May I interest you in another cookie recipe? How about some gluten-free vegan lemon lavender shortbread cookies? Yeah, I thought you might like those ;) . These shortbread cookies are so simple, super easy to make, and have a wonderfully sophisticated yet subtle flavor! They are also of course refined sugar-free {mine were maple sweetened} {though you can use any liquid sweetener you like}.
My favorite part is that {like many of my vegan and gluten-free cut-out cookies}, these can be made within half an hour, which makes them a perfect cookie to whip up for entertaining, gifting, or enjoying whenever you're in a shortbread kind of mood. They were lovely for serving with tea and coffee and for sharing with others {they looked so pretty in a clear cookie jar!}.
Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookies
A gluten-free shortbread cookie that's so simple, super easy to make, and has a wonderfully sophisticated yet subtle flavor! Vegan and refined sugar-free.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 24 - 26 1½" cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients
- ½ cup non-dairy butter, at room temperature OR coconut oil, softened
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp pure lemon extract
- dash of salt
- 2¼ cups gluten-free flour blend {I recommend Pamela's Artisan Flour Blend} {or make your own by combining: 1½ cups brown rice flour, ½ cup tapioca starch, ¼ cup sweet rice flour, ½ teaspoon guar gum} *see notes
- zest of 1 lemon
- ½ tbsp dried lavender flowers
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Prepare a rolling area with two additional sheets of parchment paper for that, and have your cookie cutter(s) handy.
- Place butter in a large mixing bowl and whip it with a mixer until it's creamy. Add sweetener, vanilla and lemon extracts, and salt and mix once again to combine. Add in flour, lemon zest, and lavender, and use a wooden spoon to mix. Then get in there with your hands and mix everything together by working the dough until you can shape it into a ball {note: as depending on the flour mix you use there may be a slight variance, know that the consistency of the dough should not be sticky but should press together when pinched -- be sure to knead it really well first for some time -- if it's a little sticky, add a little more flour (try 1-2 tbsp); if it's a little dry add a little more sweetener (try 1 tbsp)}. Shape the dough into 2 balls and then flatten each into a disk.
- Roll out one of the dough balls between two sheets of parchment paper to ⅓" - ½" thickness. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Carefully transfer to a prepared cookie sheets, spacing them ½" apart {they won't spread as they bake}. Gather up any dough scraps and repeat until all dough is used up. Repeat the process with the second dough ball.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven for approximately 14-15 minutes, until the edges just begin to become golden. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack. {Note: cookies will harden a little within minutes of cooling, so don't overbake}. Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes and enjoy!
Notes
As per comments, seems like flour blends like Bob's Red Mill don't work the best for this type of recipe. The blend I used uses glutinous rice flour {aka. sweet sticky rice flour} which has a very fine consistency and gives a finer texture to the cookies. I've tested it out with Pamela's blend as well -- a brand I really like and which also uses glutinous rice flour -- and it worked well too. I haven't tried it with other brands. I recommend the two I suggested though because I know they work well.
Julia says
I think some of the discrepancies in how the recipe turns out with Bob's Red Mill may be due to there being more than one Bob's gluten free mix... I just used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour last night and they turned out great. The only changes I made were due to lacking ingredients: I doubled the recipe but only had one lemon and no lemon extract, so I doubled the vanilla and used half the amount of zest but also squeezed some lemon juice into the mixture. They were delicious!
The Real Person!
Hi Julia, thanks so much for sharing how it worked out for you and the swaps you made. I'm glad you enjoyed the cookies!
Magda says
Pamela baking and pancake mix isn't vegan, it has cultured buttermilk in it.
The Real Person!
Hi Magda, the specific blend I mentioned and linked to from Pamela's is vegan -- no buttermilk in it. The ingredients in it are: brown rice flour, tapioca starch, white rice flour, potato starch, sorghum flour, arrowroot starch, sweet rice flour, guar gum.
Mindy says
Wondering if you have any thoughts on what one might substitute for the maple syrup to cut down on sugar in this recipe?
Shay says
Hi I am excited to make these cookies! I am wondering about any tips to substitute for the maple syrup as family and friends cannot have sugar... Wondering if one could incorporate erythinol sweetener and how much to use?
Best :)
Kate says
Can regular flour be subbed? We're egg, dairy and nut anaphylactic so this recipe sounds good, but we use reg flour!
