These easy gluten-free shortbread cookies are buttery, lightly sweet and crisp, yet perfectly tender.
They’re made with only FIVE ingredients and are especially delicious dipped in chocolate.
There’s something completely addictive about a lightly sweet, crisp shortbread cookie that melts in your mouth. Like these gluten-free peanut butter cookies, best chocolate chip cookies and gluten-free chocolate cookies, this recipe is a classic you’ll want to have in your recipe collection.
These gluten-free shortbread cookies are easy-to-make and perfect for any time of year. (Though my favorite way is during the holidays with Christmas music on!)
Like classic shortbread, plenty of butter gives these cookies their distinctive crumbly and slightly flaky texture. You may also like this gluten-free millionaire’s shortbread.
For more cookie recipes, you also might like these gluten-free thumbprint cookies, gluten-free Christmas cookies or these gluten-free molasses cookies.
VIDEO: How to Make Them
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- So easy to make!
- Tried-and-true recipe
- 5 simple ingredients
- Just like traditional cookies!
You only need 5 INGREDIENTS to make gluten-free shortbread cookies!
One of the key tricks for gluten-free shortbread cookies is to use powdered sugar (aka confectioners sugar) instead of granulated white sugar. Powdered sugar hydrates more easily in gluten-free dough to create that classic sandy (rather than grainy) shortbread consistency.
I also recommend using a high-quality gluten-free 1:1 baking flour. You want to look for an all-purpose flour that contains xanthan gum as a binder. This will prevent the cookies from being too crumbly. This is my favorite brand.
How to Make Gluten-Free Shortbread
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the gluten-free flour, confectioners sugar and salt. Mix on low withe paddle attachment for 1-2 minutes to combine.
- Add the vanilla extract and butter and mix on medium-low speed. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 3-5 minutes. (The cookie dough will look powdery at first but will start to look more dough-like as it mixes.
- The dough is ready when it is smooth and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Lightly flour a piece of parchment paper with gluten-free flour. Roll the dough out until it is 1/3-inch thick. Cut into squares or rectangles, using a cookie cutter, pizza cutter or knife. I like to make 3 by 1-inch rectangles.
- Transfer to an ungreased baking sheets spacing 1-inch apart. You can dust of excess flour from scrapes, compress together and re-roll.
- Transfer baking sheets to refrigerator and chill 30 minutes. Halfway through preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Bake the cookies for 14-16 minutes until they are just set.
- Let the cookies cool on baking sheet 15 minutes. Then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
To Dip in Chocolate
These cookies are amazing on their own, but even more delicious when dipped in chocolate! I use a high quality chocolate like Guittard baking bars for dipping.
- Finely chop the chocolate if using a chocolate bar. (You can also use chocolate chips.) Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe small bowl. Melt in 20 second increments on 50% power, stirring between intervals until melted and smooth (or melt in a double boiler on the stovetop).
- Dip the cookies in the chocolate and tap off any excess. Place on a lined baking sheet for the chocolate to set. Let cool completely.
You also might like these gluten-free spritz cookies, gluten-free thumbprint cookies or gluten-free snowball cookies.
Recipe FAQ
Using a gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum is key to non-crumbly gluten-free cookies. This recipe is specifically designed to use a gluten-free flour blend like this one to create non-crumbly cookies.
These cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
The cookies can be cut-out and placed on a baking sheet (see photo above) then stored in the freezer for 1 day before baking. Unfortunately this dough won’t hold up well with longer-term storage.
More Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes
I hope you love this gluten-free shortbread cookie recipe as much as we do! If you try this recipe be sure to leave me a comment/rating below. I’d love to hear from you!
Gluten-Free Shortbread Cookies
Video
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups (262g) gluten-free measure-for-measure flour
- 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 14 tablespoons (200g) butter chilled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- high-quality semi-sweet chocolate for dipping optional
Instructions
- UPDATE: To prevent these cookies from spreading, I recommend rolling the dough 3/4-inch thick instead of 1/3-inch thick. I also recommend baking the cookies on an unlined baking sheet (no parchment or silcone liner so disregard that in the video) and freezing the cookies for 30 minutes before baking.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the gluten-free flour, powdered sugar and salt. Mix on low for 1-2 minutes to combine.
- Add the vanilla and butter and mix on medium-low speed. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 3-5 minutes. (The dough will look powdery at first but will start to look more dough-like as it mixes. The dough is ready when it is smooth and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.)
- Lightly flour a piece of parchment paper with gluten-free flour. Roll the dough out until it is 3/4-inch thick. Cut into squares or rectangles, using a cookie cutter, pizza cutter or knife. I like to make 3 by 1-inch rectangles.
- Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet spacing 1-inch apart. You can dust off excess flour from scrapes, compress together and re-roll.
- Transfer baking sheets to freezer and chill 30 minutes. Halfway through preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake for about 16-18 minutes, until set and just beginning to turn golden around the edges.
