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Home » Recipes » Baking & Desserts

Vegan Shortbread Cookies (Gluten-Free)

Last updated - September 26, 2023; Published - April 28, 2020 By Rhian Williams 36 Comments

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A collage of vegan shortbread cookies photos

These Vegan Shortbread Cookies are crisp and crunchy, melt-in-your-mouth buttery and perfectly salty-sweet! They're undetectably dairy-free and the simple recipe is easy to make: they come together in one bowl and require just 6 ingredients! They're also gluten-free and refined sugar free.

Five vegan shortbread cookies on a marble background
How do you make shortbread cookies from scratch?


Although they may look fancy and complicated to make, shortbread cookies are actually one of the simplest cookies to make. They require just a few ingredients and the process is simple: just combine the dough, roll it out, cut out shapes and bake.

I experimented with so many different ways to make gluten-free vegan shortbread cookies, using different types of flours, and it was so hard to get the texture right.

I eventually discovered that the best combination was ground almonds (almond meal or almond flour) and brown rice flour. The ground almonds create that essential crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth texture, whilst the brown rice flour creates a crispy, crunchy texture. You honestly won't be able to believe that this shortbread contains no butter!

You need to use brown rice flour, not white rice flour, which creates a soft cookie (like my Sugar Cookies) rather than a crunchy one.

Does shortbread contain milk?


Traditionally, shortbread is usually made with just flour, butter and sugar, so it doesn't contain milk. However, this vegan shortbread does contain a small amount of plant-based milk (1 tablespoon) to help the dough bind together.

Can you use vegan butter in shortbread?


Yes, you can use vegan butter in place of the coconut oil in these cookies.

Where can you buy brown rice flour?

If you can't find brown rice flour in your local supermarket, you'll be able to find it in local health stores or online.

How to make this recipe

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.

  • Mix together the ingredients for the cookie dough in a glass mixing bowl.
Raw vegan shortbread cookie dough in a mixing bowl against a marble background
  • Lay out a sheet of greaseproof baking paper on a counter.
  • Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough until about 1 cm/1/2 inch thick.
A square of raw vegan shortbread cookie dough rolled out on baking paper
  • Use a circular cookie cutter to cut shapes out of the dough - you will probably have to roll the dough a few times until you use it all up.

Tip: You can use any other shape if you don't want to use a circular one.

A square of raw vegan shortbread cookie dough rolled out on baking paper with a circular cookie cutter cutting out a circle of dough
  • Transfer the cookies onto a rectangular baking tray.

Tip: Line the baking tray with greased baking paper to make sure the cookies don't stick.

Ten circular raw vegan shortbread cookies on baking paper
  • If you wish, use a skewer to poke decorative holes in the surface of the cookies.
Ten raw vegan shortbread cookies with holes cut out on baking paper
  • Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and firm to the touch (bearing in mind that they will firm up more once cooled and out of the oven).
Ten shortbread cookies with holes cut out on a baking tray
  • Leave to cool completely before putting away to store.

Tips for serving

These cookies will be slightly soft straight out the oven and they firm up as they cool down. So they're best left to cool completely before serving so you get the crunchy texture. They can be left to cool on the baking tray, there's no need to transfer these to a wire rack.

How long do these Shortbread Cookies keep for?

These Cookies taste best eaten within the day but keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a few days - they do become softer the longer you leave them, though. So I wouldn't recommend making these ahead.

This Vegan Millionaire Shortbread can be made ahead though, as it keeps well for a couple of days.

Can you freeze these?

You can freeze this cookie dough to use another time, but the cookies themselves can't be frozen.

Substitutions you can make

  • You can replace the coconut oil with coconut butter or vegetable oil.
  • You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
  • You can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, cashew milk, oat milk etc.
  • The ground almonds (almond meal) can be replaced with ground walnuts.
  • For a nut-free version, use ground sunflower seeds instead of ground almonds and use a nut-free milk. Or use my Coconut Flour Cookies recipe instead.

Tip: The brown rice flour CANNOT be replaced with white rice flour or any other gluten-free flour - it is essential for creating a crunchy shortbread texture.

Ingredients you can add to the dough

  • Grated orange zest.
  • Grated lemon zest. 
  • Matcha powder.
  • Chopped pecan nuts.
  • Chopped macadamia nuts.
  • Chocolate chips.
  • Dried cranberries.
  • Desiccated coconut.

You can also use this shortbread recipe as a base for making Vegan Millionaire Shortbread or Vegan Twix Bars.

Five circular vegan shortbread cookies stacked up

More gluten-free vegan cookie recipes

  • Chocolate Chip Cookies
  • Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
  • Blueberry Breakfast Cookies
  • Peanut Butter Cookies
  • Snickerdoodles
  • Oatmeal Cookies
  • Sugar Cookies
  • Chocolate Cookies
  • Carrot Cake Cookies
  • Millionaire Shortbread
  • Pumpkin Cookies
  • Thumbprint Cookies
  • Brownie Cookies
  • Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.

