Good as Gramma's: Vegan Gluten-Free Shortbread

Not long ago, I sent out this tweet:

Thankfully, I am speaking of it again because it was a sucess.

But we need to talk about this recipe because, let's face it...the shortbread we are all used to is made from butter and white flour. Period. End of story. But...this is me. I always have the curiousity to re-create my favourites to make them a bit healthier and to give people with allergies to certain ingredients, special, diets, and food restrictions the chance to once again enjoy things they once loved. Not to mention, the fact that I am using all plant-based products (hello, planet-friendly recipe!) makes me happy.

Before I put together my recipe, I did a little research to get an idea of how to go about this task and admittedly it kinda felt like I was trying to re-invent the wheel, who does that? Luckily, I'm stubborn—why not have two different types of wheels so everyone can partake?

Classic Shortbread Cookies

Now before you try this recipe, let me tell you this...you are not going to fool anyone into thinking these are the traditional thing. They ARE rich and crumbly and have the same texture and mouth-feel as the regular stuff but they have a different flavour—slightly coconutty, but yummy. Pair them up with a cup on tea.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup coconut oil (room temperature)
1/4 cup applesauce (room temperature...and don't worry, the cookies won't have an applesauce taste)
1/3 cup maple syrup
granulated sugar for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 300°F

In a medium bowl, combine the flours, salt and baking powder and mix well.

In a small bowl, combine the coconut oil, applesauce, and maple syrup. Mix well to form a dough.

Flatten dough in a 10-inch tart pan and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Pierce several times with a fork and sprinkle sugar on top.

Bake for about 40 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.

While still warm, remove the outside of the tart pan and slice into wedges using a pizza cutter.

Note: This recipe does not have to be made in a tart pan, the dough can be chilled and rolled out if you prefer shapes. Just be sure to use plenty of rice flour for dusting so the dough remains workable and if it becomes too soft when you are working with it, take a break and chill it again. And FYI, applesauce is used in this recipe as a subsitute for more oil (in case you were wondering why applesauce is in this recipe).