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Utterly delectable, super-easy, 4-ingredient chickpea flour shortbread cookies that are grain-free, vegan, and can be varied in countless ways! The primary ingredients are chickpea flour and coconut oil.
Table of Contents
- Easy Grain-Free Vegan Shortbread
- The Multiple Benefits of Chickpea Flour Shortbread Cookies
- How to Make Chickpea Flour Shortbread
- Press and Quick-Chill the Dough
- Cut the Dough Into Pieces
- Vary the Shortbread with Different Flavors
- More Chickpea Flour Cookies to Love:
- Chickpea Flour Shortbread Cookies {4-ingredients, Vegan, Grain-Free} Recipe
Easy Grain-Free Vegan Shortbread
I love shortbread. LOVE. The simplicity, the delicate yet substantial texture, and the subtle sweetness.
I also have a mindset that the world cannot have too many shortbread recipes.
So welcome this new cookie to the shortbread universe: My Chickpea Flour Shortbread Cookies, made with ease and only 4 ingredients.
They are stellar.
Tea + one of these cookies = cozy happiness
The Multiple Benefits of Chickpea Flour Shortbread Cookies
These fantastic cookies are:
- Grain-Free
- Vegan (dairy-free & egg-free)
- Gluten-free
- Made with 4 humble ingredients (chickpea flour, sugar, virgin coconut oil, and vanilla)
- Super simple to make
How to Make Chickpea Flour Shortbread
Here’s the extent of the dough-making: (1) combine the chickpea flour & sugar in a large bowl (along with salt, if using); (2) stir in the melted coconut oil and vanilla until blended. Done. No mixers, no creaming, no worries about over-beating. The dough will be thick, smooth, and pliable.
Press and Quick-Chill the Dough
The next steps ensure even, precise pieces. Line a 9-inch (22.5 cm) square baking pan with wax paper, parchment paper, or plastic wrap. I use two pieces to line the pan in both directions, leaving long stretches of overhang on all sides. Press the dough into the pan, folding in the overhang to help distribute the dough and smooth the top.
Further, I place a smaller pan on top to smooth and tamp down the dough.
Once the dough is smooth, place the pan in the freezer until completely firm. This is very important. It should take 15 minutes, but possibly longer (depending on your freezer).
If you plan on making the dough several hours, or a day ahead, of baking, place the pan in the refrigerator rather than the freezer.
Cut the Dough Into Pieces
Use the pan liner to lift the dough from the pan onto a cutting board. You can cut the dough in just about any shape you like. I chose to cut the dough into 32 rectangles. Place half of the pieces on a parchment-lined baking sheet (place the remaining pieces in the refrigerator) and bake!
Tip: Do not leave the dough pieces out while the oven is preheating! They need to stay completely cold until they hit the oven.
Chilling the dough keeps the pieces from spreading, and the low temperature (300F) allows for slow, even browning.
Begin checking the shortbread at the earliest time I suggest. The pieces will be light golden brown, but not too dark at the edges.
You are going to love this shortbread, friends!
Get ready to fall in love with the flavor of chickpea flour in these cookies. It is akin to toasted nuts; vanilla (and perhaps a pinch of salt) is all that is needed to further enhance the flavor.
Keep in mind, too, that you can use refined (no coconut flavor) or unrefined virgin coconut oil (natural coconut flavor) to affect the flavor–it is great either way.
Vary the Shortbread with Different Flavors
The options for variation are vast, so go to town adding spices, citrus zests, extracts, dried fruit, chocolate chips or chunks, nuts, and more to create your own unique twists. I’ll be posting my own favorite variation in a subsequent post!
Happy Baking!
More Chickpea Flour Cookies to Love:
- Double Chocolate Chickpea Flour Cookies {vegan, grain-free}
- Chickpea Flour Biscotti {vegan, grain-free}
- Chickpea Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies {vegan, grain-free}
Chickpea Flour Shortbread Cookies {4-ingredients, Vegan, Grain-Free}
Ingredients
- 1 cup 216 g virgin coconut oil (see notes for options)
- 3/4 cup 150 g cane sugar (see notes for options)
- 2 teaspoons 10 mL vanilla extract
- 2 and 1/2 cups, 300 g chickpea flour, sifted if lumpy
- Optional: 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, highly recommended
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir the melted coconut oil, sugar and vanilla until completely blended. Add the chickpea flour and (optional) salt, stirring until completely blended.
- Press dough evenly into prepared pan; use a second pan to firmly tamp down and smooth the dough. Place in freezer until VERY firm (anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 hour, depending on your freezer.).
- Preheat the oven to 300F (150C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove dough from pan using the liner. Place on a cutting board and cut into 32 rectangles (8×4) or desired shapes. Place half of the pieces on prepared baking sheet, spacing 2-inches apart (Do not leave the peices sitting out while oven finishes preheating! Place back in freezer. Also, lace remaining dough back into freezer).
- Bake in the preheated oven for 21 to 25 minutes until light golden brown and firm to the touch
- Remove from the oven and cool completely on the baking sheet.
Notes
Nutrition
So so delicious!! I’ve made these plenty of times thus far while also adding different ingredients at times like nuts or chocolate chips, and the recipe is so versatile with such simple ingredients!! Comes out perfectly every time 🙂
I am so happy to know that you love the recipe, Abby! I love shortbread for the same reason, so simple but endlessly variable with different flavors and mix-ins. Cheers 😉
Wonderful cookies, thank you! I added some shredded tangerine peel, so good!
