You don’t have to miss out on traditional Christmas shortbread cookies just because you have food allergies. Our easy 4 ingredient dairy free shortbread recipe is also vegan and gluten free. Perfect to enjoy with your family and friends, or to give to friends as a delicious and thoughtful Christmas gift.
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Jump to RecipeDairy free shortbread ingredients
These delicious Christmas shortbread cookies (or biscuits as we call them here in Australia) only have 4 ingredients:
- 2 cups (gluten free) plain flour
- 1/2 cup rice flour
- 1/2 cup icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
- 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons dairy free/vegan butter (cold)
Gluten free options
For wheat/gluten free shortbread cookies, just use the same quantity of your preferred gluten free flour. This time we used White Wings gluten free flour, but we also like to use Yes You Can dairy and gluten free self-raising flour or Doves Farm gluten free flour, which is nut free. Just be sure to check the ingredients of your chosen flour carefully for any of your allergens.
If you don’t need a what or gluten free recipe, you can just use normal plain flour in this recipe. This might shorten the cooking time a little, so just make sure to keep your eye on the cookies to ensure that they don’t burn on the edges. Take them out of the oven when they start to look golden in colour.
Dairy free / vegan butter
We used Nuttelex Buttery in this recipe (which despite the name, doesn’t contain any nuts!). This gives a similar buttery taste to dairy. You can use your preferred brand of vegan or non-dairy butter/margarine substitute in this recipe, but avoid using products with a strong flavour such as olive oil based spread.
Method
Preheat your oven to 180C (350F).
Line two baking trays/cookie sheets with non-stick baking or parchment paper.
Measure the flours and place in a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
Add the non-dairy butter to the flour mixture in small pieces (use a knife or spoon to divide as you add to the bowl). Use non-dairy butter straight from the fridge so that it is still cool.
Using your finger tips, rub the dairy free butter into the flour mixture to combine until it forms large clumps. Tip the mixture into a lightly floured board and knead gently to form a rounded ball of dough.
The type of flour you use in this recipe can affect the consistency of the dough. But don’t worry, it’s easily fixed. If your dough is too crumbly and won’t stick together enough for you to cut into shapes, just add a few drops of water and knead again until the dough is easier to work with. On the other hand, if the dough is a little too sticky, just add a fraction more flour to get the right consistency.
Roll the dough with a rolling pin until about 1cm (1/3rd inch) thick. You can roll between sheets of non-stick baking paper to avoid sticking to the bench or the rolling pin.
Cut into shapes with Christmas themes cookie cutters. (Larger shapes like Christmas trees or bells work best. If the shapes are too thin the shortbread dough may break or the thinner parts of the cookies may overcook.)
Transfer shortbread shapes on to the prepared baking trays and place into the preheated oven. Bake for around 15 to 20 minutes until the shortbread is a golden colour.
Remove trays form the oven and allow cookies to cool on the tray for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire cooking rack to finish cooling.
Once cool, store cookies in an air tight container for up to 7 to 10 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies, depending on your chosen shapes.
NOTES ON TEXTURE AND TASTE:
If you are using gluten free flour, your shortbread will probably be quite crunchy compared to what you may be used to in a shortbread biscuit. Avoiding overcooking will help minimise this.
Also, these shortbread cookies don’t use a lot of sugar, so they won’t be overly sweet. If you prefer a sweeter taste, once the cooked shortbread shapes have cooled I recommend dusting them with some extra icing sugar or decorating them with icing.
More allergy friendly Christmas treats
For more delicious allergy-friendly Christmas treats that cater to people with a variety of different dietary requirements, try some of our favourite recipes:
- Christmas Oreo truffles made dairy, egg and nut free
- Nut and dairy free Christmas rocky road
- Dairy free white chocolate crackle slice with glace cherries
You’ll find all of our allergy-friendly recipes – including more dairy free biscuits or cookies – on our recipe page.
Dairy Free Shortbread Christmas Cookies (Gluten Free, Vegan)
Equipment
- 1 large mixing bowl
- measuring cups and spoons
- 1 Rolling Pin
- Christmas cookie cutters
- 2 cookie sheets/baking trays lined with non-stick paper
- 1 Wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- 2 cups (gluten free) plain flour
- 1/2 cup rice flour
- 1/2 cup icing sugar (powdered/confectioner's sugar)
- 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons non-dairy butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C (350F).
- Line two baking trays/cookie sheets with non-stick baking or parchment paper.
- Measure the flours and place in a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
- Add the non-dairy butter to the flour mixture in small pieces (use a knife or spoon to divide as you add to the bowl). Use non-dairy butter straight from the fridge so that it is still cool.
- Using your finger tips, rub the dairy free butter into the flour mixture to combine until it forms large clumps. Tip the mixture into a lightly floured board and knead gently to form a rounded ball of dough. If your dough is too crumbly and won't stick together enough for you to cut into shapes, just add a few drops of water and knead again until the dough is easier to work with. On the other hand, if the dough is a little too sticky, just add a fraction more flour to get the right consistency.
- Roll the dough with a rolling pin until about 1cm (1/3rd inch) thick. You can roll between sheets of non-stick baking paper to avoid sticking to the bench or the rolling pin.
- Cut into shapes with Christmas themes cookie cutters. (Larger shapes like Christmas trees or bells work best. If the shapes are too thin the shortbread dough may break or the thinner parts of the cookies may overcook.)
- Transfer shortbread shapes on to the prepared baking trays and place into the preheated oven. Bake for around 15 to 20 minutes until the shortbread is a golden colour.
- Remove trays form the oven and allow cookies to cool on the tray for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire cooking rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- Avoid using dairy free butter with a strong taste (eg olive oil based spread).
- If you using gluten free flour, your shortbread will probably be quite crunchy compared to what you may be used to in a shortbread biscuit. Avoiding overcooking will help minimise this.
- These shortbread cookies don’t use a lot of sugar, so they won’t be overly sweet. Dust cooled shortbread shapes with icing sugar or decorate with icing for extra sweetness.
