These soft Vanilla Shortbread Cookies (AIP/Paleo) are fragrant with vanilla and honey. Gluten free, dairy free, egg free, and no processed sugar!
Every year about this time, young girls in green dresses go door-to-door, selling their delicious cookies – and those of us on a healing diet weep. 😭 I mean, those cookies are sooooo goooood. I’ve been known to buy boxes of cookies, then give them to my family. And I’ve even been known to snitch some of them too, and that’s no bueno.
One kind they have that I just love is shortbread cookies. So simple. So addictive. You know I just had to make some for us! And it seemed right to make them with a good hit of vanilla.
About that vanilla…
My preferred brand of vanilla is Singing Dog. And guess what??? They’ve heard those of us with food sensitivities, and are creating an allergy-friendly recipe page on their site, partially populated by yours truly! Woo hoo!!!
When they asked me to create some recipes for them, I was totally on board. I love a creative challenge, and creating recipes in which vanilla is a major player was just that.
They sent me some things to try, including their new double strength vanilla extract. It was love at first sniff! In addition to having a heavenly fragrance, it allows us to get full vanilla flavor without disrupting the balance of liquid to dry ingredients.
I hope you will try it. For baking, it’s a game changer!
As for those cute little troopers selling their cookies, support them, by all means! Share the cookies with your family, then make yourself some that won’t derail your diet. (I have a version of the mint kind that I call Minty Thins. You can give those a try, too!)
Happy baking everybody! As usual, I am wishing you great love, and deep healing.
💗,
Wendi
P.S. Remember, if you want a VERY simple way to bake cookies, you can always get cookies mixes (they’re AIP friendly!) from my friends at Eat G.A.N.G.S.T.E.R. I’ve tried all three kinds, and they have NAILED it! Click here to check them out!
Vanilla Shortbread Cookies (AIP/Paleo)
Course: Treats and SnacksCuisine: AIP, PaleoDifficulty: Medium20
cookies20
minutes7
minutes2
minutesThese soft Vanilla Shortbread Cookies (AIP/Paleo) are fragrant with vanilla and honey. Gluten free, dairy free, egg free, and no processed sugar!
Ingredients
1/2 cup organic palm oil shortening
3 TBSP honey
2 tsp organic double strength vanilla extract
1 TBSP gelatin
1 TBSP room temperature water
2 TBSP hot (not boiling) water
3/4 cup cassava flour
1/4 cup arrowroot starch/flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350º F. In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening. Add honey and vanilla. Cream again.
- In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 1 tablespoon room temperature water, and whisk in gently. Add 2 TBSP hot water, and whisk vigorously until frothy. (This is your gelatin egg.) Add immediately to the shortening mixture, and cream it all together.
- In a separate bowl, gently combine the rest of the ingredients. Add these dry ingredients to the shortening mixture. Mix together to form a dough. (It will be slightly sticky.)
- Tablespoonful at a time (a one tablespoon cookie scoop is helpful here), gently roll dough into a ball, and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Then using the bottom of a measuring cup or glass, press each ball of dough to ½” thick. Bake for 7 minutes, or until golden. Allow cookies to cool on the sheet for a couple of minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Enjoy!
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Hello! Is it possible to add the gelatin to the dry ingredients? The gelatin clumped when I made these. Thanks! 😊
Hi, Jennifer! Hmm…that should not happen. You really do need the frothy gelatin egg. It sounds like one of two things happened: either the 2 TBSP hot water wasn’t hot enough (gelatin liquifies under heat), or it sat too long before it was added to the wet ingredients. It will begin to clump as it cools. Hope this helps! 🙂
Thank you! I’ll give it another try. I love your recipes, keep them coming!
Hi, Wendi! I want to make these tonight. Can I use single strength vanilla with a decent result till my double arrives?
Hi, Crista! I’m so happy to see you on here! 😀 You CAN use regular, but the taste is a bit bland. (I tried it.) I wouldn’t double it, though, because the dough would likely get too wet. Best bet, eat bland cookies until the double arrives! Wishing you WELL. 💗
Can this be made with regular strength vanilla?
Hi, Hillary! I tried it with regular, and it was “ok,” but it didn’t pop. I fear if the vanilla were doubled to 4 teaspoons, the dough would be too wet. I would say you CAN make it with regular (2 tsp), but the taste will be more bland. Your call! 🙂
do you think i could sub tigernut for cassava?
About the only AIP flour swap that I have found that works is arrowroot and tapioca. That said, you could try just a half batch to see if it works. I’m all for experimentation! Tigernut has a very different texture to cassava flour. It’s grittier. You’d probably get a yummy cookie, but the cookie itself will have a different texture. Sigh… sometimes I really miss regular ol’ all-purpose gluten-y flour!
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