Lactose-Free Shortbread Cookies

October 28th, 2009  |  Desserts, Vegetarian, Yankee Cook Recipes   |  6 Comments »

Vegan Shortbread CookiesShortbread is a minimalist. Containing only three ingredients: butter, flour and sugar, simple is what shortbread is all about. In fact, Simple would be Shortbread’s middle name, if it wasn’t mononymous already. That’s how minimalist shortbread is.

I made these the other day for a friend who avoids butter. Instead, I used Earth Balance, and they came out great. The final product had a nice buttery flavor and a rich texture.

Dairy-Free Shortbread Cookies – makes about 18 cookies

1 1/4 C All purpose flour
1/2 C Earth Balance
1/3 + 1/4C granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour and and the first 1/3 C of sugar in a medium bowl. Cut Earth Balance into the flour mixture until blended. Using a rounded tablespoon, scoop dough onto cookie sheet.

Using the underside of a rounded teaspoon, make little indentations (this helps hold the sugar in the next step).

Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 C of granulated sugar.

Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

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6 Comments on “Lactose-Free Shortbread Cookies”

  1. 1 Chef Wannabe said at 6:03 pm on November 8th, 2009:

    Hi Yankee Cook –

    So glad to have discovered this website! These cookies look delicious – if I wanted to use regular butter, is it still 1/2 cup?

    Thanks!

  2. 2 yankeecook said at 6:16 pm on November 8th, 2009:

    It would still be 1/2 cup with regular butter. Thanks for commenting and welcome to Yankee Cook!

  3. 3 nisha said at 6:07 pm on March 31st, 2011:

    Can I substitute whole wheat pastry flour for white flour ?
    Thanks
    Usha

  4. 4 yankeecook said at 3:59 pm on April 2nd, 2011:

    Hi Nisha,
    I prefer white flour in shortbread because it’s more dense, but where it’s pastry flour and it’s a little lighter than typical whole wheat, it might work. Let us know how it works out! That could be a nice healthier option. I bet it would have a hearty, nuttier flavor. Thanks for commenting! :) YC

  5. 5 catherine calton said at 4:29 am on January 17th, 2012:

    Hi I’m in the uk, my 2yr has recently been diagnosed lactose intolerant. Do you know an alternative in the uk as we don’t have earth balance. Thankyou for any help x

  6. 6 yankeecook said at 9:15 pm on January 18th, 2012:

    Hi Catherine,

    Thanks so much for your question. While I’m not familiar with lactose-free butter alternatives in the UK, I would start by looking at the ingredient lists on vegan margarines sold in your area and then be sure to check with your pediatrician or a registered dietitian.

    Another option might be coconut oil. I haven’t tried this for baking shortbread specifically, but coconut oil works well in some recipes as a substitute for butter. It has some of the same properties as butter in that it’s solid at room temperature and has a similar melting point. Here is a recipe for my lactose free brownies, which turned out really nicely: http://www.yankeecook.com/lactose-free-coconut-curry-brownies/. The coconut flavor works well with chocolate (the curry is definitely optional), but that coconut flavor may overwhelm a shortbread. I’d say it’s worth a try.

    Let us know how it works out!

    Thanks!
    YankeeCook

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