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Gluten-Free Coconut Flour Shortbread Cookies
These buttery-rich, crisp shortbread cookies are a great wheat-free alternative to classic shortbread. Without the additional coconut flavor, they have the faint aroma and taste of coconut thanks to coconut flour. With the flavor, you'll have a cookie with robust coconut taste, perfect for dunking into a pot of chocolate fondue or glass of milk. Of course, flavored or unflavored, we think these cookies are perfectly snack-able as is, in all their subtle or robust coconut glory.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 cup King Arthur Gluten-Free Flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) soft unsalted butter
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/8 teaspoon coconut flavor, optional; for stronger flavor
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment.
- Mix all the ingredients, by hand or mixer, until a well-blended, cohesive dough forms; this will take about 2 minutes at medium-low speed in a stand mixer.
- Drop the cookie dough by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet (a teaspoon cookie scoop works well here), leaving 1" between them; these cookies won't spread much when they bake.
- Use a fork to flatten each cookie to about 1/4" thick, making a cross-hatch design.
- Bake the cookies for 8 to 12 minutes, until just browned on the bottom. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet.
- Yield: 22 cookies.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size 1 cookie (10g)
- Servings Per Batch 22 cookies
Amount Per Serving:
- Calories 40
- Calories from Fat 25
- Total Fat 2.5g
- Saturated Fat 1.5g
- Trans Fat 0g
- Cholesterol 15mg
- Sodium 30mg
- Total Carbohydrate 5g
- Dietary Fiber 1g
- Sugars 3g
- Protein 1g
* The nutrition information provided for this recipe is determined by the ESHA Genesis R&D software program. Substituting any ingredients may change the posted nutrition information.
Tips from our bakers
- For flavored variations, add up to a tablespoon of lemon or orange zest (grated rind), or a teaspoon of ground cinnamon or vanilla extract.
- For crunchier cookies, substitute vegetable shortening for half the butter.
- This recipe can also be made in a stoneware shortbread pan. Press the cookie dough evenly into the lightly greased pan. Bake at 350°F for 22 to 25 minutes, until the edges are dark golden and the surface is pale golden.
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Reviews
Aroma of coconut flour is wonderful.. used honey instead of sugar and added a drop of orange oil.. definitely a keeper..
I made these cookies using both an egg and butter replacer for a friend with allergies. The cookies came out just like the picture. They have a nice smooth mouth feel slightly crisp and great fragrance. However; the cookies were rather bland. I whipped up a dairy free frosting and added some flavoring which gave the cookies an improved flavor. I suspect using real butter will improve the flavor.
These are lovely little cookies. I used all purpose flour instead of gluten free. Also, I added 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp. almond extract. I portioned the cookies using a small cookie scoop, chilled the pan a short while in the fridge, and then pressed the cookies down with a fork. Thank you very much.
Just finished making them for the first time. Chilled the dough, still too sticky, so I made dough balls and rolled them in the GF flour, which made the fork not stick when I did the criss-cross. They did not spread at all on the cookie sheet (which is ok) but maybe that is because I used parchment paper. I found these cookies to be very bland, even though I used coconut extract. They are for a bake sale, so perhaps I will dip them in chocolate to make them taste better.Katharine, if you'd like to bump up the flavor of this shortbread, feel free to add a combination of almond and vanilla extract to the dough (about 1 teaspoon of extract total). It will complement the subtly sweet, nutty flavor of coconut perfectly. Your inclination to dip them in chocolate or add a drizzle of chocolate ganache is also a great option for adding a some pizzazz to this these cookies. I hope that helps! Kye@KAF
So far, just made the dough, and it is chilling in the fridge, as it was pretty goopy. I rolled it into balls like I do with PB cookies. I agree that this recipe does not make 22 cookies, unless you want them the size of vanilla wafers.
Gritty. Coarse. Not at all cookie like.
We're sorry to hear that you had such a poor experience with these cookies. If you'd like to give our Baker's Hotline a call at 855-371-BAKE, we'd be happy to help figure out how to make them to better fit your tastes. Mollie@KAF
I made several batches of these for the dessert table at a fundraiser. All in all, a very good gluten-free cookie. The dough was very soft, so I added 2T coconut flour and 2T gluten-free all-purpose flour to each batch. I added the 1/4t coconut flavoring for a stronger coconut flavor, and also 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/2t grated lime zest. I was having difficulty with the fork sticking to the dough during the "flattening" process, so I froze the balls for 5 minutes, then used a flat-end mojito muddler to do this (love finding new uses for kitchen tools!). Using a 2 teaspoon scoop, flattening to 3/8", I ended up with 11 1-3/4" diameter cookies in a batch. I will double it from now on-- no use in making cookies and only getting a dozen from a batch! Finally, I mixed fresh lime juice and powdered sugar then drizzled this on top of each cookie, with a very light sprinkle of grated lime zest before the mixture set. One last note-- I tried multitasking while baking the last batch and ended up overbaking them. They were dark brown, just a few minutes from burnt, but my husband refused to allow me to throw them away. Instead, I melted bittersweet chocolate and swirled some onto the top of each cookie. Crisp coconut cookie iced with chocolate, they are surprisingly good! :)
Definitely a keeper! I used earth balance margarine to make it dairy free, omitted the coconut extract, and dipped them in chocolate and shredded coconut after baking. They have both a nice taste and a pleasent texture. (Most gluten-free things I have tried have either one or the other!) I ended up with 17 cookies, but they baked up just fine. Thank you KAF!
This is a very good shortbread / butter cookie recipe. After placing dough on cookie sheet I chilled for 20 min since dough was too soft to shape before chilling. I put a chocolate chip on some and a sliver of candied ginger on others and they were my favorite. Suggestion for others, place dough at least 2" apart since they spread! Also, I used 1/2 cup gluten free flour since I didn't have coconut flour.
I love (and had a glut of) coconut flour but we eat gluten, so I made these with regular all-purpose flour instead of the gluten-free blend. They came out splendidly: sandy-textured, not too sweet, and flavorful. I also added shredded coconut and chopped dates and am glad I did; they add textural interest. A note: with all-purpose flour, mine took about 15 minutes to bake and didn't brown on top, but were golden brown on the bottom when the cookies seemed dry and set.
