Paleo Shortbread Cookies
These cookies. Oh my goodness, it’s been a long time since I’ve eaten anything this delicious!
I haven’t done much baking in the past few months since moving to Bastyr. First, I’ve been very busy with my full school load, and I focus my cooking energy on the necessary things (meals, not cookies). Second, if I make a batch of cookies, then I’ll eat it. So there is that.
But over Christmas break, I had time to crack out my coconut flour and do some baking. These Paleo Shortbread Cookies not only melt in your mouth, but they are extremely simple and fast to prepare.
These shortbread cookies pair beautifully with a cup of tea or spread with jam. I also like to crumble them over baked pears for a delicious crunchy topping.
About the ingredients
Coconut flour – My favorite grain free flour, coconut flour provides the base for the recipe. The process of baking the cookies seems to bring out a toasted coconut flavor, which I adore. Coconut flour is available here or at health food stores.
Arrowroot flour – Another one of my favorite grain free flours, arrowroot flour lends a melt-in-your-mouth factor to this shortbread. Arrowroot flour is available here or at health food stores.
Coconut sugar – Coconut sugar is a mineral-rich, unrefined sweetener made from dehydrated coconut sap. It is lower glycemic than many other sweeteners and has a faint maple flavor that works beautifully in this recipe. Processing it in a blender for this recipe creates a superfine sugar that allows these cookies to melt in your mouth. Coconut sugar is available here or at health food stores.
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ½ cup coconut flour, available here
- 2 Tbs. arrowroot flour, available here
- ¼ cup superfine coconut sugar (see note below) coconut sugar is available here
- Pinch of salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
- First, make the superfine coconut sugar by blending the coconut sugar in a high-powered blender. See the note below for instructions. This ensures that the coconut sugar is not crunchy or gritty in the finished cookies.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- To properly measure the coconut flour for this recipe, don't pack the flour into the measuring cup. Stir the flour with a fork, dip the measuring cup into the flour, then level the top.
- Melt the coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining ingredients.
- Use a tablespoon measure to drop the cookie dough onto the baking sheet, making slightly flattened balls (the cookie dough will not be very stiff).
- Bake for 6-8 minutes, until just golden. The key is watching the cookies carefully during the brief baking period, because they brown very quickly. Remove the tray from the oven and let cook for at least 15 minutes before removing from the baking sheet, or they will crumble.
- The cookies will be very delicate at room temperature. For a crunchier and sturdier cookie, place in the freezer for at least 5 hours and enjoy from the freezer. Store the cookies in the freezer.
I hope you enjoy the recipe! Eat well and heal™!
I love all of your coconut recipes. My son has a coconut allergy. Can I just add more arrowroot powder? If so, how much?
I think I might have the solution to the dry-cookie-crisis. I made two batches, with the first one I heated the coconut oil on low and didn’t really watch it, with the second I just let the surface of the stove (while it was preheating) melt the oil. The second batch turned out perfectly. I think the heat from the oil could be the problem. It shouldn’t be hot, or even warm really, just melted so that it can be combined. My guess is that the heated oil might have started cooking the batter before it even got into the oven.
I tried making these (I made up the recipe off the top of my head). They were awful. It was too dry to stick together in a dough form like normal shortbread should do, therefore I had to squash it in a small dish to try and make it stick together a little bit. then when I took it out, it was very crumbly and tasted disgusting. We to resurrect it with some sweet strawberries but nothing could save it. Wasted my whole afternoon on a horrible snack with expensive ingredients which I had to put in the bin anyway. NOT HAPPY!
I followed the recipe as written. I bake a lot and found these were way to dry. Maybe you meant 2 teaspoons of the arrowroot flour. I did like the texture, but the dryness was terrible. They were hard to swallow. They made my mouth pucker. I would not waste my time making these again as the stated recipe.
I was looking forward to some Paleo shortbread cookies for Christmas. However , was disappointed
after following the recipe as written . The dough was dry and crumbly not stiff and sticky as described in your recipe . Disappointed ????