Step 1

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position, pre-heat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and line a large baking sheet with parchment/baking paper.

Step 2

Add the sugar and orange zest to a large bowl, and use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar. This helps to release more essential oils from the zest.

Step 3

Add the softened butter and vanilla, and mix well with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until combined. Tip: Don’t cream or aerate the mixture, as that can make the shortbread spread out in the oven and lose its shape, which is something you want to avoid (note the absence of any raising agents for the same reason).

Step 4

Sift in the gluten free flour blend, cornstarch (US)/cornflour (UK), xanthan gum and salt. Mix it all together until you get a fairly dry mixture – it will be very crumbly and it won’t stick together very well.

Step 5

Add the orange juice and mix well until the cookie dough starts coming together.

Step 6

Give it a thorough knead (because it’s gluten free you don’t need to worry about over-working the dough!) until it comes together in a smooth ball. The cookie dough shouldn't be too crumbly, it will hold together well – but it also shouldn't be sticky to the touch.

Step 7

Roll out the cookie dough between two sheets of parchment/baking paper into a rough rectangle about 1cm (about ⅓-½ inch) thick and just over 12cm (4½ inches) wide.Tip: Rolling between sheets of parchment/baking paper means that you don’t need to flour your work surface, which in turn eliminates the possibility of incorporating extra flour into the cookie dough.

Step 8

Trim the cookie dough rectangle so that it's 12cm (4½ inches) wide, with straight edges. Then, use a bench scraper or a sharp knife to cut it into about 1cm (about ⅓-½ inch) wide cookie sticks.This way, you should get cookie sticks that are about 12cm (4½ inches) long, 1cm (⅓-½ inch) wide and 1cm (⅓-½ inch) thick.Tip: I find this cookie stick size the cutest and perfect for dipping into coffee or cocoa, but feel free to make the cookie sticks whatever size you like best.

Step 9

Re-roll any scraps to make more cookie sticks, you should get about 36 in total.

Step 10

Carefully transfer the cookie sticks onto the lined baking sheet. Make sure that they're fairly straight and correct any bending.You can arrange the cookie sticks fairly close together, as they don't spread during baking.Tip: The cookie sticks are easy to transfer with the help of a small offset spatula. However, you can also put them (along with the bottom parchment paper) into the fridge for 15-30 minutes, so that they firm up a bit. This will make them even easier to transfer.

Step 11

Bake at 350ºF (180ºC) for about 15-18 minutes or until they’re light golden all over with only slightly darker, golden brown ends.

Step 12

Allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Step 13

If your melted chocolate is too thick and viscous, add 1-2 teaspoons of melted coconut oil to loosen it up. You want to be able to achieve an even, fairly thin layer of chocolate on the shortbread.Tip: Ideally, use tempered chocolate. See the Notes section of this recipe for tips on how to easily temper your chocolate.

Step 14

Transfer the melted chocolate into a narrow glass or other narrow container that will give you a deep layer of chocolate (you want to be able to dip at least half of a cookie stick into chocolate).

Step 15

Dip the cookie sticks into the melted chocolate. After dipping, gently shake them to help any excess chocolate to drip away, then transfer the chocolate-dipped cookie sticks onto a lined baking sheet.

Step 16

For extra decoration, transfer any remaining chocolate into a piping bag (re-melt it if necessary) and use it to pipe zig-zag lines over the chocolate-dipped end of the cookie stick. Alternatively, you can also decorate them with sprinkles of choice.

Step 17

The gluten free orange shortbread cookie sticks keep well in a closed air-tight container in a cool dry place for about 1-2 weeks.