I realized something while working on these shortbread cookies this week- I’m getting to a point in my work life that I recognize from other times in my life: I hate it. It might just be a rut, or it might be that I need to restructure things, or it might mean I need to quit everything and open a plant shop and really lean into this mid-life crisis. Why am I telling you this in a post about shortbread cookies? I’ll explain.
these buttery shortbread cookies are melt in your mouth perfection
Okay so back when I was a massage therapist, I got to a point where I just didn’t want to do it anymore. Doing massage when you don’t want to do massage is a special kind of hell; you’re literally touching people, and hating that isn’t the energy I wanted to be bringing to that situation.
Now, I find myself feeling burnt out with recipe creation. When I first started eating grain-free, creating recipes that fit with the way I ate was fun and exciting and felt like an offering to the world. But I’m not grain-free anymore, and I’m leaning way harder into the intuitive eating / anti-diet life, and attaching morality to food is an absolute nope. Also, I am sick of spending so much money on almond flour. That shit is not cheap.
When I polled the instagram community, 70% reported eating gluten-free, 30% reported eating grain-free. If you are the latter, there are loads of recipes on this site that fit that way of eating. If $3.49/pound gluten-free flour from Trader Joe’s works with your life, this recipe is for you.
Or: if you’re not even gluten-free, you can make these with all purpose flour. As for other subs, the answer is I Don’t Know. I’m not being a snarky asshole. I literally do not know if another ingredient works unless I try it myself. And I am not planning on making these again.
If you’d like a visual of what I’m talking about, this instagram post might help.
Okay thanks for listening. On to these oh-so tasty, endlessly versatile cookies. They are excellent unadorned; they truly melt in your mouth and are delicious with tea. They are also an excellent foundation for a more extravagant cookie. I iced them with simple sugar cookie icing, dipping them in milk chocolate and sprinkled them with pecans, and layered them with caramel and dark chocolate.
If you want to have a variety of cookies without making a bunch of different types, these shortbread cookies are your jam. Oh they’d probably be good with jam, too.
4 ingredient shortbread cookies
gluten-free, egg-free, melt in your mouth cookies
- Prep Time: 15 minutes + time to chill
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes plus time to chill
- Yield: 3 dozen cookies
- Category: dessert, cookies
- Method: bake
Ingredients
- 2 sticks / 8 ounces salted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups / 325 grams gluten-free flour (I used Trader Joe’s)
optional add-ins / ons:
- chocolate chunks / chips
- chopped nuts
- sesame seeds
- melted chocolate for dipping
- icing
Instructions
- In a stand mixer or large bowl if using hand beaters, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until it’s lighter in color and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple times as necessary.
- Add in the flour and beat to combine. Using plastic wrap, roll into 2 logs about 1 1/2 inches in diameter and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight.
- When ready to bake the cookies, remove from the fridge and preheat your oven to 350ºF. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Slice the cookies 1/4-inch thick and place on the baking sheets. They shouldn’t spread much but leave a bit of space between them just in case. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely before removing from the baking sheet.
Notes
- To make icing: whisk 1 cup powdered sugar with 4 teaspoons milk of your choice. It will harden as it sits so don’t mix it up until you’re ready to use it.
- To make tempered chocolate: chop up your chocolate and heat 2/3 of it over a double boiler until melted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, and then stir in the remaining chocolate until it’s melted. It also will harden quickly, so use right away.
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Dina says
I would like to do cutout cookies of these & I hope it will be ok. At the same time, I’d like to prepare the cutouts & then freeze them. Unsure whether I bake from frozen or let thaw somewhat & then bake.
Just asking if you think this’ll be a disaster. I want to prepare them for Valentine’s Day
zenbelly says
I feel like the dough was maybe a little too fragile to be rolled out, but you can try it. I think you’d want to thaw before baking. Let me know if it works!