My Gluten-Free Shortbread Cookies are the perfect festive treat. This is a recipe of my Great Aunt Edie's, that has successfully been converted to gluten-free. The shortbread is rich, buttery, and melt-in-the-mouth delicious as it should be. It contains just four ingredients and is so simple to prepare. These cookies are the perfect addition to your Christmas Cookie Box!
200g(1 ⅓ cups) all-purpose/plain gluten-free flour See Note 2
1tablespoongluten-free corn flour See Note 3
Topping:
2tablespooncaster/superfine sugar
Instructions
Line 2 large baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Ensure you have room in your fridge for the trays.When you are ready to bake: preheat your oven to 150 degrees C (300 F).
Add the flours to a small bowl and stir well to combine.
Add the cubed butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer, and using medium speed, cream them together until the mixture is pale and creamy - about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice, as necessary. Do not overbeat - you don’t want to incorporate too much air into the mixture.
Add the flours to the butter and sugar, about ¼ of a cup at a time, and use the lowest speed to combine.
Turn the mixture onto some clingwrap and bring the mixture together, forming a square of approximately 15 cm (6 inches). Cover and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Remove from the fridge and place the dough between two sheets of non-stick baking paper to roll.
Roll the dough to about 1 cm (¼ inch) thick. As you roll, lift the paper occasionally and then return it to the surface of the dough. Doing this helps to roll it evenly and keep it from sticking to the baking paper.If you find that the dough is too cold and cracks as you’re rolling, just wait a few minutes and try again. Likewise, if you find it too warm, return it to the fridge for a few minutes.
Using a star cutter, cut out the cookies - I usually get 6-8 to begin with. Gather the remaining dough together and repeat the process of rolling and cutting until all the dough is used. Dip the cutter in flour if necessary to prevent the dough sticking.
Using a large palette knife or spatula, carefully lift the shapes onto the prepared tray.If you find that the shapes have a few cracks, just gently push them together with your fingers to smooth. Sprinkle with the additional caster/superfine sugar and put the trays in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes. This helps the biscuits to hold their shape.Preheat your oven to 150 degrees C (300 F).
Place the tray in the preheated oven and bake the shortbread for approximately 40 minutes, turning the trays around at the 20 minute mark.Traditionally, shortbread is kept pale and not coloured, and this is achieved by cooking at a low temperature.
Once cooked, remove the trays from the oven and leave the shortbread to cool for 10 minutes before carefully lifting to a cooling rack.
Notes
Butter: if you are making the cookies on a hot day, do not leave the butter out of the fridge for too long - you don’t want it melted. It should be spreadable but still cool. Room temperature for butter is around 18 degrees C (65 F) which may be much cooler than your kitchen in summer.
All-Purpose Flour: we use a good quality commercial gluten-free flour which is made from a blend of naturally occurring gluten-free flours. Ensure the flour blend you use contains either xanthan or guar gum to stabilise and provide structure to the recipe. We use and recommend Bob's Red Mill 1 for 1, Orgran and Well Good Flour.
Tablespoon: we use a standard Australian tablespoon which is 20 ml (4 teaspoons).
Storage: place cookies in an air-tight container and store in a cool, dry location. The cookies will last for up to 7 days.
Freezing: after the cookies have cooled completely, freeze them in a single layer on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Once frozen, transfer them to an airtight container for up to 1 month. Separate the layers with baking paper. To thaw, remove them from their container and place the cookies on a plate at room temperature.