Melt-in-your-mouth Gluten Free Whipped Shortbread cookies that is light, buttery, and oh so pretty. A few simple ingredients create an amazing holiday favorite.
Over the years of my gluten-free journey, I’ve been able to pretty much re-create all my old holiday favorites.
Gluten Free White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies – Check.
Gluten Free Rolled Sugar Cookies – Check.
The Best Gluten Free Cinnamon Buns – Double Check.
I don’t feel deprived at all, in fact, I’m feeling quite content. I know I can make everything that I enjoyed before going gluten free, plus more (trust me, I wasn’t this much of a baker before going gluten-free). So I wasn’t really sure what to add to my holiday baking, or what new recipes I could share with you.
But, the plea from a reader for me to help her convert her Mother’s Whipped Shortbread recipe to gluten-free was good enough incentive to get me into the kitchen.
These gluten free Whipped Shortbread cookies – Oh my – the texture and buttery flavor of these little cookies is anything but plain and boring.
The cookies are very light, and literally melt in your mouth. Although they don’t have to be, they are pretty topped with a sliver of candied cherry, sprinkles, or colored sugar, making them a contender on any cookie platter.
How to make gluten free Whipped Shortbread cookies:
- The key to the light, melt-in-your-mouth cookies is how long you beat the mixture. This incorporates air into the cookies, which gives them the light texture. I believe whether you are using a wooden spoon, a hand mixer, or a stand mixer will change the amount of time that you need to beat the dough. Obviously using a spoon, you won’t get the same air worked into the dough as you would with a stand mixer.
- I find that it works best to beat the butter and sugar mixture first, until it was light and airy, then add the dry ingredients and beat just a short while more.
- I also find that rolling the dough into a ball after dropping with a cookie scoop or spoon works best. It gives a smoother cookie without any air pockets inside.
- You also want to let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheet. No need to transfer them to a cooling rack. I even left some of my batches on the cookie sheet overnight before putting them in an air-tight container. Worked great.
Please note – this recipe has been updated, since some readers were having trouble with the cookies holding together. I re-worked the recipe to make a more stable cookie, that tastes just as good. The original recipe is still below, if you loved that one.
Gluten Free Whipped Shortbread Cookies Recipe:
Gluten Free Whipped Shortbread
Yield: 40 cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Melt-in-your-mouth Gluten Free Whipped Shortbread cookies that is light, buttery, and oh so pretty. A few simple ingredients create an amazing holiday favorite.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter, softened (salted or unsalted)
- 1/2 cup confectioners' (icing) sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (see Note)
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (see Note)
- 1/2 cup millet flour (can substitute additional white rice flour)
- 1/2 cup tapioca starch
- 1/2 cup white rice flour
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter)
- TOPPINGS: candied cherries, coloured sugar or sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place the butter and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Starting on slow speed, and slowly increasing, beat the butter & sugar until fully combined, scraping down the bowl in between. Add the extracts if using, and beat for 2-3 minutes. This is crucial, as it adds the lightness to the dough, giving you a light, airy cookie.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients (minus the toppings). Slowly add to the butter mixture while the mixer is on low speed. Once the flour has been worked in, slowly increase the speed to medium. Beat on medium speed for 1 more minute.
- Scoop 3/4-inch balls of dough onto the cookie sheet, keeping 2-inches between cookies. I use my small cookie scoop for this, works perfectly.
- Use a fork, that has been floured with rice flour, to press the cookies down slightly. Place cherries, sprinkles, or colored sugar on the top of the cookies, if using.
- Bake in preheated oven for 14-16 minutes. You do not want the cookies to brown at all, just for the dough to set. Let cookies remain on cookie sheet until completely cooled. I found that leaving them on the cookie rack (sometimes even over night), helped the cookies to have a better structure.
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container.
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Looking for more Christmas Cookies?
If you haven’t already done so, be sure to download your FREE copy of Gluten-Free Cookies for Santa, a compilation of over 40 gluten-free cookie recipes from yours truly. Merry Christmas!
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Originally shared December 2013. Recipe and images were updated November 2019.
The original recipe was as follows:
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup confectioners’ (icing) sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional, but good)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional, but good)
- 1 cup white rice flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 cup tapioca starch/flour
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- candied cherries, coloured sugar or sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Place the butter and confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Starting on slow speed, and slowly increasing, beat the butter & sugar until fully combined, scraping down the bowl in between. Add the extracts if using, and beat until blended.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Slowly add to the butter mixture while the mixer is on low speed. Once the flour has been worked in, slowly increase the speed to medium. Beat on medium speed for 5-6 minutes. This is crucial, as it adds the lightness to the dough, giving you a light, airy cookie.
- Scoop 3/4-inch balls of dough onto the cookie sheet, keeping 2-inches between cookies. I use my small cookie scoop for this, works perfectly.
- Use a fork, that has been floured with rice flour, to press the cookies down slightly. Place cherries, sprinkles, or coloured sugar on the top of the cookies, if using.
- Bake in preheated oven for 23-25 minutes. You do not want the cookies to brown at all, just for the dough to set. Let cookies remain on cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes before removing to wire cooling rack.
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container.
