Gluten Free Chocolate Dipped Pecan Shortbread!
I recently learned that Shortbread is a traditional Scottish biscuit (cookie) made with simple ingredients: butter, sugar, and flour. It has a rich, crumbly texture and a slightly sweet, buttery flavor! It is the base concept of a HUGE variety of favorite holiday cookies! It dates all the way back to the 12th century, The name “shortbread” comes from the word short, which refers to the crumbly texture that comes from using a high proportion of fat (usually butter) to flour.
I have quite a few shortbread based cookies here in the club!
This is the latest and greatest! I was on a big pistachio kick this year!! Its one of my favorite nuts in general (I live for a good bowl of pistachio ice cream!!) but for Christmas cookies they add a nice little hint of green! I love how this recipe turned out- they are not just festive but they have a great flavor too! This is a great begginer recipe if you have limited experience making cookies.
Better Batter Gluten Free Orginal Blend
This flour blend continues to amaze me. It can do so many things better than most other blends that I have tried. As a result its extremely popular. Lately I have been ordering it from the Better Batter website directly. When they sell out- they tend to restock pretty quickly. Check back within a day or two if they are sold out when you look. I buy it in bulk now (20 lbs at a time) as I cant risk running out. I use it in too many recipes that we love.
What if you cant get your hands on it? This may be the case if you live outside the US. My friend Nichole from Gluten Free on a Shoestring has figured out a mock recipe for better batter. Her version should work great in this recipe! The owner (Naomi) of better batter has confirmed that the mix is similar to the official version.
Better Batter so kindly offered me a 30% off promo code to share with all of you! This can be used as often as you would like for every single purchase made directly on BetterBatter.com Use the code: BakingAngell30
To get a nice clean cut for these cookies I do two things:
Soak the pistachio nuts to soften them & Freeze the dough for about two hours! As long as you use a relatively sharp knife the nuts will slice straight through without getting snagged in the dough!
Gluten Free Chocolate Dipped Pecan Shortbread!
Ingredients
- 1 cup Pistachio Nuts Shelled
- 10 Tbsp Salted Butter slightly softened (Or Vegan Butter) *Earth balance buttery sticks recommended
- 196 grams (About 3/4 cup) Organic Cane Sugar
- 1 Large Egg
- 230 grams Better Batter Original Blend
- 1/2 Tsp Salt
- 1 1/2 cups Dark Chocolate Chips (regular or dairy free)
- 2 1/2 Tsp Coconut Oil
Instructions
- Place the Pistachios in a bowl of warm water and allow them to soak 30-60 minutes. Drain them and then rub them dry using paper towels or a kitchen towel. I do this to remove as much of the exterior skin as possible resulting in beautifully bright green nuts. (Soaking them- softens them so that they slice really nicely when cutting the cookies into rounds!) Make sure they are fully dry and set aide.
- Add to the bowl of a stand mixer (Or in a large bowl using a hand mixer) the slightly softened butter and cane sugar. Mix on high for 1 minute - wiping down the sides of the bowl once halfway through. Add in the egg and beat another 30 seconds.
- Add in the flour and salt. Mix until a smooth batter forms!
- Pour in the pistachios and mix briefly until incorporated.
- Divide the dough in half. Create two logs of dough about 2 inches in diameter each. Wrap them in plastic wrap tightly and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours or up to overnight!
- When its time to bake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment. Using a sharp knife slice the logs to make 1/2 inch (or around that size) round cookies. Place them on the cookie sheets- evenly spread out giving them a little room to spread. (They won't spread much! Just a little).
- Bake one sheet at a time- 16-17 minutes. The bottom edges will be lightly golden brown and the cookies will be baked through. (They will remain light in color on the top of the cookie!)
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before handling.
- Make the chocolate sauce: Add to a microwave safe bowl the chocolate chips & coconut oil. Microwave for one minute and stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds and stir some more. At this point it'll be close to fully melted and smooth when mixed or close to being at this point. It can be placed back in the oven for another 30 second interval as needed. Whisk until the chocolate is completely smooth.
- Dip half of each shortbread cookie into the melted chocolate. Place on parchment so that the chocolate can set!
- These cookies can be stored room temperature, in the fridge or in the freezer!