GF Shortbread
1 1/3 cup rice flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup arrowroot
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. xanthan gum
2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 300.
In a small bowl mix together rice flour, arrowroot, salt, baking powder & xanthan gum. Stir together & set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine softened butter, sugar & vanilla. Cream together with electric mixer. Slowly add and mix in the dry ingredients, blending completely.
Once mixed, it will look like crumbs and you will wonder how in the world it will become cookies. If you've never made shortbread, it's like magic how it all comes together. Trust me, it will!
Once mixed, you can add various ingredients to make different types if shortbread. For pecan, I added about 1/2 cup of finely ground pecans to the mixture, stirred it in completely and they turned out perfectly.
Yum Yum Suggestions:
•1/4 cup finely ground nuts, pecans, walnuts, almonds, cashews; whatever you like. If adding almonds, substitute 1 tsp. almond extract for the vanilla extract
•1/4-1/2 cup chopped milk or dark chocolate, increase vanilla extract to 2 1/2 tsp
•1/2 cup chopped dried cherries, substitute 1 tsp. almond extract for the vanilla extract
•1/2 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut
After mixing in desired ingredients, grab a handful of the crumbly mixture and squeeze it into a flat ball, sort of like a hamburger patty. Don't try to roll out all of the dough at once. It will crumble apart and leave you super frustrated! Take it in small batches, a couple of handfuls at a time. The goal is a compressed patty that you can roll out without it falling apart.
Carefully press it together, pressing in around the edges to keep it from crumbling apart. Place the dough patty on a floured surface to roll out on.
Flatten the patty with your hand and then roll out to about 1/4" thickness. I turn the dough to roll it out in every direction. I also keep compressing in the sides, as to not get the edges too crumbly.
Roll to about 1/4" thickness then cut into desired shapes (I used small round cookie cutters). Bake at 300 for 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Enjoy!
