Basic Vegan Shortbread Recipe

 I like to have basic recipes that I can easily alter and add to. Especially when it comes to cookies, because then I can tailor them to a holiday or season or even just my mood. There are a million different cookie moods, am I right? This recipe is not only super simple, it makes a great base recipe for shortbread that you can use for endless flavor combinations.

I love shortbread as a vehicle for garden flavors because it isn't too sweet to handle herb combinations, but you can easily dive into sweet as well. It's basically a perfect base cookie to let your imagination run wild with. And imagination in the kitchen, is one of my main goals during any type of cooking or backing. Kitchen work is an artform, poured out from love for the people we cook for and the food we use as our palette. Having a set of good, tried and true base recipes, gives us the canvas for that art. 

This is also a great recipe for very young children to help with because it is so simple. The dough is easy to roll out and not too sticky so little hands can be welcomed without too much concern for mess or the need to concentrate on a long list of ingredients and measurements. I have had my children in the kitchen with me since they were teeny, tiny little things and have been rewarded with teens and preteens who are not only comfortable in the kitchen, but happy to be there. So, if you have very tiny tykes, this is a great recipe to get them involved and grow their own love of working with food.

On a final note, this recipe is easy to make swaps to. You can easily swap out gluten-free flour, swerve confectioners sugar for traditional sugar, and swap different extracts for different flavors. Experiment. It's how the best kitchen creations come into being, after all. 

Basic Vegan Shortbread

Makes approximately 3 dozen little cookies

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cups powdered sugar

1 1/4 cup vegan butter (softened)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 325 and line two baking trays with parchment paper.

2. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour and powdered sugar, then add in the butter and vanilla, mixing on low to medium speed until the dough is well blended. You can also simply stir them together. The dough may look slightly crumbly but it will come together well when you squeeze it together with your hands. The butter makes the dough slightly greasy so it doesn't stick to your hands.

3. Place a sheet of parchment paper down on the counter and lightly dust it with flour. Place half the dough down on the floured parchment paper and roll it out to about 1/3 of an inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the shape of your choosing. You can get creative here for making a seasonally or holiday themed cookie. Place cut out cookies onto the parchment lined baking trays.

4. Bake for 12-15 minutes, just until the bottom is lightly golden. Allow cookies to cool for five minutes on the tray before moving them to a cooling rack.

Notes

The parchment paper really helps you be able to get the cookies to the baking tray without breaking them. I lift the parchment paper and peel the cookie off. Parchment paper on the baking sheet not only makes for easier cleanup, but also helps ensure even cooking of your cookies.

Variation Ideas

Strawberry Basil: Swap vanilla extract for strawberry extract and add 1 tsp of dried basil leaves to dough.

Lemon Lavender: Add 1 tsp dried lavender buds and the zest of 1 lemon.

Cinnamon Maple: Add 1 tsp cinnamon and swap the vanilla for maple extract.