This turned into my go-to Christmas cookie recipe since it suited the dietary needs of everyone on my list. It is easy to change the flavor. I made the vanilla version but also a mixed spice version, a lemon version (lots of finely shredded lemon peel) and some poppyseeds), and a brown sugar cinnamon batch. They are melt in your mouth delicious!
Could I make this in a standard or mini size muffin tin. Like your breakfast cookies? I love the size of those and the simplicity of them.
Hi Natalia,
Yes, certainly! The walls of the muffin cups will help keep the shape of the shortbread. You will have to play around with times–I have not tested it in the tins.
I am in love with these cookies. I found them over a year ago on your website, before Christmas. I have coeliac disease and have recently had issues with many nuts and seeds, too, so chickpea flour is an excellent ingredient for me. To others getting used to chickpea flour: I find that I can add many different flavors. Coconut sugar or other dark sugars, lots of citrus zest, spices, and vanilla paste. Thank you for all that you do on your wesbite.
I am so glad that you found the recipe, Renae, and that it works so well for your dietary needs. Thank you so much for sharing your tips to other readers regarding enhancing the flavor of the cookies!
Would these work as “cookies” if I make them in 6 hole muffin tins?
Hi Natalia,
Yes, that should work nicely. But I would only make a 1/2 batch for the 6 holes. 🙂
Unfortunately mine were a major disaster. Left them in the fridge overnight and they looked perfect when placed on the baking tray. But during the cooking process they just melted into one big blob. Guess I will have to try again.
Hi Elisabeth,
Oh no, Im so sorry to hear that the cookies did not turn out. They should definitely not form into a blob. Do you mind me asking what type of fat you used? Also, you baked at the low temp (300F), correct? Trying to figure what could have gone awry.
Thank you for this recipe! This was a great template for a new creation that I am going to continue to play with. Due to sensitivities and eating low-sugar, I made adjustments. I only had liquid sweeteners on-hand, so I took your advice from another comment and made drop cookies with 1/3 of the recipe. I used 1 tbsp. each molasses and agave, plus a flax egg, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. ground ginger, a healthy pinch of cloves, and a handful of shredded coconut. Baked them about 13 minutes at 350. They are SO good! They also stayed together pretty well. I am thinking I’d like to try the shortbread version only with honey next time…
Hi Mandy! Go you, I am so glad you decided to try these with what you had on hand (also: hooray for small batch baking! Glad you did that). Your cookies sound wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing your tips and experiences with the recipe so others can benefit from your experimenting 🙂
I’ve been making these at Christmas for years now— perfect and always a hit at parties of gor gifting. I’ll add chopped dried cranberries and orange peel, or mixed spices, or dunk half in dark chocolate.
I made the with coconut oil and a monkfruit blend made for baking. I added 2 tablespoons of extra chickpea flour to make up for the volume lost from the sugar (Ive learned that hack from other times I’ve swapped out sugar for monkfruit in baked goods). They came out perfect! I added ground ginger and drizzled the finished cookies with melted dark chocolate. Perfect holiday treats!
Hello, can this recipe be made with maple syrup as a sugar substitute?
Thank you!
Hi Harley,
Gosh, I’m not sure. I definitely think it is possible (replace with an equal amount of maple syrup), but you may need to tweak things a little bit to make up for the added moisture. It might work better as drop cookies (i.e., use a cookie scoop to drop into rounds, chill, and then bake). I would love to know if you give it a try (perhaps try a tiny batch first: make 1/3 size (1/3 the amount of each ingredient).
These were delicious. I halved the recipe but they came out crumbly and didn’t stay formed. Do you think this is because I halved it Instead? I left in the freezer for around 45 mins. Please could you recommend what I can do to prevent this. This is my first chickpea biscuit recipe I’ve made and they taste yummy thank you!!
Hi Cher,
Yay, I am glad you gave chickpea flour cookies a try! Question: did your cookies (dough, and formed shapes) look like the photos? Or was the dough crumbly before forming them? The shortbread should be pleasantly tender, but not crumbly, so I am wondering if perhaps too much chickpea flour was added. Di you measure with weight or with cups?
Could I add cranberries and orange zest to these shortbread cookies?
Hi Sarah— yes, most definitely! You can customize these just as you might with traditional shortbread. 😊
These are DIVINE!! Mine do not look as neat & pretty as yours, but they’re still delicious. I used brown sugar instead of cane sugar, so the shortbread has a slight caramelized flavor, too. These shortbread are now in my cookie repertoire!
🥰🥰🥰
These are so easy and so good
Great Jin! So glad you like them!
From my two children (both coeliac) and me and and hubs, THANK YOU for this recipe!
they are delicious!
A wonderful cookie recipe! This is my first time using chickpea flour for sweets, I am convinced. Thank you for the recipe.
Camilla! You are my Xmas recipe angel. Made this today for the holiday morning and wow….really wonderful. Thank You sooooo much! My mom would make shortbread every year and I never knew how much i was missing it, but now won’t have too. My pan was a bit bigger and i used coconut sugar so they are a little thinner and darker colored than the picture…And i added a tsp of lemon extract which was nice. also, I tried a slice of batter out of the freezer , and left some frozen to eat later because….hello tasty nutty flavored freezer fudge ! Well done on this recipe, a lifetime keeper for me, I’m so appreciative . Merry Christmas !
Thank you for one of the best Christmas presents, Cara!!! So happy that these were a success and thanks so much for taking the time to write 🙂