Gluten Free Shortbread Cookies
We recently received an email from a customer who stated that our flour would make delicious shortbread cookies – did we have a recipe? We do now! Our gluten free Shortbread Cookies are sweet, buttery buttons that we treasure. Dip or drizzle them in your favorite melted chocolate and now you have a truly special and decadent dessert that your family and friends will consistently ask for. Our gluten free shortbread cookies are delicate, egg free, and best of all – super easy to make.

Buttery Buttons
Gluten free Shortbread Cookies are made with a malleable dough. It’s easy to create your favorite shape or cut out. We prefer our shortbread to resemble what we lovingly refer to as “buttery buttons,” which are small cookie bites decorated with chocolate. I enjoy cookies half dipped in melted chocolate, and our daughter prefers them mostly coated with chocolate. She clearly takes after her father! You can eat them naked or dressed in chocolatey goodness. It’s up to you!

Tips for Success
When working with shortbread, it’s important to start with room temp butter. In a pinch, you may microwave your butter – but be careful not to melt it. If you are vegan, try replacing butter with coconut oil. I’ve read that it works well, (in all transparency, we have yet to try this method.) Also, after blending the dough, cover and place the bowl in the refrigerator before shaping. This helps with handling very soft dough. The recipe provides directions for shaping dough into logs. You may shape or cut out the dough in any way you fancy. Finally, after cutting and placing the cookies on the baking sheet, return the cookie sheet back to the refrigerator for about 10 minutes before baking. This method helps prevent cookie spread.
Xanthan Gum?
A note about adding xanthan gum: gums are optional in this recipe. A small amount of xanthan gum helps to maintain the shape of each cookie. Without xanthan gum, cookies will spread a bit and become extremely delicate to handle. Make sure you cool them for about 10 minutes on the pan before transferring them to a cooling rack to finish cooling. How do they taste? Delightful, tender, and a tad crumbly.
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Please let us know how your gluten free Shortbread Cookies turned out! We love to receive feedback. Rate this recipe and leave a comment in the section provided below. Thank you.
An important note: this recipe successfully uses Flour Farm Organic Gluten Free Flour Blend. If you choose to make this with another flour blend, please note that your results may differ.
Peace & LOVE – Teri
Photos by DuPree Productions; Special thanks to Ina Garten of the Food Network – we adapted her shortbread recipe to make it gluten free; We would also like to thank Kari who prompted us to provide this recipe
Baking Buttery Buttons with Flour Farm







