Who doesn’t love a good shortbread? It’s one of those things that I’d given up on being both gluten- and dairy-free. So, I set about experimenting until I found a recipe that works and tastes delicious. These two recipes are the result. One is gluten-free made with butter (for those who can tolerate butter), the other is gluten- and dairy-free, using coconut oil.
There were many experiments, particularly as the dairy-free shortbread kept ‘melting’. Finally I realised the coconut oil becomes liquid when heated, hence the need to freeze the dough prior to baking. As butter works differently, the GF shortbread only needs chilling.
The dairy-free dough is quite crumbly, but persist and it will come together, albeit it is quite delicate. This is why you need to work it with your hands and not use a rolling pin when you come to shape it. Watch it carefully when baking otherwise it will ‘melt’ if you bake for too long (you may need to recut the triangles as it cools due to the melt effect)!
The vanilla protein powder gives the shortbread a lovely silky texture and gorgeous vanilla flavour, but can be omitted. I hope you enjoy these variations as much as I do and find them straight-forward to make.
Prepared dough prior to freezing and baking.
The finished article – resist if you dare!
Cool, then pop in the fridge to harden before breaking into triangles and enjoying! If there’s any left store it in the fridge.
Click on the images to open PDF recipe
