Simple, buttery Almond Shortbread Cookies made with just 6 ingredients – no oil, gluten, or refined sugar. The perfect easy Christmas (or anytime) cookie!
THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY NIELSEN-MASSEY.
It is December. Pumpkin things are out. Cookies are in. And I am READY FOR IT.
Admittedly I did get a jumpstart on holiday cookie-ing with these snickerdoodles. But they were healthy and designed for breakfast, doesn’t count. Now it’s officially time for sweet and buttery, break out the cookie cutters, dip in dark chocolate, real deal cookie baking.
Sugar cookies or shortbread? Personally I think there’s a place at the holidays for both. Sugar cookies are softer and more delicate, yummy on their own but designed to be decorated with colorful glazes and candy sprinkles. Whereas shortbread is snappier and more sophisticated, best eaten plain or with a simple chocolate coating to show off those scalloped edges.
In my house growing up the tradition was always sugar cookies of every shape with every color of frosting piped on to make bells and trees and reindeer and ornaments. Those days spent in the kitchen with my mom and sister are some of my best holiday memories, and stand out much more than any gifts.
These days I love making healthier versions of my favorite holiday cookies, so I can have all the fun times with family but skip the stomachache from eating too much dough and frosting. Last year I recreated my favorite sugar cookies, so this year it was time to tackle shortbread. And yes, this recipe will work for cutting into festive shapes and decorating with frosting and sprinkles too!
I was worried when I set out to develop this recipe that I wouldn’t be able to get the proper shortbread cookie SNAP without oil or refined sugar. Chewy is easy, but crispy vegan cookies can be tricky. Well was I ever wrong…
These Almond Shortbread Cookies are golden on the outside and crispy all the way through. Snappy when you bite in, and stay snappy for days if you store them properly. Not dry or crumbly. Not made with any grains or oil. Not not the easiest cookie you will make all season – six ingredients, one bowl, 10 minutes to bake!
You will need:
- almond flour
- coconut flour
- maple syrup (naturally sweetened christmas cookies ftw!)
- coconut butter
- almond extract
- salt
And that’s it. Crazy, right?
The almond + coconut flour combo makes them moist but not too moist, crunchy but not too crumbly. And there is only a quarter cup of maple syrup for the whole batch (18-20 cookies), so that counts as healthier if you ask me. I don’t recommend swapping the coconut butter for anything else, but if you must cashew butter (same amount) or coconut oil (a little less) would be your best alternatives.
With such a simple lineup, most of the flavor comes from the almond extract. You know that magical little bottle of liquid that smells like happiness and marzipan, and makes everything taste faintly reminiscent of wedding cake. I used Nielsen-Massey’s Pure Almond Extract for these cookies, because I trust the quality of their extracts and flavors. The flavor is strong and the ingredient list is short – made with just alcohol, pure bitter almond oil, and water. All Nielsen-Massey products are all natural, GMO-free, certified gluten-free, and allergy friendly too.
And even though this recipe calls for just a teaspoon of almond extract, if you love the flavor as much as I do a little extra won’t hurt.
These cookies are better make a double batch GOOD. Bake now and again for Christmas GOOD. Only share with your very favorite people GOOD. And the perfect way to kick off your holiday cookie baking GOOD.
If you give these Almond Shortbread Cookies a try, I want to see! Tag me @feastingonfruit and @nielsenmassey on Instagram, and follow Nielsen-Massey on Facebook and Pinterest for more recipe inspiration.
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Simple, buttery Almond Shortbread Cookies made with just 6 ingredients – no oil, gluten, or refined sugar. The perfect easy Christmas (or anytime) cookie!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (110g) almond flour
- 1/3 cup (40g) coconut flour
- 1/4 cup (80g) maple syrup
- 1/3 cup (80g) coconut butter*
- 1 tsp Nielsen-Massey Pure Almond Extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Optional: 1/2 cup (120g) melted dark chocolate chips for dipping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Whisk together the coconut butter, maple syrup, and almond extract.