- Remove from the oven. Right when the cookies come out of the oven, you may want to reshape the edges to be more straight by pressing a small cookie spatula against the edges.
- Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To Dip in Chocolate:
- Finely chop the chocolate if using a chocolate bar. (You can also use chocolate chips.) Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe dish. Melt in 20 second increments on 50% power, stirring between intervals until melted and smooth (or melt in a double boiler on the stovetop).
- Dip the cookies in the chocolate and tap off any excess. Place on a lined baking sheet for the chocolate to set. Let cool completely. Enjoy!
My cookies melted down to a flat blob. I followed the instructions. I only cooked two cookies to see if the cookies worked. Any suggestions
Hi Diane, sorry to hear these didn’t turn out for you! Did you follow the tips at the top of the recipe? This will really help with spreading: “To prevent these cookies from spreading, I recommend rolling the dough 3/4-inch thick instead of 1/3-inch thick. I also recommend baking the cookies on an unlined baking sheet (no parchment or silcone liner so disregard that in the video) and freezing the cookies for 30 minutes before baking.”
My son is dairy intolerant, would a plant based butter work in these crinkle cookies?
Hi Brenda, we haven’t tried a plant-based butter for these cookies, but that should work! Let us know how they turn out!
Do these cookies freeze well after baking?
Hi Brenda, yes these cookies freeze well! Allow them to fully cool, then place in an airtight container or freezer bag. Happy baking!
Does this fit into an 8×8 inch pan? I prefer baking in one pan to prevent any spread at all.
Hi Jody, to prevent spreading, we recommend baking these cookies on a standard unlined baking sheet, rolling the dough 3/4″ thick instead of thinner, and freezing the dough for 30 minutes before baking. It may work as one slab in an 8×8, but we haven’t tested that out. We hope you enjoy the cookies!
Holy Shortbread! These cookies are bakery quality – irresistibly elevated with the addition of chocolate.
Yay! We’re so pleased you loved the cookies this much, Christine. Thank you for your positive feedback!
The cookies are amazing. I made them and was surprised I made anything that delicious! I’d like to make them half as thin so I can make sandwich cookies. Any thoughts on bake time?
Hi Triona, we’re so pleased you loved the cookies so much! Making them half as thick will create more delicate cookies that may spread and/or overbake easier. You could try reducing the baking the time to 10-12 minutes and watching them closely. We’re not sure how they’ll do as sandwich cookies, but we’d love to hear how it goes! Happy baking!
3/4 inch?? That seems so thick! Is that a typo? I made these before when the recipe said 1/3″ and while they did spread a bit, they turned out delicious.
Hi Jessica, 3/4″ thick is correct! This update was added to the original recipe as that thickness better ensures that the cookies won’t spread. If 1/3″ worked well for you before, you can definitely stick with what works best for your kitchen! Happy baking!
ok thanks, I’ll have to try them thicker next time!
another question – for the flour, I use King Arthur’s Measure for Measure. I prefer weighing ingredients and I used 262g of it as your recipe says. I just noticed that King Arthur’s ingredient weight chart (https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart) says that 1c of their Measure for Measure is 120g, meaning 1 and 3/4 cups would be 210g. Did I use too much flour?
Context is aside from when I made this recipe, I don’t remember the last time I ate shortbread, and I had never baked it before – so while they turned out quite tasty, I’m wondering if they maybe weren’t quite what shortbread is supposed to be.
I know that different gluten free flours can vary in weight per cup and I’m not sure which is more important to follow in recipes, the weight or the volume.
thank you!
I used your recipe and followed your baking notations; no slip pat or parchment paper and refrigerating after cutting. The 1st batch I hand cut. They were very nice. So I tried batch, a ~ 3″ snowflake. They held their shape beautiful. They were tender and buttery. Thank you.
Yay! We’re so glad the recipe was such a success! Thank you for sharing your positive experience with us, Elizabeth!
Very yummy cookies! They were a hit with the grandkids. They did spread quite a bit in the oven, despite the time in the freezer however. I had used cookie cutters and all the shapes were lost. Better to stay with circles and rectangles.
Hi Roslynn, we’re so glad everyone found them delicious! To prevent spreading, we recommend rolling the dough 3/4-inch thick and baking on an unlined baking sheet (in addition to freezing them before baking). The thickness makes a huge difference. We hope it goes even better for you next time! Happy baking!
We added zest of 1 lemon and 1 TBSP of culinary lavender buds. SO good! We used Bob’s Mill 1:1 GF flour and turned ok.
Thank you for sharing with us, Melissa! We’re so glad you enjoyed the cookies!
Can I roll the dough into a little balls and use a fork to make a slight imprint instead of rolling out the dough? I want to make the shortbread into little round bite size cookies.
Hi Amy, we haven’t tried it ourselves, but other readers have shared their successes with scooping the dough into balls so it sounds like it could be worth a try! If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!