So why am I baking and eating gluten free food? I have to say that SOME gluten free food can be really seriously YUMMY!!! Like these melt-in-the mouth gluten free shortbread...
Easy and Melt-in-your-mouth Gluten Free Shortbread
Whenever I have to cook or bake something for my work friends, I will try to cook or bake gluten free food so that my colleague that has Celiac disease can enjoy the food with us. While exploring numerous gluten free recipes, I must say that this shortbread recipe from Gluten Free on a Shoestring is one of the best that I have baked so far. It is simply easy and fabulous!!!
These are the essential gluten free products that I have used to bake these cookies.
These are the dried cranberry ones...
These are the mocha ones.
My kitchen is smelling so GOOD when I baked these!
To jazz up these cookies, I drizzled melted white chocolate on top.
Or melted dark chocolate if you wish.
It's tea time.
Did I forget to drizzle white chocolate on this cookie?
Ok... Then this will be MINE!!! LOL!
Got a minute? Want to see how I baked these super easy gluten free shortbread? In this one-minute video, you will see that I have used this recipe to bake another variation and this time, I have baked the chocolate ones with cacao nibs.
Cacao nibs? As mentioned at here before, cacao nibs are small pieces of fermented, dried, roasted and crushed cacao beans and so they are basically raw chocolate that has not been ground, not mixed with sugar and not moulded into the blocks or bars kind of chocolate that we commonly eat. In another words, cacao nibs are chocolate which are rich in antioxidants, flavonoids, minerals like magnesium and potassium but with NO sugar and so these cacao shortbread are not sweet!!! In fact, they are rather interesting to eat with a nice bittersweet coffee-like subtle-nutty taste. Yum Yum!
Gluten Free Chocolate Shortbread with Cacao Nibs
Interesting in a way that they are bittersweet with coffee-like subtle-nutty taste
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Here's the recipe that is adapted from Gluten Free on a Shoestring
Makes about 25 medium cookies per recipe
Basic Shortbread:
175g (1 1/4 cups) all purpose gluten free flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum, omit if your flour contains xanthan gum
36g (1/4 cup) cornflour
75 g (3/8 cup) caster sugar
1/8 tsp fine salt
125g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
Chocolate or Mocha Shortbread:
175g (1 1/4 cups) all purpose gluten free flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum, omit if your flour contains xanthan gum
36g (1/4 cup) cornflour
100g (1/2 cup) caster sugar - please do not reduce as this sweetness is just right.
1/8 tsp fine salt
20g (2 tbsp) cocoa powder, preferably Dutch processed (I used Valrhona) - you can omit this if you want to bake just coffee shortbread
1 tbsp instant coffee powder - I used decaffeinated, you can omit this if you want to bake just chocolate shortbread
125g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
40g cacao nibs, optional, you can omit this if you want to bake just chocolate shortbread
Dried Cranberry Shortbread:
175g (1 1/4 cups) all purpose gluten free flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum, omit if your flour contains xanthan gum
36g (1/4 cup) cornflour
75 g (3/8 cup) caster sugar
1/8 tsp fine salt
125g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
45g (3 tbsp) dried cranberries
Extra:
60g white or dark chocolate, melted, for drizzling
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. Place two baking rack in the middle of the oven. Line two large baking tray with baking paper.
Combine all purpose gluten free flour, xanthan gum, cornflour, sugar and salt. Mix cocoa powder or / and coffee powder into the flour mixture if you are baking chocolate or mocha shortbread. Set aside.
Use a wooden spoon to beat butter until it is well soften. Sift flour mixture into butter and use the same wooden spoon or a spatula to mix until all of the dry ingredients are moistened with butter. Stir cacao nibs or dried cranberries into the mixture if you are baking the cacao nibs or dried cranberry shortbread. Using your hands to knead until the ingredients combine to form a dough.
Transfer the dough on a large piece of baking paper and roll it into a tight cylinder with about 4 cm or 1 1/2-inches in diameter. Smoothen the sides of the cylinder to either to form a cross section square or rectangle or circle or any shape accordingly to what you like and twist the edges of the paper to enclose.
Chill dough in the fridge for about 30 mins or until firm. Remove from the refrigerator, and slice by cross section to yield about 15 pieces, each about 1 cm or 3/8-inch thick. Place the cut dough about 2 cm or 1-inch apart from each other on the prepared baking tray. Bake for about 10 mins or until set in the center. The plain shortbread (without the cocoa) will look pale in color with very light golden edges. With the cocoa powder or coffee, the chocolate / mocha shortbread tends to be a little firmer. If you are baking two trays at one go, swap and rotate the position of the tray halfway through the baking so that that the surfaces of the shortbread are baked evenly.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking tray for about 10 mins. Transfer onto a wire rack and allow the shortbread to cool completely.
Drizzle melted chocolate on the shorbread cookies if desired. Set aside for the chocolate on the shortbread to set at room temperature.
Enjoy these with coffee or tea and friends.
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