AIP Shortbread Cookies
As good as it gets AIP shortbread cookies! I think this recipe gets pretty close! If you have missed shortbread as much as me, you will want to brace yourself: once you have baked your batch, DO NOT eat them all at once!
While I was recipe testing this shortbread recipe I have baked so many batches. I have tried different flours and different ratios, and I think I have finally nailed it! This AIP shortbread is delicious! And they are perfect for dunking in your cup of beetroot latte or chai!
And best of all, these cookies are gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and contain no processed sugar! Perfect for the Core Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Elimination Diet or Paleo lifestyle.
📸 RECIPE SNAPSHOT
I did not know how much I have missed shortbread! And I am so excited to share this recipe with you all! If you make this recipe and you like it, please consider leaving a ⭐ rating below. It really makes my day knowing people enjoy my recipes. Plus it helps the blog and our recipe get in front of others that may be looking for some inspiration in the kitchen.
In This Post
Why You will Love this Recipe
I find it very difficult to bake with all these grain-free, AIP friendly flours. And it is extremely difficult to recreate a flavor and texture that we grew up with and learnt to love. But I think I nailed it! This AIP shortbread recipe comes as close to shortbread as I could get it. Yes, it is not 100% the same. Baking shortbread without butter? That’s a difficult one!
But this is so good!!! I cannot wait to hear what you think about this recipe!
Ingredients for this Shortbread Recipe
- Cassava flour, tapioca flour/starch and tigernut flour are the flours for this recipe. We need a little bit of tigernut flour to help keep the biscuits less dense and chewy.
- Geltain and baking soda help with the texture.
- Salt: keep it limited. Too much salt can quickly overpower this recipe.
- Coconut oil because we need to replace the butter. Coconut oil adds the liquid and helps create a smooth and creamy shortbread.
- Maple syrup and vanilla to complete the recipe. These ingredients give it some sweetness and that vanilla flavor of shortbread.
How to Make these AIP Shortbread Cookies from Scratch
All you need is one bowl, a few measuring spoons and cups. Keep it simple. I am not a fan of having to wash up after baking, so I always try to keep it simple, with the least amount of utensils.
For this recipe, I measure out all my dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Mix it all up. Melt the coconut while you are mixing the dry ingredients. And then, this is the only thing you need to pay attention to: add in all the wet ingredients, quickly one after the other and start mixing it immediately. You don’t want the liquid to stand in the mixing for too long as the gelatin will congeal and get hard.
I don’t bother mixing the gelatin in liquid first. It works just fine by adding it in as a dry powder. The liquids then do their thing, and once you have baked and let the cookies cool, the gelatin will have done its magic in holding the cookies together.
Once you have mixed it all together, if you find your mixture is a little bit too dry, add a small amount of water – one teaspoon at a time. All flour brands have different moisture content, so some might need more liquid than others. You will want the dough to hold together, but still be slightly crumbly when you it the dough in your hands.
I like to bake small cookies, and this batch makes about 30 little shortbread cookies. Roll the dough into little balls and place them on your baking sheet. With a small piece of parchment paper and the bottom of a glass, flatten the balls into little cookies. They are now ready to be baked. Once you have baked them it is important to let the cookies cool. Otherwise they will crumble and fall apart. The gelatin needs to set and the coconut oil needs to solidify to give the cookies structure.
Our Notes and Tips
I suggest making small cookies. Firstly, they bake quicker and cool down quicker and that means you can eat them sooner!
But more importantly, in our minds we always say to ourselves we will have 2 or 3 cookies. If you make them big, you will run out very quickly and then you’ll need to bake more. But also, you really want to keep baked goods and sugars like maple syrup to a minimum. So smaller is definitely better!
Substitutions and Variations
I tried to make this recipe without tigernut flour, because I know not everyone has access to tigernut flour, or the cost of it can be prohibitive. But for this recipe, you really need this small amount of tigernut flour to keep the cookies lighter and less dense. When I tried it without it I found the cookies were denser or chewier.
Palm shortening instead of coconut oil? Maybe? I have not yet tried baking with palm shortening, so I cannot say how different it would be.
Recipe:
AIP Shortbread Cookies
Equipment
- measuring cups and spoons
- large mixing bowl
- cookie sheet
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- ¾ cup cassava flour
- ⅓ cup arrowroot flour
- ¼ cups tigernut flour
- 1 tablespoon gelatin
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup coconut oil (melted)
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° (175°C). Line your baking sheet with some parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl measure out the cassava flour, tapioca flour, tigernut flour, salt, baking soda and gelatin. Gently mix them all together.
- Melt your coconut oil. I do this in a cup in the microwave, for short bursts.
- Have all your liquids ready and then add the vanilla, maple syrup and coconut oil to the dry ingredients.
- With your hands, you will get them dirty in any case, mix the dough until it is well combined and holds together. It should still be fairly dry and if pressed fall apart, but you must be able to roll little balls with it. If it is too dry, add some water, teaspoon by teaspoon.
- Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 7-9 minutes. If you make your cookies larger, you might want to increase the time by a few minutes. They do change colour ever so slightly, but I can’t say they will turn golden.
- Make small balls, approximately 2 teaspoons of dough each. You can either squish the balls between the palms of your hands or place them on the baking sheet and squish them with the bottom of a glass. I usually put a piece of parchment paper between the ball and the glass so they don’t stick to the glass. You want to aim for approximately ⅜ inches or 10mm thick.
- Once they are ready, remove the baking tray from the oven and place on a cooling rack to cool. Let the cookies cool for at least 5-10 minutes to let them set. Otherwise they will just crumble between your fingers.
- Make your favorite hot drink, sit back and enjoy these little delicious shortbread cookies. Maybe hide them from the rest of your family, as they too will want their share.
Notes
Made this recipe and loved it? Please leave a ⭐star rating and a comment below. I love to receive feedback and would love to connect with you! Snap a picture and tag me on Instagram or find me on Pinterest.
Turn these into AIP Valentines Cookies
Feeling a little bit left our on Valentines day? We’ve got you covered! These AIP shortbread cookies can be converted into Valentines cookies with just a little bit of beetroot powder.
Add 3 to 4 teaspoons of beetroot powder to the cookie dough, mix it in well (or not so well if you want uneven colouring), and voila, you have yourself some pink, naturally coloured cookies. The beetroot, vanilla and mapl syrup in these cookies work really well together and bring out a bit more sweetness.
Add to that a beetroot latte with coconut milk or tigernut milk, or any of your favorite hot drink, and you have yourself a perfect Valentines treat. These cookies are super easy to bake, so your special someone can bake them for you, or you can bake them for your special person!