Watch how to make this recipe

Five circular vegan shortbread cookies stacked up on each other

Vegan Shortbread Cookies (Gluten-Free)

These Vegan Shortbread Cookies are crisp and crunchy, melt-in-your-mouth buttery and perfectly salty-sweet! They're undetectably dairy-free and the simple recipe is easy to make: they come together in one bowl and require just 6 ingredients! They're also gluten-free and refined sugar free.
4.14 from 30 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: British
Keyword: gluten-free shortbread, vegan cookies, vegan shortbread
Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes minutes
Servings: 12 cookies
Calories: 182kcal
Author: Rhian Williams

Ingredients

  • 30 g (â…› cup) coconut oil  (or sub coconut butter or vegetable oil)
  • 10 tablespoons maple syrup  (or sub any other similar sweetener)
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
  • 150 g (1 ¼ cup) ground almonds (almond meal) *
  • 150 g (1 cup) brown rice flour **
  • Generous pinch salt to taste

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius (340 degrees Fahrenheit).
  • Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave.
  • Add the maple syrup, milk, ground almonds, brown rice flour and salt and mix well - add an extra splash of milk if it’s looking too dry to combine.
  • Lay out a sheet of greaseproof baking paper on a counter and roll out the dough until about 1cm (½ inch) thick.
  • Use a circular cookie cutter to cut shapes out of the dough - you will probably have to roll the dough a few times until you use it all up (you can use any other shape if you don't want to use a circular one).
  • Transfer the cookies onto a baking tray lined with greased baking paper.
  • If you wish, use a skewer to poke decorative holes in the surface of the cookies.
  • Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes until firm to the touch (bearing in mind that they will firm up more once cooled and out of the oven).
  • Best left to cool completely before eating as they crisp up as they cool.
  • Leave to cool completely before putting away to store.
  • Tastes best eaten within the day but keeps in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a few days (they do become softer the longer you leave them).

Video

Notes

*You can alternatively use almond flour.
**You MUST use brown rice flour - white rice flour won't create a crunchy shortbread-like texture.
Nutrition Facts
Vegan Shortbread Cookies (Gluten-Free)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 182 Calories from Fat 81
% Daily Value*
Fat 9g14%
Saturated Fat 2g10%
Sodium 4mg0%
Potassium 73mg2%
Carbohydrates 23g8%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 10g11%
Protein 3g6%
Calcium 47mg5%
Iron 0.7mg4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Made the recipe?Tag @rhiansrecipes on instagram and use the hashtag #rhiansrecipes!

Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Rima

    May 01, 2020 at 1:04 pm

    I’m allergic to nuts, can I use Oat flour or Sweet Potato flour instead of Almond Meal?

    Reply
    • Rhian Williams

      May 01, 2020 at 2:02 pm

      You can use ground sunflower seeds instead of the almond meal, or use my coconut flour cookies recipe instead: https://www.rhiansrecipes.com/coconut-flour-cookies/

  2. Ruth Parham

    May 16, 2020 at 8:15 pm

    Hi Rhian, I made these today using grated orange zest. They taste great but they have come out more chewy than crunchy, I'm not sure what I did wrong? I used a different oil but apart from that I didn't change any ingredients. Do you have any tips please for making them crunchy? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Rhian Williams

      May 17, 2020 at 2:08 pm

      Hi! I'm sorry to hear that. Did you use brown rice flour? And did you leave them to cool completely before eating? These get crunchier as they cool down.

  3. Vinutha

    October 23, 2020 at 2:46 pm

    Hi. I'm Vinutha from India. Any substitute for maple syrup pls?

    Reply
    • Rhian Williams

      October 23, 2020 at 3:14 pm

      Any other liquid sweetener or sugar!

  4. Tia

    December 26, 2020 at 3:07 am

    Hi, can I replace brown rice flour with oat flour? Alternatively, can I use only almond meal for this recipe, omitting brown rice flour?

    Reply
    • Rhian Williams

      December 26, 2020 at 4:07 pm

      You can't use all almond meal, but you can replace the brown rice flour with oat flour, I think!

  5. Rachel

    January 26, 2021 at 11:39 pm

    5 stars
    I just made these and they came out so well! I’ve been looking for a recipe just like this.
    I used a little less maple syrup for preference, and used almond flour. I added sunflower seeds and lemon zest. The texture and crispiness is perfect! I baked them for maybe 2 minutes too long, so I’ll keep that in mind next time and check right at 20 minutes. thanks so much!

    Reply
    • Rhian Williams

      January 27, 2021 at 12:29 am

      Thank you so much, so happy to hear that! Thank you so much for sharing your substitutions too, so helpful to know!

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Hi, I’m Rhian! I make easy, undetectably vegan + gluten-free recipes, including healthy comfort food and naturally sweetened desserts using plant-based ingredients.

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