Made with just a few simple ingredients, these low carb, grain free classic cookies are everything shortbread should be!
Let the cookie bonanza begin! It’s about time, don’t you think, in that we’ve had an entire week to digest our turkey and stuffing and pie. Some might say an onslaught of holiday cookies is long overdue. Fair warning: we’re pretty much doing sweets for the rest of the month (maybe a few savories in there, for balance, but really, balance is for January).
To get things started off right, these grain free shortbread cookies are the first of two chocolate dipped cookie recipes in a row. I didn’t do it on purpose, but I guess that goes to show where my priorities are this time of year. I’m pretty sure you’ll have no qualms about jumping on the It’s-December-Let’s-Eat-Everything-Dunked-in-Chocolate bandwagon with me once you get a taste of these shortbread. Just like a classic shortbread should be, they’re dense, buttery and very subtly sweet. They pillowy softness that characterizes almond flour-based pastries works perfectly for shortbread, but you can cook them 1-2 minutes longer than the recipe specifies if you’d like them to be a little heartier and crisper, like some store-bought shortbread.
The very limited ingredient list means that each ingredient *really* counts, but take special care with the butter. I recommend using the absolute best quality unsalted butter that you can find, because the flavor will really shine through and better butters (say that 5 times fast) really do have a noticeably richer flavor. If, however, you can’t tolerate dairy, you can use coconut oil instead. Like the butter, the flavor of the coconut oil will be noticeable, so these won’t taste exactly like traditional shortbread if you use coconut oil.
These definitely stand on their own, so feel free to skip the chocolate dunk if you want to, but if you want to, I might worry about you. The sweet, silky touch of chocolate complements the rich, but sparse flavor of the cookie and you can use any chocolate you want: semi-sweet, dark, super dark (my personal choice), or dairy free. Oh, and if you use the homemade stuff, you’ll want to keep these in the fridge until you’re ready to serve them.
So what do you think? Are these worthy of kicking off this year’s cookie bonanza?
PS: Now you can see all of the holiday cookie options on this site in one place!
PPS: Speaking of celebrations, this time of year is a big birthday season for my family, and today is my mom’s birthday! As the person who taught me to bake, she’s indirectly responsible for everything you see and enjoy on this site, so let’s wish her a happy birthday 🙂 Happy birthday, Mom!
Chocolate Dipped Grain Free Shortbread
Made with just a few simple ingredients, these low carb, grain free classic cookies are everything shortbread should be!
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons good quality unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon coconut flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt, omit if using salted butter
- 1/4 cup granulated monk fruit sweetener, or granulated stevia
- 2 large egg whites, should equal 1/4 cup
- 1/2 cup finely chopped dark or semi sweet chocolate
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- Pinch espresso powder, optional but recommended; it enhances the chocolate flavor
- Pinch salt, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or a nonstick pad and set aside.
- Melt butter in the microwave or on the stove top and set aside to cool slightly.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, salt and sweetener.
- Add the egg whites and butter (which should be cool enough that you can hold your fingertip in it for 5-10 seconds without flinching) and stir until evenly combined. It sound be slightly sticky.
- Gather the batter into a ball and turn it out onto a cutting board. Let it rest on the cutting board for 5 minutes, which will allow the coconut flour to absorb the moisture completely.
- Once the excess moisture has absorbed, divide the dough into two equal portions. Gather the first half into a tight ball, then roll or press into a disk (about 1/2" thick).
- Cut the disk in half, then cut each half into thirds so that you get six triangles out of the disk.
- Transfer the triangles to the prepared cookie sheet, spacing them about 1" apart, then repeat the process with the remaining dough, to create another 6 cookies.
- Gently poke each cookie a few times with a fork, or make a decorative border with the tines.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, remove from the oven and transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely and firm up.
- Prepare the dipping chocolate by melting the chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave or over a double boiler. Add the espresso powder and salt (if using), and stir until completely smooth.
- Grip each cooled cookie by the pointy end and swipe the wide end through the chocolate. Shake gently to remove excess chocolate, then transfer to a piece of wax or parchment paper to solidify.
Notes
The butter is responsible for most of the flavor of the cookies themselves, so use the best quality you can find.
