Gluten Free Shortbread
Gluten-free Scottish shortbread made with oats and without special flour blends or xanthan gum. Light, buttery and less sweet than most, it slices neatly into rounds. Based on my Granny Agnes Moffat’s traditional Scottish shortbread recipes.
Equipment
- silicone mat if baking shortbread rounds (or parchment paper)
- stand mixer optional (can also be mixed by hand)
- shortbread mould optional
Ingredients
- 225 g (8 oz/ ½ lb) butter, salted softened (see Notes)
- ½ teaspoon salt (fleur de sel, Maldon or Celtic) if unsalted butter
- 60 g (2½ oz/ 4 tbsp) caster sugar
- 120 g (4½ oz/ 8 tbsp) oat flour organic (or large oats ground to a powder)
- 80 g (3 oz/ 5 tbsp) rice flour
- 40 g (1½ oz/ 3 tbsp) cornflour (cornstarch/Maïzena)
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar optional, for rolling
Instructions
- Mix the butter, salt (if unsalted butter) and sugar together - either by hand using a wooden spoon or using a stand mixer with paddle beater. Mix just until smooth and the sugar no longer shows.
- Mix in the oat and rice flour plus cornstarch together all at once. While mixing, it will clump together - push down the buttery ingredients stuck to the side of the bowl and stop mixing as soon as all the ingredients come firmly together.
- Roll into a log (6cm/2-inch diameter) on a very lightly floured surface (I use a small handful of rice flour) and roll in a little granulated sugar, if using.Wrap, then chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes (or freezer for 15 minutes) and can be left overnight. Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F (150°C fan/gas 3).Fingers - alternatively, press into a small baking tin using your fingers and smooth the surface with a palette knife. Cut into rectangles, prick evenly with a fork and chill. Mould - roll into a greased mould, following its instructions.
- Slice into 1-1.5cm/½-⅔-inch) rounds and place spaced apart (they will spread out slightly while baking) on 2 lined baking sheets. Bake for 25-35 minutes (depending on their thickness) or until golden but not brown. They should be slightly toasted at the edges. Remove from the oven and leave to rest without disturbing until cooled slightly (they firm up while cooling) then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
The shortbread rounds will harden as they cool. Don't worry about them being quite fragile out of the oven.
Butter: the better quality of your butter, the better the shortbread. Either use a good quality (82%) European lightly salted butter or unsalted with a quarter teaspoon of salt. It should be softened to room temperature but never melted.
Oats: Try to use organic oats. If you can't find oat flour, make your own by grinding whole oats/large oat flakes in a spice or coffee grinder.
Sugar: if you can't find caster or superfine sugar, blend granulated sugar. Otherwise icing/powdered sugar work well; my Granny interchanged the two. Add 2 tablespoons granulated sugar to roll the log in before chilling if you prefer with glistening sugar on the sides of the shortbread rounds.
Sweetness: Traditional shortbread relies on butter rather than sugar for flavour. This recipe is intentionally less sweet, but f you prefer a sweeter finish, roll the dough log in extra granulated sugar before chilling, or sprinkle a little sugar over the biscuits as soon as they come out of the oven.
Serve: traditionally served with a pot of tea in Scotland or with a dram of Whisky.
Storage: keeps for up to 5 days in an airtight container in a cool place. For longer storage, shortbread freezes well for up to 6 weeks if well-sealed. The shortbread dough keeps in the fridge for up to 2 days. I love to freeze half of the dough for later and bake 9 biscuits.
Shortbread thins as a dessert base: The dough also makes an excellent gluten-free base for this iced Cranachan parfait dessert - with honey and Whisky ice cream, oat praline and raspberries.
Nutrition
Serving: 18biscuitsCalories: 154kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 1gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 146mgPotassium: 31mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 312IUCalcium: 7mgIron: 0.3mg
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