These gluten-free almond flour shortbread cookies are the easiest, healthy vegan shortbread cookie recipe. They have the best tender, melting texture and are slightly crispy when you bite into them.
If you love shortbread cookies but want to make them a little bit healthier, with fewer carbs, and avoid wheat flour, this is the recipe for you.
Almond Flour Shortbread cookies are made with a handful of ingredients and ready in no time to enjoy for breakfast, snack, or dessert.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
These 3-ingredient almond flour cookies are super simple to make and ready in less than 30 minutes. Plus, the recipe fits most diets as it is:
- Gluten-free – almond flour is 100% gluten-free flour.
- Paleo – this recipe doesn’t use grain or xanthan gum, often used in gluten-free baking.
- Vegan – these cookies are egg-free and dairy-free.
- Egg-Free
- Dairy-Free
- Paleo
- Low-Carb
- Keto-Friendly
Ingredients and Substitutions
To make this simple recipe, you need to gather only 3 simple ingredients. Let me share my tips with you to select the best healthy ingredients for this recipe.
- Almond Flour – make sure you are using ultra-fine almond flour and not coarse almond meal. The recipe works with both, but an almond meal adds a gritty texture to cookies and a darker color.
- Maple Syrup – or agave syrup. I didn’t try the recipe with any other liquid sweetener.
- Coconut Oil – this is a gluten-free shortbread cookie recipe with coconut oil. Coconut oil is a great plant-based fat to make crunchy vegan cookies. You can use refined coconut oil to avoid the coconut flavor from the oil. Don’t replace it with any other oil, or the cookies would be way too soft.
Optional ingredients
Of course, you can add a few flavorsome ingredients to add flavor to these healthy vegan shortbread cookies.
I highly recommend it, but if you want to keep the recipe simple, and make plain shortbread cookies, don’t bother adding these little extra ingredients.
My favorite add-ons are:
- Almond extract – add 1/2 teaspoon to the cookie dough.
- Vanilla extract – add 1/2 teaspoon to the cookie dough.
- Sea salt – add 1/4 teaspoon to the cookie dough.
- Orange zest – add 1 teaspoon to the cookie dough.
- Chocolate chips – add 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips into the dough to make vegan chocolate chip shortbread cookies.
How To Make Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies
This is an easy vegan almond shortbread cookie recipe meaning they are egg-free, dairy-free cookies.
Consequently, their texture is slightly softer than a regular shortbread recipe but an amazing healthy shortbread cookie recipe without butter!
In fact, these are vegan shortbread cookies with coconut oil, a plant-based fat perfect for making crunchy cookies.
All you have to do is combine the dry ingredients (photo 1) with the wet ingredients until they form a sticky cookie dough (photo 2).
Then, form 12 cookie dough balls using a measuring cup (photo 3) from the dough and place each ball on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. This cookie dough won’t expand in the oven, so you don’t have to leave much space between each cookie.
Finally, press each ball slightly with the back of a fork to flatten it into a 0.4 inch (1cm) thick cookie (photo 4). The thinner, the crispier they will be. Finally, bake in preheated oven 325°F (160°C) for 12-15 minutes.
They are ready when the sides are slightly golden brown and slightly soft in the middle. Cool completely at room temperature, first 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then on a cooling rack. These cookies firm up with time and get their best texture after 3 hours at room temperature.
Step-By-Step Video
Decorating The Cookies
You can add some sprinkles on top of your cookies, as you see in my picture, to make healthy Christmas shortbread cookies. Or drizzle melted chocolate chips on top.
Frequently Asked Questions
These gluten-free shortbread cookies with almond flour are slightly softer than wheat-based cookies.
But if you like your shortbread cookies crispier, press them thinner into a 0.4-inch thickness (1cm).
If your cookies are too thick, they will stay softer in the center, but overall, this recipe crisps on the outside with a tender center.
This cookie dough works very well for making cut-out shortbread cookies too. It actually makes thinner and crispier almond flour shortbread cookies.
The only thing to keep in mind is that the dough is slightly sticky.
So you will have to roll the dough between two parchment paper pieces to prevent it from sticking to the roller pin.
No, you can’t use sugar-free maple syrup in this recipe. Sugar-free maple syrup contains a lot of fiber compared to natural maple syrup and is highly liquid absorbent.
It won’t form a cookie dough but a cookie crumble.
These are egg-free, dairy-free cookies, so they store very well at room temperature in a cookie jar.
You can store the cookies for up to 1 week in the pantry or the fridge. They soften with time as the air moisture softens the dough.
More Vegan Almond Flour Cookie Recipes
I love to use almond flour in my cookie recipes. It not only adds delicious almond flavor, but it also decreases carbs and adds lots of plant-based proteins and nutrients.
Below I listed my favorite cookie recipes made with almond flour for you to try.
Did You Like This Recipe?
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Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies (3 Ingredients, Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup Almond Flour - packed
- 3 tablespoons Maple Syrup
- 3 tablespoons Melted Coconut Oil
Optional ingredients – recommended to add flavors
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ teaspoon Almond Extract
Instructions
- Before starting, keep in mind that these are slightly softer than regular shortbread cookies. They are vegan, gluten-free cookies made with wholesome ingredients, crispy on the outside, and chewier in the center.
- Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium-size mixing bowl, add all the ingredients: almond flour, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, salt, vanilla extract, and almond extract,
- Combine the ingredients with a spatula first, squeeze the dough with your hands to bring ingredients together, and form a cookie dough ball. If too wet, you can add more almond flour.
- Scoop the dough with a measuring tablespoon and roll it into a ball.
- Place each ball onto the lined cookie sheet.
- Use a fork to flatten each cookie. The thinner, the crispier they will be. You can add sprinkles now, using a fork to press them gently into the batter.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until slightly golden and slightly hard on top.
- Cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to completely cool down.
Storage
- Store in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 5 days
Thank you for this recipe 🙂 I’ve never baked with almond flour before, so I was concerned about how they would come out. They’re a hit in our house! Adults and kiddos all loved them!
These cookies were so easy to make. I doubled the recipe, added the almond and vanilla extract and the salt. I did have to add a bit more almond flour. They are DELICIOUS and I don’t feel guilty after eating one! Thanks for the recipe!
Would anise extract work in this recipe
Absolutely, then you may need to adjust the amount of extract depending on your taste
Do you have to refrigerate or are they okay to leave in Tupperware on counter for a day? Thanks so much! These are delicious
Not really, they keep well at room temperature in an airtight container.
Can I use butter instead of coconut oil?
Yes it will work well, enjoy!
Wonderful
What If a person is allergic to coconut products
You can use melted vegan butter or avocado oil should work too
I just found this recipe and will make it with the syrup. However, I’m wondering if I can substitute with molasses at maybe 2 Tbsp plus 1 Tbsp water. I’ll try both ways.
I am not sure how they will form up with some water and molasse. Let me know if you experiment with that idea.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! These cookies are absolutely amazing. Had tried many varieties of healthy choc chip cookies over the years but none could match taste and texture of yours! Added vanilla extract and sugar free choc chips.
Have you tried freezing them?
Thank you for the recipe. I tried it out and did 3tbs maple and coconut oil. The mixture was dry and would form a dough. I added another tbs of coconut oil and it sort of formed balls. I also used super fine almond flour. Any suggestions?
Maybe you added more almond flour packing the flour a bit too much in the cup – especially if ultra thin it can explain the reason was they are dry. Simply add more maple syrup to ring dough together next time or more melted coconut, both works. Enjoy