- Add the coconut flour, almond flour, and salt. Mix/knead to form a moist ball of dough.
- Roll out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into circles (using a cookie cutter or a mason jar lid works too!) and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 350°F or until golden around the edges.
- Remove from the oven and cool. They are delicious warm, but if you are going to dip them in chocolate I recommend letting them cool completely first.
- Keep leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.
Notes
* Coconut butter is really best here, but if you have so substitute I’d recommend runny cashew butter (same 1/3 cup) or coconut oil (reduce to 1/4 cup).
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 104
- Sugar: 5g
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Carbohydrates: 9g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 3g
Keywords: christmas, paleo, vegan, baking, holiday, gluten free, easy, recipe, dessert
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Shortbread is seriously my fave. So simple, yet sooo GOOD when done right 😉 I developed a healthy recipe a couple years ago, but now I have a reason to try yours too, so they’ll be quite an abundance of shortbread cookies around here this December! BTW, I find that the maple syrup and coconut butter combo is magical for creating healthy “buttery” cookies 😉
NEVER too many shortbread cookies🤗 Plus you could do some with glaze and some with chocolate and some just plain…so many options! Oh and I completely agree, they are some serious cookie magic together✨
Would homemade cashew butter or Nutlex Coconut butter work better? When i make cashew butter though it doesn’t turn out runny? It’s quite firm and compacted – any suggestion?
Homemade cashew butter does tend to be thicker than store-bought. Hmm what about tahini? That’s usually quite runny and would work here. Or you could thin out your cashew butter with come coconut oil instead.
Great..i will try using tahni..also i forgot to ask will it make a big difference if i use vanilla not almond extract?
Many Thanks
Nope, either will be delicious just subtly different flavor 🙂
These look incredible Natalie and 6 ingredients, sign me up! I couldn’t agree more on the pumpkin out, cookies in, lol… I made FOUR batches of cookies for 2 new recipes yesterday I was testing and what do you know, coconut butter was in both recipes. However, both FAILED bahaha. I was so mad since I spent all day in the kitchen. When, I should have just waited and made these! The shortbread looks perfect and I love the addition of the chocolate, what a fabulous little touch of extra flavor, twist and color it adds. I can only imagine how delicious these are. I honestly have only been in the mood for making cookies ever since December 1st..it must be some kind of crazy December potion that floats in the air that makes us food bloggers just only want to make cookies. So, tell me, how many of these did you polish off in the first 24 hours?? Because honestly it looks like I’d eat half the batch in 15 minutes, LOL. They are gorgeous.
★★★★★
Nooooooo!! Two fails in one day is rough, although I bet the “failed” leftovers were still pretty damn tasty even if they don’t make the cut😋 Coconut butter is some kinda cookie making magic, better than other nut butters I think for buttery richness but not making cookies too soft/chewy. Um let’s just say the batch was gone in 2 days lol. Hey it’s december after all😆
Wow …they are really good ,just made them .we never eat commercial cookies .i never found e good recipe like you’re .
Awesome…5 stars for you
Thank u so much xx
★★★★★
YAY!! I am so happy you tried them, thanks for the awesome feedback Bétina 🙂
Can I sub honey for the maple syrup?
I did and it worked!
Yep absolutely! Hope you love them 🙂
Is there another nut flour you could use other than almond? And would you use it 1 for 1?
Sure! Cashew would be my next best recommendation, although really any kind would work (pecan, walnut, etc). And yes same amount 🙂
These are absolutely stunning with the crinkle edges and dipped in chocolate! 🙂
I went and bought a scalloped cookie cutter for just that very reason, they just look so much daintier and more festive that way☺️🎄
Any suggestions for substituting syrup for stevia or sugar alcohols?
I don’t work with artificial sweeteners so I can’t really make recommendations there, you will have to experiment!
