2 Sugar Free Shortbread Cookie Recipes. (Gluten/Grain/Egg/Dairy Free with a Paleo option) (2024)

by Brittany on February 6, 2013

Shortbread cookies are always a favorite! I already have a shortbread recipe posted that I use to make my Grain Free Samoa Cookies.. But I wanted to find a way to come up with a 1oo% sugar free recipe. Below I will be sharing BOTH recipes- so please take your pick and use whichever works best for your dietary needs! Both are delicious.

Recipe #1 uses a maple flavored sugar free syrup. I buy Joseph’s All Natural Maple Flavor Syrup.

Recipe #2 instead calls for granulated sugar- which can be a variety of different kinds. (see more info on this below)

Sugar Free Shortbread (Recipe #1)

• 2 packed cups blanched almond flour.
• 4 Tbs Room Temp. Butter (Earth Balance, Goat Butter, Ghee or Shortening) *Coconut oil may work too- I have not tested this yet.
• 4 Tbs Joseph’s All Natural Maple Flavor Syrup. (or other brand of sugar free maple syrup of choice) See substitutions notes below.
• Optional: 1-2 packets of Nunatural Stevia (each packet is 1 gram each).
• 1 Tsp. Vanilla
• 1/4 Tsp. Baking Powder (or baking soda)
• pinch of salt

1. In a food processor combine all ingredients. (Only add the extra packets of stevia if you want your cookie sweeter. Please note that the cookie dough will lose some sweetness while its baking).
2. Place your dough into plastic wrap and place in the freezer. (Note: This dough will be very sticky and oily) You have two options. A) If you want to roll your cookies out and use cookie cutters then chill the dough for 30 minutes. OR B) Roll the dough into log then place in the plastic wrap to do a slice and bake style cookie instead. For the slice and bake chill the dough for 60 minutes or longer.
3. Towards the end of doughs time in the freezer- preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Once the dough has chilled A) roll out dough two sheets of parchment or two pieces of plastic wrap 1/8 inch thick. (This is important if you dough is not thin, the cookies will not be as crisp!). Cut out cookies and place on un-greased cookie sheet. or B) Slice dough into 1/8 inch rounds and place on un-greased baking sheet.
5. Bake cookies 16-18 minutes until they are golden brown on the edges.

Yields roughly 2 dozen 2 inch wide cookies.

Substitution notes for recipe #1

• Instead of blanched almond flour feel free to use another homemade nut or seed flour.
• To make your own Nut or Seed flour: simply run the nut or seed in a high powdered blender or coffee grinder until you have a super fine flour. (If the flour is course- the recipe might not work as well.) If you flour is course, then be aware that your cookies are not going to turn out as good.
• Coconut flour or any of the starchy grain based flours will NOT work in this recipe. Only use other Nut/Seed flours.
• While I have not tested using other liquid sugars (such as Honey, Agave, Maple Syrup & Coconut Nectar) I do think they will probably work well. However- I do know that using them will require a much shorter cooking time as real sugar burns faster. Therefore I would recommend dropping your oven temp to 325 degreesand to keep a close watch on the cookies- the moment the edges are golden they usually need to come out of the oven. If you experiment with these sugars please leave a comment to share your results with others.
• Using the various fats will also result in different cooking times (I noticed for example that using goat butter the cooking time was shorter than when I used earth balance). Keep a close eye on your cookies and remove them when the edges become golden!

Shortbread Recipe #2

• 2 packed cups Blanched Almond Flour
• 1 Tbs Tapioca, Arrowroot or Potato Starch
• 3 Tbs Butter, Ghee, Earth Balance or Coconut Oil
• 1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar *prepared (powdered) sugar. (see note below)
• 1/8 Tsp Salt
• 1/4 Tsp. Baking Soda
• 1 Tbs Vanilla Extract or Water
• 1 Tbs Applesauce

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the shortbread crust. In a food processor (or by hand) combine all of the crust ingredients. The dough should hold together. Roll the dough out between 2 sheets of parchment paper to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into rings or circles (see note above) Cut out the dough soon after you make it, as it sits out it will begin to feel oily and it won’t hold together quite as well.
2. Carefully place the cut-out cookies on a parchment covered baking sheet and bake 10-12 minutes. Keep a careful watch on them the last few minutes to avoid burning. (note: cookies will come out soft and somewhat chewy- they will gain their shortbread texture as they cool!)

Substitution Notes for recipe #2

• Feel free to use a variety of granulated sugars for this recipe. Coconut Palm Sugar, Sucanat, Organic Cane Sugar- the key is that is must be GRANULATED. Note: xylitol , erythritol, truvia or any other sugar alcohol based product will not work in this recipe. Use recipe #1 instead.
• Preparing your sugar is important. If you select a grainy sugar (like Sucanat or Palm) I really recommend you take the time to run it through a coffee grinder or blender to powder it before using it in the crust. It just works so much better that way. This extra step is not needed if you are using Cane Sugar. Just Sucanat or Palm I have found to be extra course. None of this extra powdering treatment is needed for the caramel as its all going to melt anyways.
• Instead of blanched almond flour feel free to use another homemade nut or seed flour.
• To make your own Nut or Seed flour: simplyrun the nut or seed in a high powdered blender or coffee grinder until you have a super fine flour. (If the flour is course- the recipe might not work as well.) If you flour is course, then be aware that your cookies are going to spread more and not turn out as good.
• Coconut flour or any of the starchy grain based flours will NOT work in this recipe. Only use other Nut/Seed flours.

-Brittany-