If you can't tolerate dairy, omit the butter and substitute an equal amount of coconut oil. The cookies will need slightly less baking time (17-18 minutes), and will have a slightly coconutty flavor.
Yield: One dozen cookies
Chantelle |naked cuisine says
I’m so excited, shortbread is my total fave cookie and the other day I was wondering about making a paleo version!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
I guess I read your mind! So glad these came at the right time 🙂
Bethany @ Athletic Avocado says
cookie baking is definitely one of my top priorities right after I finish finals!! I can’t believe these are grain-free, they looks so pillowy and perfect, literally perfection!! Im what you would call a dunker, so I would gladly dunk one of these babies in a cup of hot coffee!! Delish!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Yes, they’re perfect for double dunking! (Chocolate, then coffee because priorities 😉
Good luck with your finals!
Medha @ Whisk & Shout says
These shortbread cookies look so delicious- pinning!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Thanks for pinning, Medha!
Julia says
Yaaaaaay happy birthday to your momma!! These shortbread cookies look ah-maaaay-zing! I love the chocolate addition and am all about a healthier cookie. Best.use.of.butter.evah!!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Thanks, Julia!! Try ’em – you’ll love ’em!
And thanks from my mom for the bday wishes 😉
June @ How to Philosophize with Cake says
Those cookies look perfect! Hard to believe they’re grain-free. I just love the little triangles, so cute! 🙂
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
I know, right? I have had a couple taste testers call me a liar, which I totally take as a compliment!
Monica says
Aww happy belated birthday to your mother! These cookies are a wonderful way to kick off the cookie-making holiday season; shortbread is a classic and it’s great that you’re sharing a grain-free version (:
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
I thought as much – a classic seemed like the best way to start!
sophie says
Hello. Is espresso powder the same as instant coffee granules?
Merry Christmas!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Hi Sophie! No, espresso powder is the same idea but not the same thing. Instant coffee granules are larger and I suspect that they also have a slightly different flavor. If you don’t have espresso powder, though, you can leave it out!
Kat says
Nora – I made these yesterday and they are fabulous. If anyone is reading this – the quality butter is definitely ESSENTIAL! I never ended up swiping mine through chocolate because they’re so tasty as-is thanks to the butter. The only thing I had to do differently was to adjust the baking time and decrease by about 3 minutes!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
Thank you so much for letting me know! I am thrilled you liked them, and when someone likes a recipe enough to LEAVE OFF THE CHOCOLATE that’s really saying something 😉 Funny about the baking time, but I know these can be finicky. I bet your oven just runs a little hotter than mine, no big deal. I’m so glad they worked for you!!
B.Kime says
Planning on making these today, only I don’t have any stevia or monk-fruit sweetened sugar replacement. Could I just use regular organic sugar? Would I need to add more/less? Thank you!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
No problem! You can definitely swap in regular (white) sugar if you would like. I suspect you might have to add a bit more, but start with 1/4 cup (as the recipe calls for) and taste it. If it’s not sweet enough, add another 1-2 Tablespoons of sugar. I’m sorry I can’t give you a more precise answer, but I haven’t tried these with white sugar! Let me know how it goes 🙂
Korisa says
Love these cookies. Already finished the first batch and it’s only mid December 🙂 instead of dipping in chocolate I sprinkled edges with colored sugar. My only suggestion would be check throughout baking time as I ended up burning them a bit. I probably rolled too thin. Thanks for a great gluten free Christmas option!
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
I love the idea of using festive colored sugar! That’s a great suggestion – one which I always recommend since ovens can vary so much. The burning could be from a couple of things:
1) If you used coconut oil instead of butter, they do cook a little faster
2) Your oven could run hot, or you could have hot spots in your oven which cooks the cookies faster. If you are concerned, the easy and cheap remedy for both of these issues is to buy a simple oven thermometer (usually around $10 on Amazon or kitchen supply stores) so that you can monitor the oven temp throughout the baking process.
Happy holidays!!
Kathryn Moore says
Could I cut these with Christmas cookie cutters instead of into sections?
Nora (A Clean Bake) says
I’ve never tried it, but you should be able to. The dough is a bit delicate, but if you use a cutter without a lot of small details, you should be fine!