Karen says
Hi! Made these for my daughter who is away at college. Only had Bob's Red Mill on hand. I had no issues using it...they came out beautifully and taste yummy! I did roll them out a bit thinner, maybe that's why? Making them again for a baby shower this weekend. ?
The Real Person!
Hi Karen -- so happy to hear these worked well!! Especially with Bob's Red Mill, since a lot of people ask. Thank you for sharing and for the lovely feedback :)
Laryssa says
I made these for my daughter today. I used King Arthur gluten free multi purpose flour, formed a log and froze the dough for a couple of hours then sliced and baked them. I really like the maple syrup use in the recipe. They baked well and were a bit gritty. I will try the glutenous sweet rice next time.
The Real Person!
Hi Laryssa. Thanks so much for sharing and glad these worked for you :) And yes, the sweet sticky rice flour definitely helps to cut down on the gluten-free "grit".
Jeanne says
I'm going to make your lemon lavender shortbread cookies and my question is what did you sprinkle on the tops of the cookies, looks like granulated sugar. I want to send a batch to my college age grandaughter who is on a gluten-free vegan diet.
The Real Person!
Hi Jeanne. It's powdered coconut milk -- a product I absolutely love for the "icing sugar" effect without the extra sugar. The only thing is if you do buy some make sure it's a brand made without dairy -- some of them add casein and lactose in, which would make them non-vegan. Most are just powdered coconut milk though and a few things to keep it from clumping up, like tapioca -- here's a brand similar to what I used on Amazon. I buy mine locally at a health food shop.
Hope she likes them :) Happy baking!
Brenda says
Can these cookies be made and frozen for later?
The Real Person!
Hi Brenda,
Sorry I missed your comment earlier. I've never tried freezing these, but I can't imagine why they wouldn't work frozen. I'll give the freezing a test try soon just to see, but if you make it before I do I'd love to hear how it works out.
Leann says
I made these cookies a few days ago and they did not turn out. :( I don't know what I did wrong. I used Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free flour and agave because that's what I had on hand. I didn't over mix or over bake but they were hard and chewy. I was left wishing they were either more crisp or softer instead of some where in the middle. Do you have any ssuggestions as to what I did wrong?
The Real Person!
Hi Leann. I'm sorry they didn't work out. I think the problem is the Bob's Red Mill flour. I used sweet sticky rice flour {aka glutinous rice flour} for part of this recipe because it's very fine and gives a very specific texture to baked goods. I also tested them out with the Pamela's mix because I know it uses that flour too and I had good results with it. I find Bob's Red Mill flour to be drier and coarser {I think because of the chickpea flour they add to the mix}, so perhaps that's why they were hard and chewy...
I'd say maybe try rolling them out thinner if you want to try with the Bob's mix again -- that should help to make them crispier. You can also try adding a tiny bit more butter to help make them a little softer, though not too much -- just watch that the dough doesn't get too sticky. Otherwise, give it a go with the DIY blend or the Pamela's mix -- it's actually the best gluten-free flour blend I found out there from everything I tried.
I'd love to hear how it goes if you give it a try again. It's always good to know if something doesn't work. I'll add a note to the recipe about the Bob's mix based on your feedback.
Annabel Jane says
These are 'Oh Eem Gee' 'melt in the mouth' so tasty little lemony lavender delights!!
The Real Person!
Thank you so much, Annabel Jane. So happy you like them :) It's one of my favorite flavors ♥
vegetarianmamma (Cindy) says
Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays Party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! :) I can't wait to see what you share next time!
-Cindy
Natalie @ Feasting on Fruit says
These are gorgeous! I love this little cut-out cookie series you have going on here.
I've just started experimenting with gluten free baking, but I don't really like the Bob's Red Mill GF all purpose flour because of the beany taste. I'll have to try the Pamela's brand you recommended. Thanks :)
The Real Person!
Hi Natalie -- so sorry for the super late response here. I just discovered my site has been throwing a whole lot of genuine comments into the spam folder and I just noticed them all in there today, yours included! : /
Thank you so much for your comment -- indeed I had {am still having, in fact} way too much fun with the cut-out cookies. So many possibilities it's hard to stop! :) These were really lovely -- definitely in my top favorites.
As for Bob's -- I tried it out for a few recipes and was not a fan to be honest. I agree on the beany taste. I also didn't like the texture of it so much. Pamela's is really great though. I make my own mix {as mentioned in the recipe} that is almost the same, but when in a hurry I sometimes use Pamela's interchangeably too -- it's a really versatile mix and creates things with a great texture and flavor.