread Cookies. Originally published on the blog in 2014. Recipes all tweaked a bit for the better; video and most photos new.