Glazed Gluten Free Chocolate Shortbread with Cacao Nibs
Deeply chocolately shortbread with a crunch of cacao nibs and coffee and chocolate glaze
Servings: 36 cookies
Calories: 250kcal
Equipment
- Cookie sheets
- Parchment paper
- Plastic wrap
- Electric mixer
Ingredients
For the shortbread:
- 1 1/2 Cup salted butter room temperature
- 1 Cup white sugar
- 1/4 Cup powdered sugar
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 Cup arrowroot starch
- 2 1/2 Cups gluten free 1-1 flour mix with xanthan gum in it (if your mix does not contain xanthan gum, add 1/2 tsp of it now)
- 1/2 Cup good quality dutched cocoa powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp espresso powder
- 1/2 Cup cacao nibs
For the chocolate glaze:
- 1 Cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 1/4 Cup cocoa powder
- pinch salt
- dash vanilla extract
For the coffee glaze:
- 1 1/4 Cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 1 tsp instant coffee granules
- pinch salt
- dash vanilla extract
Instructions
- First, make your shortbread! This will need to chill before baking. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter and white sugar on medium high speed for 2-3 minutes until lighter and fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar, espresso powder, vanilla, salt, and cocoa powder and continue to beat until fully combined and smooth. Then, using a spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the arrowroot starch and gluten free flour mix - it will be very stiff and hard to mix but you want it to be a ball of dough - not runny or wet. If it doesn't seem dry enough, add a bit more flour. Add in the cacao nibs and stir in as best you can.
- Then, separate the dough into two equal chunks, and pat/form them into logs. I place each chunk on a large sheet of plastic wrap and roll/form them into square logs, then wrap tightly with the plastic wrap and place in the fridge to firm up/chill for at least an hour (you can leave them in overnight as well).
- Once the logs are chilled, preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit and lightly grease two cookie sheets. Line the sheets with parchment paper and grease again with butter or cooking spray, then set aside. Remove logs from the fridge and unwrap, then carefully sliced 1cm/1/3 inch sections to create your shortbread cookies, placing them about an inch and a half apart on your prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 17-19 minutes or until dry and firm to the touch. Let cool completely before glazing or eating.
- While the cookies are cooling, make your glazes! These are entirely optional too - the cookies are great on their own! Using two cereal bowls and a fork or small whisk, make the glaze or glazes. For the coffee glaze, combine the powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla. In a smaller bowl, stir together the instant coffee and milk until the granules are completely dissolved. Pour the milk+coffee into the powdered sugar and stir until smooth. Add more powdered sugar for a thicker glaze (thicker is better so it won't run off of your cookies).
- Then make the chocolate glaze. In the second cereal bowl, combine all glaze ingredients and whisk/stir until smooth. Again, add more powdered sugar if needed for a stiffer glaze. Then either scoop glazes into a piping bag with an 1/8 inch piping tip/cut on the tip, or use a spoon to spread glaze over cookies. I topped mine with Black Lives Matter sprinkles from Sprinkle Robot (you can find them on Etsy!). Serve with or without glaze, with mixed glaze, or a few of each coffee glazed and chocolate glazed!