Where is the option for more than 5 stars? These are amazing and such a unique addition to my cookie repertoire. I made the recipe exactly as written, but I slathered chocolate on top covering most of the cookie, unlike the delicate edging you did. Next time I may see if I can cover just half and make them look like black and white cookies, which I always admire visually but then find kind of tasteless and boring. I have to admit I was a little leery about this because coconut flour and I don’t always get along, but now I see that we can at least be on speaking terms and it can be used in recipes, although I still wouldn’t want to use it as the main flour. But Natalie, 18 cookies, really? I just shaped them by hand and only got eight! And they weren’t huge, just normal size.
I had to look up shortbread since I wasn’t quite sure what it is. According to Wikipedia: “Shortbread is a traditional Scottish biscuit usually made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three parts oat flour.” Bet the Scots never thought to use coconut butter! Interesting that you chose almond butter instead of the oat flour, but I don’t think oat flour would have worked as well. I bought another bottle of almond extract since I will be making this a lot!
I can’t go to Christmas cookie exchanges since the cookies wouldn’t be vegan and okay, I admit it, not that social, but these made a great Christmas season treat for me. (And I hear that at many exchanges, people don’t even bother baking, but just bring store bought! Like I can eat commercial cookies after making yours and some other favorite bloggers?) Thanks so much!
★★★★★
I am so happy you liked them!! Ha I can totally relate to the coconut flour, I hated it for many years too but have slowly found ways to love it too. And my cookie cutter was pretty small so that will affect how many you get but you could definitely double the batch. Anyways, thanks for the awesome feedback and I am glad you found holiday cookies you CAN eat now too🤗
Those look amazing!! Could I sub the the chilled cream on top of a coconut milk can for the coconut butter? Where I live coconut butter is not that easy to get. Thanks a lot and congrats for your blog 🙂
★★★★
Coconut cream and butter aren’t interchangeable, but maybe just go with a different frosting recipe like this one: https://www.cottercrunch.com/how-to-make-coconut-cream-vegan-frosting/
Wow, I made these using cashew butter and they were absolutely amazing!! Such great almond flavour and not too sweet either. Definitely will make again soon!
★★★★★
Ooooh I bet that was delish, cashew butter makes everything better! I am so happy you enjoyed them Scarlet😊 Happy holidays🎄
My battery is crummy compared to yours, what would I be doing wrong?
Hmm sounds too dry, maybe try less almond flour or more coconut butter!
Yay!! I finally found the perfect shortbread biscuit that turned out crunchy and tasty. Love your recipes. Is all your receipes vegan gluten and oil free?
I am so happy you liked these! All my recipes are gluten-free and vegan and about 95% or oil-free too, so lot to choose from 🙂
Could I possibly just use butter? Coconut butter is not available in my area. I would love to try these.,
Haven’t tested it, but that could work! You will have to try it and see 🙂
Hi Natalie!
quick question, if I make this cookie for a friends dinner but cookie would be out of fridge all day, would it hold up ok? if not can you recommend another one of your creations?? Love your recipes! share with all my patients daily: )
magic work you do!
★★★★★
Sure! The cookies are fine out of the fridge, it’s just the chocolate coating that needs to be refrigerated. So either just dip them right before serving or skip that part 🙂
Ok great ! Thank you…
Found your recipe on Pinterest. We added garden grown rosemary to the shortbread and topped with a paleo lemon curd. Perfection!!
★★★★★
Oh my goodness, that combination sounds heavenly😋 I am so happy you liked them!
I live in Hawaii, and I had trouble finding coconut flour and butter (limited grocers) . I substituted coconut oil and a combo of more almond flour with regular flour instead of coconut. The dough was stickier than if I had the original ingredients so I chilled it, and they turned out great! Wonderful texture and flavor. Thanks for the great recipe!!
★★★★★
Oh I am so happy they worked! Good to know, thanks for the feedback Robin 🙂
Great cookies! I rolled a tablespoon at a time into a ball then flattened with a glass dipped in sugar for a ruffled edge and sparkly top. I then drizzled the chocolate on top. I got 14 cookies.
That sounds absolutely beautiful, appreciate your presentation tip! I am so happy you liked them Brenda, thanks for the feedback 🙂