Shortbread cookies are so simple yet so amazing. They were harder to make vegan years ago because there weren’t the great vegan butter options available now. We now have European style, unsalted, block and stick varieties all made from all different ingredients to suit your dietary needs. I’m also a big fan of Ted Lasso (if you know, you know) and there’s a ton of recipes out there replicating the shortbread featured in every episode but this one was shared by The Today Show and seems pretty legit. We’re just making it vegan!
Big caveat here. Use good dense vegan butter. I happened to use the new Trader Joe’s block style butter and it worked great. You need a thick dense almost European style butter and there are a few out there. If you can’t find those, use a stick vegan butter. Try to avoid butters from a tub as they usually have more water and it might affect the final bake.
There’s only a few ingredients in traditional shortbread (flour, butter, sugar) but it needs to chill and it needs to bake low and slow. There’s also a little salt and that’s pretty much it. Crazy how something so simple can be so addictive. No wonder it’s the unofficial biscuit of Britain. A few of these and a cupper and you’re ready for an episode of East Enders.
You can cut these into fingers or squares. Doesn’t really matter, they’ll taste delicious regardless. I do suggest cutting them before baking to make them easier to cut afterwards as they do tend to crack. If you forget it’s not the end of the world but I do recommend it. I hope you enjoy these maybe with a cup of tea? “If you would have told me that I’d be drinking tea at three o’clock every day… about a year ago… I would have punched you in the mouth.” – Ted Lasso
Easy Vegan Shortbread Cookies
16
servings1
hour55
minutesAn easy and super tasty vegan shortbread cookie!
Ingredients
1 cup good vegan butter, room temperature (see notes)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions
- Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the room temperature butter until light and fluffy about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the sugar gradually and beat well for a few more minutes.
- Add all the flour and salt and mix until we’ll combined.
- Butter or grease a 9×9 baking pan and press the dough evenly into the pan taking care to make sure it’s an even thickness. Refrigerate for at least and hour or preferably overnight.
- Starting in the center, cut in half then half again until you’ve got even fingers. You can really cut these into any size you’d like but a bite sized cookie is best.
- Preheat oven to 300°. Bake for 55 minutes to one hour. If they start to brown too much during baking, cover loosely with tin foil. They need to cook low and slow to be crisp. Cool completely then using a sharp knife, cut them again. Store in a container or in the fridge. These also freeze well just wrap tightly.
Notes
- When I say use a good vegan butter I mean a dense style or stick. Butter in a tub often has more water and is softer. There are European styles out there and block style vegan butters so look for those. Sticks will work as an alternate. If you happen to find an unsalted variety (they are out there!) up the amount of salt to 1/2 teaspoon.
- To make sure your powdered sugar is vegan, buy organic as laws prohibit the use of bone char.
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What butter did you use? (Brand)
Hi there! I mention it in the post. I used Trader Joe’s new vegan butter block. Miyokos, Earth Balance or Country Crock sticks should all work as well! Hope that helps!