Whipped Shortbread – gf, vegan
Light fluffy, melt in your mouth gluten free and vegan whipped shortbread. This cookie is a triumph! Most shortbreads are dense and crumbly, this whipped version, is made through a cookie press (or dropped from a spoon) and turns out, melt in your mouth delicious.
My chef husband didn’t know that shortbread could be whipped before he met me. I didn’t know people rolled shortbread. I thought all shortbread was fluffy and delicious. This cookie is my number one cookie for Christmas, it isn’t Christmas without this cookie.
Imagine my dismay when I started having to make whipped shortbread gluten free, before great gluten free flours were readily available? I was a struggle to be sure, I made several batches and this was part of my journey to make the perfect gluten free flour blend for sweet baking. This link takes you to that blend. I’ve been using it for more than 10 years, I rarely find a recipe I can’t substitute my blend with regular flour 1:1.
I have further struggle with this recipe when I needed to start making it dairy free too. Finding a great vegan butter is a challenge and one ha bakes like real butter is even harder. The other oils have a flash point that is just too low, which means it melts at too low temperature, as compared to butter.
This means find a great vegan butter before you start making whipped shortbread. I can’t use anything soy or cashew or things with sulphites. MELT has been my saviour. I know other folks have made my recipes with other brands and been successful too.
Whipped shortbread is so simple, 4 ingredients plus guar gum to hold it together. Plus a cookie press, but if you don’t have one, just drop them from a spoon!
Gluten-free, vegan Whipped Shortbread
Equipment
- hand mixer
- large bowl
- spatula
- baking sheets
- decorations for cookies
- cooling rack
- cookie press
- fun
Ingredients
- 1 lb vegan baking sticks (butter), whipped
- ½ cup arrowroot starch (can use cornstarch)
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 1 tsp guar gum
- 3 cups sweet baking gluten free flour blend
Instructions
Making dough
- Whip 1 lb of vegan baking sticks in a large bowl, butter should be creamy when ready
- Add arrowroot starch and mix thoroughly
- Add icing sugar and mix thoroughly
- Add ½ flour blend and guar gum and mix thoroughly
- Add the last of the flour blend and mix thoroughly.
- Dough should be happily staying together and clumpy like cookie dough. If you had o pick off a clump and roll it into a ball, it will easily without sticking to your hand.
Rest dough
- Since vegan baking sticks tend to have a lower heat tolerance, I had to rest my dough in the fridge for 30 minutes after (and people kept interrupting).
- This is your chance to get you baking sheets ready and prep your decorations and cookie press.
Pressing cookies
- Fill your cookie press with dough, select a cookie press shape and attach to the press. Follow your cookie press instructions to make the cookies. Ours has a click mechanism. The one I grew up with you had to check how much to press by using even pressure and looking for the amount of dough coming out the window at the bottom.
- Decorate your cookies before you bake them. Make sure your decorations are safe for your family, lots aren't. You can use candied fruit and cherries, chocolate, nuts or any other food items.
Bake
- 10-15 minutes on 300° F. Cookies will feel firm to the touch and be just slightly turning gold on the bottom when done.
- Move to a cooling rack to cool and keep pressing cookies onto cool baking sheets. You may need to store the dough in he fridge between batches.
