Can’t wait for the holidays, and you’re badly craving for gluten free shortbread cookies but can’t find them anywhere?
Here’s a mouth-watering recipe for chocolate ganache-filled gluten free butter cookies for you to enjoy anytime, 24/7.
Not Your Ordinary Gluten Free Shortbread Cookies
Here at Bakefree, we love to make our gluten and dairy free desserts differently so they look extraordinarily delicious.
There are plenty of shortbread biscuits or butter cookies out there. Most are square, rectangle, heart, or round and dipped in melted chocolate. We’re not going to do the same thing here.
Here’s what we’re going to make instead:
Stacked Dough. The idea is to place one dough layer on top of the other. The top layer must be punched with another cutter to make it hollow in the middle, where the chocolate ganache filling is placed.
Chocolate Ganache Filling. Most shortbread cookies are dipped in melted chocolate, but this recipe uses luscious chocolate ganache.
Play With Shapes. Making butter cookies can be fun by cutting them into different shapes with cookie cutters.
Vegan and Low-Sugar Options
If you want your gluten free shortbread cookies entirely vegan and very low on sugar, replace the shortbread dough with the low-sugar vegan shortcrust pastry recipe.
The chocolate ganache filling has no added sugar, so you can use it as is.
Ingredients & Substitutes
Gluten Free Flour—To make an excellent shortbread dough, use Shar gluten free bread flour. Caputo GF Bread flour is equally good but contains “gluten-free wheat,” which is unsuitable for anyone who can’t eat wheat products.
Dairy Free Butter—Flora+ butter is used in the recipe. Violife unsalted butter is the best other option. Both are soy, nut, gluten, and dairy-free.
Dark Chocolate – the robust, semisweet taste of Guanaja 70% works best for ganache filling. Pascha dark chocolate is best alternative.
Substitution Table
| Original Ingredients | Substitute With |
|---|---|
| Schar Gluten Free Bread Flour | King Arthur GF Bread Flour* or Caputo GF Bread Flour* |
| Flora + Vegan Butter | Violife Unsalted Dairy Free Butter |
| Guanaja Dark Chocolate (70%) | Pascha Dark Chocolate 85% |
| Alpro Whipping Cream | Califia Heavy Whipping Cream |
| *Contains GF wheat |
Step By Step Process
STEP 1 – Making Shortbread Dough
- Thoroughly mix all dry ingredients in a mixer bowl fitted with paddle attachment. Add the vegan butter and eggs. Mix on medium speed until the dough holds together.
- Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it with cling film, and refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Roll out the cold dough between two parchment papers with a thickness of about 3-4 mm (0.15 inch)
- Cut the cookies using a cookie cutter. Punch a hole in half of the cut cookies using a smaller cookie cutter. Stack the cut cookies in pairs with the punched cookie on top. Freeze the cookies for 15 minutes or refrigerate for an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F), then bake the frozen cookies for 14 to 18 minutes or until the edges turn golden. The exact baking time varies depending on the thickness and size of your cookies.
- Let the cookies cool completely.
STEP 2 – Making Chocolate Ganache
- In a saucepan, heat the heavy cream cream over low-medium heat. Watch for when it begins to simmer (tiny bubbles start forming around the pan’s edges), then remove the saucepan from the heat immediately to avoid boiling.
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let it sit without stirring for about a minute to allow the chocolate to soften. Mix using a hand blender until shiny and smooth.
- If you don’t have a hand blender, gently stir the mixture, starting from the center and working out to the edges. Combine until you achieve a smooth, glossy ganache. Keep the ganache warm.
STEP 3 – Cookie Filling and Assembling
- Arrange the cookies on a tray. Transfer the warm chocolate ganache to a piping bag.
- Fill the hollow top of the cookies with the chocolate ganache. Tap the cookies to level out the ganache filling.
- Let the ganache set for 10 minutes before serving.
Ganache-Filled Gluten Free Shortbread Cookies
Equipment
- Digital scale
- straight wooden rolling pin
Ingredients
Shortbread Dough
- 450 g Schar Gluten Free Bread flour
- 150 g salted vegan butter – Violife Salted is preferred cold and cut into cubes
- 150 g sugar
- 1 g salt
- 180 g egg 3 large eggs
Chocolate Ganache
- 180 g dark chocolate 70 % – Guanaja is preferred
- 250 g heavy whipping cream dairy and gluten free
Instructions
Shortbread Dough
- Thoroughly mix all dry ingredients in a mixer bowl fitted with paddle attachment. Add the vegan butter and eggs. Mix on medium speed until the dough holds together.
- Shape the dough into a ball, wrap it with cling film, and refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Roll out the cold dough between two parchment papers with a thickness of about 3-4 mm (0.15 inch).
- Cut the cookies using a cookie cutter. Punch a hole in half of the cut cookies using a smaller cookie cutter. Stack the cut cookies in pairs with the punched cookie on top. Freeze the cookies for 15 minutes or refrigerate for an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F), then bake the frozen cookies for 14 to 18 minutes or until the edges turn golden. The exact baking time varies depending on the thickness and size of your cookies.
- Let the cookies cool completely.
Chocolate Ganache Filling & Assembling
- In a saucepan, heat the heavy cream over low-medium heat. Watch for when it begins to simmer (tiny bubbles start forming around the pan’s edges), then remove the saucepan from the heat immediately to avoid boiling.
- Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let it sit without stirring for about a minute to allow the chocolate to soften. Mix using a hand blender until shiny and smooth.
- If you don’t have a hand blender, gently stir the mixture, starting from the center and working out to the edges. Combine until you achieve a smooth, glossy ganache. Keep the ganache warm.
- Arrange the cookies on a tray. Transfer the warm chocolate ganache to a piping bag.
- Fill the hollow top of the cookies with the chocolate ganache. Tap the cookies to level out the ganache filling.
- Let the ganache set for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- If the dough becomes too soft to handle, chill it in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes before continuing to roll or cut.
- Refrigerate dough for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before use.
2 thoughts on “Ganache-Filled Gluten Free Shortbread Cookies”
Tried these and they are really good! Added them to my fav cookie recipe list. Thanks for detailed instructions!
Thanks, Katia.
Hope you’ll try the other recipes too.