Vegan Slice and Bake Shortbread Cookies (Gluten-Free Option)

These Vegan Slice and Bake Shortbread Cookies come in two flavours: cranberry-pistachio or chocolate-hazelnut and both are delicious. They are buttery, crunchy, sweet and crispy with a golden edge – perfect for holiday baking.

These cookies are a bit of a revelation to me. I have wanted to make slice and bake shortbread biscuits for a while now and the holiday season seemed like the perfect time. I chose to go with two festive but classic flavours that while they are great at Christmas, will be just as delicious throughout the year.

How amazing are these Vegan Slice and Bake Shortbread Cookies?

They are a delicious cookie and are so easy to make:

• Buttery and sweet
• Crunchy and crisp on the outside
• Tender in the middle
• Packed with nuts and dried fruits
• Coated in chocolate
• Easy to make
• Easy to slice
• Naturally vegan with gluten-free options
• Perfect for the holidays

These cookies are so delicious and I hope you will love them as much as we all do – they might be my new favourite cookie! Skip ahead to the recipe card to make these now or let’s see what goes into them.

What ingredients go into the cookies?

The basic cookie dough is simple, sometimes you can’t beat butter and sugar:

• Vegan butter: nothing beats it for these shortbread cookies so I suggest sticking to vegan butter. This is the block kind of butter as opposed to the spreadable variety.
• Caster sugar: to add the sweetness of cookie dough. You can swap this for coconut sugar although the overall cookie dough will be much darker in colour.
• Light brown sugar: to add a richness of flavour. You could swap this one for coconut sugar but the latter tends to be more coarse which isn’t ideal for cookie dough.
• Vanilla essence: for the cookie dough flavour.
• Plain or GF flour: this keeps the cookie dough super light and crisp. If you are using gluten-free flour, make sure it’s a blend that you usually bake with and that contains xantham gum to help bind the mix.
• Salt: to enhance all the flavours.
• Granulated or coconut sugar: this is for rolling the cookie dough logs in before slicing them so that when they bake they have a lovely golden crisp edge.

Simply blend, stir and combine the ingredients together for the cookie dough and then divide into two doughs to make the two flavours.

For the cranberry and pistachio cookies:

• Cranberries: dried and unsweetened are best. You could swap this for other dried fruits, if you like. Chop them slightly smaller, too, for neater cookies.
• Pistachios: chop them small to make slicing the dough easier and other nuts (or seeds) will also work.

As for the chocolate hazelnut cookies:

• Dark chocolate: use your favourite chocolate for the tastiest Vegan Slice and Bake Shortbread Cookies. Any dairy-free chocolate will work so you can try white or milk chocolate, too.
• Hazelnuts: most of the hazelnuts go inside the cookie dough but there is extra to sprinkle on top of the cookies when they are baked. These will also work with other nuts like pecans or cashews.

How to make these Vegan Slice and Bake Shortbread Cookies perfectly shaped?

There are no tricks to this cookie dough as long as you follow the recipe and method in order and allow the cookies enough time to chill.

• Make the dough: by beating and blending together all the ingredients:
• Fold in the flavours: to make the two separate doughs.
• Roll into logs: shape each ball of cookie dough into a solid log shape and wrap tightly with clingfilm.
• Chill: this is best either overnight in the fridge or for at least 2 hours. You can also freeze the cookie dough at this stage for 2-4 weeks and allow the logs to de-frost in the fridge overnight.
• Roll in the sugar: this creates the crisp exterior.
• Slice the log into cookies: use a sharp big knife to do this but you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how easy this is to do and how neat the cookies are. If pieces of nut do fall out, just press them back in.
• Bake the cookies: one tray at a time and keep the others in the fridge so the cookies keep their shape.
• Chill and decorate: make sure they are 100% cool before dipping into chocolate or decorating as you please.

Can I make these cookies with other flavours?

Yes, the base cookie dough recipe is really simple so you can adapt it as you please. Swap the nuts and dried fruits for an equal amount of other nuts, seeds, dried fruits, chocolate chunks for example.

Are these cookies gluten-free and nut-free?

To keep these cookies nut-free, swap the pistachios and hazelnuts for more dried fruits or chocolate or use seeds, instead. To make the Vegan Slice and Bake Shortbread Cookies gluten-free, use your favourite GF flour blend with xantham gum.

How long will these keep?

These cookies were a huge hit at home so they did not last very long at all, but they are good cookies to make for the holiday time as they keep well for up to 1 week at room temperature and as mentioned above, the cookie dough logs can be chilled ahead of time.

I love these cookies, what other festive recipes cookies can I make?

• Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies
• Vegan Eggnog Cupcakes with Eggnog Sugar Cookies
• Vegan Christmas Rocky Road
• Dark Chocolate Vegan Brownie Cookies
• Vegan Monster Cookies

I hope you will love these Vegan Slice and Bake Shortbread Cookies so please let me know what you think in the comments below. If you do bake them, I would love to see so please tag me in your bakes, I’mI’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With slice and bake love x