Dec 18, 2022

Vegan Shortbread - 3 Flavours

Updated: Jul 16

A rich, short and crumbly vegan-friendly shortbread. 3 different flavours. Perfect for Christmas or to give as a homemade gift.

Christmas is creeping closer and it feels like I have been baking (and eating) cookies non-stop. Last week I baked a variety of gingerbread biscuits and this week is all about shortbread. Three different flavoured shortbread to be exact: Chocolate & orange, coffee & hazelnut and double chocolate!

THE GIFT OF GIVING

Homemade gifts can be something special... well, most of the time.

I am sure we all have that special drawer or box somewhere in the house where one keeps all the kids drawings, handmade Christmas cards, some weird "statue" thing made out of melted beats (or something) or the latest kids crafting craze. Perhaps even a mix tape, even though you have gotten rid of your tape player many, MANY years ago. All of which one would feel too guilty to throw away.

Of course these are very precious gifts, but what is an acceptable time line to keep all these gifts before one can wave it a final goodbye? One might ask.

My husband thinks the next black bag collection day...but we won't tell anyone about that :)

This is why edible gifts are perfect! No stuffing them into that drawer and no need to hold on to them for as long as possible.

For you next homemade gift why not make a batch of these lovely biscuits

WRAP THEM UP

I found clear cellophane wrap with white snowflake patters on Amazon, which I bought specifically for gifts such as this. I fashioned a "cookie bag" out of the cellophane wrap, stacked a selection of different biscuit flavours inside it and tied it up with a bow. Simple, yet effective.

OTHER IDEAS

Add a selection of these to a cookie gift box.

Use royal icing to write the name of your guest on a cookie and use as a place card at your Christmas dinner party.

Wrap individually or in smaller portions as little party favours.

One of the great things about these biscuits is how easy they are to make. The "base" of the recipe is basically sugar, vegan butter and flour. The rest of the flavours is up to you.

EASY RECIPE TO REMEMBER

We refer to these as the 1 - 2 - 3 biscuits. If you double the recipe (as I like doing) it is 100g castor sugar, 200g vegan butter and 300g plain flour. Ok yes, so technically it is 100 - 200 - 300, but either way. - an easy way to remember.

You can use the simple base as it is or add any flavours you want. These are the flavours I added:

THE FLAVOURS

CHOCOLATE ORANGE

As you might know by now, this is one of my favourite flavour combinations. Add these flavours with chopped dark chocolate pieces and fresh orange zest. Delicious!

COFFEE & HAZELNUT

This is a wonderful flavour combination for these biscuits. I made a paste with instant coffee and hot water and added some chopped hazelnuts. Finish optionally with a chocolate drizzle or dip in dark chocolate and sprinkle with a few more chopped hazelnuts.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE

Is there really such a thing as too much chocolate? Add some cacao powder and a few chocolate chips or chunks... Divine! If you are using cacao powder I recommend using 1 tbsp less flour (the cacao is basically replacing the flour).

OTHER FLAVOUR IDEAS

Vegan white chocolate and cranberries or freeze-dried raspberries
Chai spices
Dried lavender
Earl grey
Ginger and orange zest
Lemon zest & poppyseed
Keep them plain, but add sprinkles

TO START BAKING YOU WILL NEED

castor sugar (I have not tried these with coconut sugar yet, but am very keen to try that soon!)
vegan butter, unsalted
plain white flour
a pinch of salt (optional)

FOR THE ADDED FLAVOURS

cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably organic
vegan dark chocolate, finely chopped or chocolate chips
orange zest
instant coffee powder
hazelnuts

TIPS TO MAKING GOOD SHORTBREAD

Use a good vegan butter. The taste and quality of it is important to the overall taste and texture. Here in the UK I use the vegan block from Naturli. It is certified organic and does not contain any palm oil.

Make sure the butter is at room temperature before whisking.

Whisk the vegan butter and sugar together until fluffy. I recommend using an electronic whisk for this.

Do not overwork the dough as you don't want the butter to warm up as this will result in the dough getting sticky and too soft. Another reason to not overwork the dough is as it will put the gluten in action. Gluten is what stretches out and makes chewy bread or cookies – and you definitely don't want it working on your shortbread dough.

Chilling the dough before cutting and baking is very important. Chill the dough in the fridge for at least an hour.

These are best fresh, but store any left-overs in an airtight container. at room temperature.

Makes: 8 cookies (depending on the size of the cookies)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Chilling time: at least 1 hour

Baking time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE BISCUITS

50g caster sugar
100g vegan butter (unsalted) at room temperature
150g plain flour, sieved
Pinch salt

FOR CHOCOLATE- ORANGE FLAVOUR

30g finely chopped dark chocolate
zest from 1/2 large orange

FOR COFFEE & HAZELNUT

1 tbsp instant coffee mixed into paste with 1/2 -1 tsp hot water.
1 - 2 tbsp chopped hazelnuts

FOR DOUBLE CHOCOLATE*

1 tbsp cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp vegan dark chocolate chips/ roughly chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

Whisk the vegan butter and castor sugar with an electric whisk until fluffy.
Add half the flour (sieved) and mix with a wooden spoon or electric whisk until well incorporated.
Add rest of the flour and mix well using your hands. NOTE *If you are making the double chocolate I recommend adding 1 tbsp less flour as this will be "replaced" with the cacao powder. You can already add the cacao powder at this step.
Now add the flavour of your choice and mix again with your hands or wooden spoon until incorporate, but don’t overwork as we don’t want the butter to get warm (otherwise the dough will get sticky and soft and the cookies might have a chewy texture).
Using you hands roll and shape the dough into a large cylinder/sausage shape, about 4 or 5 cm in diameter thickness.
Roll and cover tightly in cling film and place in fridge for at least 1 hour to chill.
Once chilled preheat oven to 180c or 160c fan and prepare a baking tray.
Cut the dough into about 1 centimetre thick discs.
Place the cookies on the baking tray and bake for 15 - 20 min. The edges should start to golden, but the top should stay pale.
Let them cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Decorate to your liking : drizzle with melted chocolate, chopped nuts, sprinkles, etc.
Store in an airtight container

HAVE YOU MADE THIS?

If you have, I would love to see your creations on Instagram.

Make sure to leave a review below and give it a rating.

Don't forget to tag me on Instagram

@lychees_and_leggings and #lychees_and_leggings

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