These Paleo Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies are gluten free, grain free, and are full of buttery flavor. They have the perfect slightly crumbly texture and make a great addition to your holiday cookie lineup or to a cup of coffee!
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- One bowl cookie recipe - I love a quick and easy one bowl cookie recipe! This recipe comes together quickly with just one bowl and a few simple ingredients. This Paleo Double Chocolate Chip Banana Bread is another one bowl favorite!
- Buttery ghee - The ghee in this recipe really gives these cookies a delicious buttery taste that reminds me of danish butter cookies. Crumble these cookies up and serve them over these Smoked Peaches for a really delicious treat.
- Gluten free and grain free cookies - These almond flour shortbread cookies are gluten and grain free without sacrificing on texture or flavor! Your family would never even know it! These Chocolate Cupcakes are another gluten-free and grain-free favorite!
- Paleo holiday cookie - These cookies are perfect for the holiday baking season! They are quick, easy, and delicious. If you’re looking for more holiday paleo baking recipes give these ones a try: Vegan Snickerdoodles, Paleo Pumpkin Pecan Pie Bars, Paleo Magic Cookie Bars.
What are Shortbread Cookies?
Traditionally, shortbread is a Scottish biscuit made from three simple ingredients: sugar, butter, and flour. They have a not too sweet buttery flavor and are named for their crumbly texture.
Paleo shortbread cookies swap maple syrup for sugar, ghee for butter, and a mix of almond flour and tapioca flour for regular flour. They maintain the traditional buttery taste with a chewy yet crumbly texture.
Ingredients Needed
Ingredient Notes
- Blanched Almond Flour - Make sure it’s almond flour and not almond meal!
- Tapioca Flour - Also labeled as tapioca starch.
- Ghee - While the ghee is what gives these cookies a delicious buttery flavor, it can also be substituted for coconut oil.
- Paleo Chocolate - This is optional for dipping or drizzling. Hu Chocolate makes delicious paleo compatible chocolate “gems” which are perfect for this recipe! I will also use Enjoy Life brand chocolate and while it is dairy free, this chocolate uses cane sugar so it is not technically paleo compliant.
How To Make This Recipe: Step by Step
- Combine almond flour and tapioca flour in a medium sized bowl.
- Add in ghee, maple syrup, and almond extract and mix well using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
- Fold in pecans. The dough should be thick and sticky.
- Shape the dough into a 12 inch log on a piece of parchment paper and wrap the log tightly with the paper.
- Place the cookie dough log in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Remove cookie dough from freezer and cut into 24 equal cookies (½ inch pieces).
- Place on cookie sheets 2 inches apart and bake at 350F for 12-14 minutes just until cookies are lightly browned. Allow cookies to cool completely before serving.
- If desired, place chocolate and coconut oil in microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each increment, until melted and smooth.
- Drizzle or dip cookies in chocolate and place on a cooling rack for chocolate to set.
- Enjoy!
Recipe FAQ's
Yes! After shaping the dough into a log, it can be frozen wrapped in parchment paper for up to 24 hours. For longer freezing periods place the dough in a ziplock bag, while wrapped in parchment paper, and remove the air from the bag.
To thaw leave on the counter for 20 minutes (depending on how warm your kitchen is) until it is still cold and firm but not too difficult to slice into cookies.
The cookies store great in an airtight container on the countertop or up to one week!
I love dipping or drizzling these cookies with chocolate, but they are also great to decorate with your favorite sprinkles! Simple use your finger to rub a tiny bit of water onto the cookie prior to baking and sprinkling to help the sprinkles stick!
The first and most important reason you want to chill your cookie dough is for flavor! Chilling the dough allows all of the flavors to marinade together making your cookies even more delicious.
In addition, chilling cookies allows the fat to chill which keeps the cookies from spreading to quickly upon going into the oven.
More Paleo Baking
Love this recipe? Consider leaving a 5-star 🌟 rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. We LOVE to hear from you!
📖 Recipe
Paleo Pecan Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 Cups Blanched Almond Flour
- ½ Cup Tapioca Flour
- ⅔ Cup Ghee melted
- ½ Cup Pure Maple Syrup
- ½ tsp Almond Extract
- ½ Cup Pecans very finely chopped
Chocolate Coating (Optional)
- 1 Cup Chocolate Chips see notes
- 1 tsp Coconut Oil
Instructions
- Combine almond floured tapioca flour in a medium sized bowl.
- Add in ghee, maple syrup, and almond extract and mix well using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
- Fold in pecans. The dough should be thick and sticky.
- Shape the dough into a 12 inch log on a piece of parchment paper and wrap the log tightly with the paper. Place the cookie dough log in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Remove cookie dough from freezer and cut into 24 equal cookies (½ inch pieces).
- Place on cookie sheets 2 inches apart and bake at 350F for 12-14 minutes just until cookies are lightly browned. The cookies will be soft coming out of the oven, allow them to cool completely before dipping or serving.
- If desired, place chocolate and coconut oil in microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each increment, until melted and smooth.
- Drizzle or dip cookies in chocolate and place on a cooling rack for chocolate to set. Enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure you're using blanched almond flour and not almond meal!
- Tapioca flour may also be labeled as tapioca starch.
- While the ghee is what gives these cookies a delicious buttery flavor, it can also be substituted for coconut oil.
- Hu Chocolate makes delicious paleo compatible chocolate “gems” which are perfect for this recipe! I will also use Enjoy Life brand chocolate and while it is dairy free, this chocolate uses cane sugar so it is not technically paleo compliant.
- These cookies store great in an airtight container on the countertop or up to one week!
- To make ahead of time: After shaping the dough into a log, it can be frozen wrapped in parchment paper for up to 24 hours. For longer freezing periods place the dough in a ziplock bag, while wrapped in parchment paper, and remove the air from the bag.
- I love dipping or drizzling these cookies with chocolate, but they are also great to decorate with your favorite sprinkles. Simply use your finger to rub a tiny bit of water onto the cookie prior to baking and sprinkling to help the sprinkles stick.
The texture was super comparable to the original shortbreads! Also moist and dense when you bit into them! We went overboard with the chocolate (because kids) and decorated them different with holiday sprinkles, but they were very good! I think you definitely need to go into baking paleo, whole 30 and GF, with an open mind because we’re so used to eating the ‘opposite way’ so the flavor isn’t going to be the exact same.
The directions were easy to follow!