Gluten Free Shortbread Cookies
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 40 cookies 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Tender, buttery buttons of gluten free Shortbread to brighten up your day. Drizzle or dip in melted chocolate for that extra special burst of flavor.
Ingredients
Choose Gluten Free, Non-GMO & Organic Ingredients.
Substitutions: Do you need to swap out an ingredient? Click here for suggestions.
Note: If clicking the 2X or 3X scale boxes to the right, please know that weights listed in parentheses below may or may not change. Please take care to check amounts if increasing the recipe.
Cookies
- 210g (7.4 oz) Flour Farm Organic Gluten Free Flour Blend (2 C – 1T spoon & level)
- 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum, preferred but optional – see note below (2g)
- 170g (6 oz) Salted Butter (3/4 C), if using unsalted butter add 1/4 tsp of salt or a pinch of kosher salt
- 100g Cane Sugar (1/2 C)
- 1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract (2.5 ml)
- Powdered Sugar or Powdered Vanilla, about 2 T sifted – used for dusting parchment
Toppings (optional)
- 142g (5 oz) Quality Chocolate, finely chopped – we prefer semi sweet, but choose your favorite
- Raw or Turbinado Sugar, to sprinkle
Instructions
Equipment: Digital scale (preferred,) Rimless cookie sheets, Stand up mixer with paddle attachment or hand mixer, Mixing bowl, Unbleached parchment, Silicone spatula, Whisk, Skewer, Spatula, Cooling rack
Before You Dive In – Prep: Please read!
- Bring butter to room temperature
- Finely chop chocolate if using
- Move oven rack to center (if you want to bake both sheets at the same time, place racks on upper and lower thirds of the oven)
Make cookies!
Step 1: In a medium bowl, whisk together Flour Farm and xanthan gum (if using.) Set aside.
Step 2: In the bowl attached to the stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl, add the butter, sugar and vanilla. Cream together until fully blended.
Step 3: With the blender set to low, spoon in the flour mix until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides and blend until dough comes together. Scrape the dough into a ball. Cover and place the bowl in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
Step 4: Place a sheet of unbleached parchment on the counter and dust with sifted powdered sugar or vanilla powder. The sheet of parchment should be placed with the long edge facing you for a horizontal view.
Step 5: After 10 minutes, remove the dough from the fridge and divide it into two equal blobs. Place one part on the dusted parchment and roll into a log 1″ (2.5 cm) in diameter. Fold the parchment over the log and gently cup your fingers over it. Run your hand along the log so that any bumpy or lumpy finger marks in your dough will smooth out. Place or roll that log to the top edge of the parchment. Dust the surface of the parchment again, then repeat with the second blob of dough.
Step 6: Roll each log of dough in parchment or cling wrap, place them on a rimless baking sheet and return them to the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
Prepare to bake: place unbleached parchment or baking mats on two rimless cookie sheets. Preheat oven to 350 F/177 C.
Step 7: Remove logs from the refrigerator and unwrap. Slice cookies 1/2″ (1.25 cm) thick. Thinner cookies will easily fall apart after baking. Place cookies about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Once the sheet is full, poke four button holes in the top of each cookie using a skewer (optional). Sprinkle with sugar, (optional). Place the cookie sheet back into the refrigerator. Repeat for the next sheet.
Step 8: When the second sheet goes into the refrigerator, place the first sheet onto the middle rack of the preheated oven. Bake for 12-13 minutes. If needed, rotate the cookie sheet after 6 minutes and continue baking. Cookies should appear slightly puffy and golden brown along the bottom edge when finished. Remove cookies from the oven and place the pan on a cooling rack. Place the next batch of cookies in the oven and repeat baking instructions.
Note: alternatively you may bake both sheets at the same time in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, rotating sheets half way between cooking time.
Step 9: Allow cookies to cool for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to continue cooling. If you skipped xanthan gum, cool on the pan for at least 10 minutes, as cookies will be delicate. They are more easily handled after they cool.
Melt chocolate!
Step 1a: If microwaving the chocolate – place 85g/3 oz of chocolate in a microwave safe dish. Heat on high for 30 seconds and stir. Continue to heat on high for 30 second increments until the chocolate is just melted.
Step 1b: If melting chocolate in a double boiler, add chocolate to the top pan and heat over medium. Stir the chocolate frequently until melted. Remove the pan from the heat and follow Step 2. For assistance on how to use a double boiler, click on this link.
Step 2: Add the rest of the chocolate and allow to melt at room temperature. Continue to stir frequently until all the chocolate is melted. Whisk/stir vigorously when melted to create glossy looking chocolate.
Step 3: Drizzle or dip. Choose how you would like to embellish your cookies.
Notes
Storage: Store cookies in a container with a tight fitting lid for up to three days or freeze for up to a month.
Xanthan Gum Note: xanthan gum is highly recommended to aid in maintaining the structure of the cookie while baking. However, we have made these cookies without gums and they taste delicious! However, they are very delicate to handle, spread during baking, and crumble easily, so take care.
Shaping: If you want to shape the dough into a rectangle, you may need to increase your baking time. Monitor the baking time closely. Also, you may shape the dough into a disc, refrigerate for 20 minutes, roll out to 1/2″ (1.25 cm) and use cookie cut outs. Again, watch the timing for larger cookies.
The nutrition information provided below is for the recipe as written using organic salted butter without toppings. The chocolate is not factored into the analysis. Each cookie weighs approximately 11g/.4 oz.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Cookies
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: English
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 60
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 30mg
- Fat: 4g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 7g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 0g
- Cholesterol: 10mg
Keywords: gluten free shortbread cookies
For more delicious gluten free recipes by Flour Farm, click on this link!

