A delicious recipe for a traditional dry shortbread cookies, prepared vegan style.

This is the fourth of our four vegan cookie baking recipes – just in time for the holiday season. This is my father-in-law’s famous recipe, just altered a little bit to make it suitable for the family vegans.

It is a dry dry dry recipe with only 4 ingredients. Variations occur in traditional shortbread recipes regarding – salted vs unsalted butter, whether vanilla is added, the type of flour used and the type of sugar used. We have changed things up just a little bit – but kept the flavour and texture “original”.

Vegan “Butter”

This recipe is vegan – so we substituted Vegan Becel Margarine for butter. The margarine is salty, so there is no need to add salt to this vegan version of the recipe. If you use another brand that you prefer, and find it to be more of an “unsalted butter” – then you may want to add a pinch of salt.

The Flour

This is a dry, dry, dry cookie – as my father-in-law would say. He used all purpose flour – with rice flour added as his secret ingredient. As a result, the dough is very dry – and so it is kneaded and kneaded to press it into shape!

The Sugar

The recipe originally called for 1/2 cup of fruit sugar. Fruit sugar is a fine sugar, which dissolves instantly (sometimes available in stores as Redpath brand). It is increasingly difficult to find in my local stores, so I have altered the recipe to 2/3 cup granulated white sugar – and it tastes just right with this substitute!

Baking

Shortbread is generally cooked slowly and at a lower temperature than other cookies, and the dough is generally unleavened (no egg, baking powder or soda). These cookies bake for an hour – so wait ’til you have time on your hands!

Ingredients

1 cup Vegan Margarine

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup rice flour

2/3 cups granulated white sugar

Method

Mix margarine with sugar, rice flour and first cup of flour. Mix gradually, and slowly add the rest of the flour. This will form a dry powder crumbly batter. My father in law kneaded the batter continually and rolled into a round ball – flattening with a knife or rolling pin.

My method is to roll into a ball within parchment paper. This reduces my “kneading anxiety” and the mess. I flatten the dough out in between parchment paper sheets and then place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Lightly prick holes all over the surface of the dough with a fork. Optionally, press the sides of the dough with a fork to decorate.

Bake in preheated 250 to 275 degree F oven for one hour until very lightly browned.

Cut into smaller pieces while still hot.

This recipe is a traditional recipe that doesn’t use a blender and has a rougher – uneven surface. Now that we are in the days of Instagram foodie cooking you may want a more perfect cookie!

My father in law crumbled the butter and flour together and kneaded and kneaded. This recipe creates a rougher, crumbly dough to work with. His shortbread ended up being very smooth at the end, because he worked it so well by hand. If you want to process in a food processor or blender, go ahead! It’s certainly less frustrating and tidier. Remember, our ancestors didn’t own food processors or Kitchenaids.

Below is a printable recipe card from RecipesGenerator. Please give it a try!

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