Gluten Free Raspberry Glazed Shortbread Cookies

That special day is right around the corner, and no matter who or what you spend it with (a partner, a puppy, a good book, or just yourself!), you most certainly deserve something packed with punchy raspberry notes and crumbling with browned butter and sugar. And in that spirit, here are probably the cutest cookies I’ve made thus far. I’ve never been a big sugar cookie person, and definitely not a glazed sugar cookie person, though I’ll admire the handiwork of a good glazer any day. Despite what I deemed a lackluster appeal of these simple cookies, they’re absolutely worth having in your repertoire and are sometimes the perfect pick me up on a dreary day. These ones happen to rely on a gluten free shortbread base, instead of the normal sugar cookie one, because I happen to love shortbread. And, after being inspired by the baking endeavors of a friend in Dublin (no, not that Dublin, Dublin, California), the raspberry + grapefruit combo was the choice of the hour. Ultimately, the grapefruit in the glaze acts more as a blended support of the inherent tang in the freeze dried raspberries, but it’s necessary nonetheless!

Cookies dropped to a dangerous low on my list of favorite gluten free treats after countless failed attempts to create a decent chocolate chip one (for those of you new to gluten free baking, the mix of different flours often has a distinct flavor that, unless masked by stronger elements like chocolate or fruit, comes through quite strongly). Every year I’d pluck up the courage to try again, this time adding more butter or different types of sugars, or cream of tartar, all to miserable effect of the same off-flavor, plain, not-crunchy, not-chewy chocolate chip cookie. So, this former favorite of mine and I parted ways and I focused on more rewarding gluten free baking results: Swiss rolls and muffins and brownies and milk-based treats like ice cream and flan and creme brûlée. BUT, with the discovery of browned butter and an injection of courage, I attempted cookies again for the first time in ages, just a few months ago. I now have the pistachio snow cookies, some incredible chocolate hazelnut cookies, browned butter pecan shortbread cookies, and now these! The Valentines-day-inspired raspberry glazed gluten free shortbread cookies. Here’s to revisiting old loves and developing new ones. Happy Valentines Day everyone, spend it doing things that bring you joy! For my part, this will include making and eating incredible food with people I love.

Print Recipe

4.34 from 3 votes

Gluten Free Raspberry Glazed Shortbread Cookies

Raspberry glazed brown butter shortbread cookies

Prep Time40 minutes mins

Cook Time17 minutes mins

Chilling time45 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Keyword: cookies, glazed, raspberry, shortbread, valentines day

Servings: 36 cookies

Calories: 100kcal

Author: Amelia Farber

Equipment

• Cookie sheet
• Parchment paper
• Plastic wrap

Ingredients

For the shortbread:

• 1 1/2 Cup browned butter instructions below
• 3/4 Cup white sugar
• 1/4 Cup powdered sugar
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 Cup arrowroot starch
• 3 Cups gluten free 1-1 flour with xanthan gum
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp powdered freeze dried raspberries (blitz up a bag of freeze dried raspberries and de-seed powder)

For the glaze:

• 1 Cup powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp fresh grapefruit juice plus 1 teaspoon
• 2 tsp powdered freeze dried raspberries (de-seeded)

Instructions

• First, brown the butter. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt all of the butter and stir constantly until melted and simmering. Continue to simmer, on medium heat, for at least a few minutes, until the popping and hissing sounds have completely subsided (this is the water in the butter burning off – you’ll know once it’s silent). Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the butter reaches a deep amber color and smells nutty or caramelly. Once it reaches that color, immediately take off the burner and let sit until cool. Once cool, pour into a small bowl and chill in the fridge until it’s firm but not hard (essentially, the same softness as room temp butter).
• Once your butter is firmed up to room-temp texture, make the cookies! In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the brown butter, white sugar, powdered sugar, and vanilla until lighter and fluffy. Toss in the flour, starch, raspberry powder, and salt, and stir together using a spatula or wooden spoon until completely combined. The dough should be dry and stiff – if it seems too loose, add more flour, if it seems too dry (not clumping together) add a few small cubes of cold butter and knead in with your hands. Separate the dough into two chunks and roll each one into a cylindrical or square log, about 2-inches in diameter (the slices of these logs will be your cookies, so make them the shape you want!). Wrap each log tightly with plastic wrap and let chill in the fridge for at least 45 minutes.
• Once the logs are chilled, remove from fridge and let come to nearly room temp (about 20 minutes), then preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Lightly grease the parchment paper and then unwrap the logs and slice 1/2 inch-thick cookies to place on the tray. They should not spread, so you can place the slices fairly close together. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until the edges are very lightly golden (they should not brown). Let cool completely before eating or serving (or they will fall apart).
• While the cookies are cooling, make the glaze. in a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, powdered raspberries, and grapefruit juice. Stir together vigorously with a fork until all lumps are gone and a smooth glaze remains. If the glaze is too thick to spread on a cookie, add a bit more grapefruit juice.
• Once the cookies are cool, spoon a 1/2 teaspoon of glaze onto a cookie and carefully spread it to the edges (or however you want it to look!). Once cookies are glazed, let set, or serve!

Tag @sisterssansgluten on Instagram if you snap a photo of your shortbread cookies!

Food photography and styling by Amelia Farber