gluten free shortbread

These gluten free caramel cookies taste kind of like Twix bars… but better. With a perfectly buttery and crisp shortbread base, a luxurious gooey-chewy caramel layer and a crisp chocolate shell, they’re just outrageously delicious. They’re also surprisingly easy to make – and yes, that includes the from-scratch caramel! So, if you’ve been missing Twix bars, you can now make your own homemade, gluten free, caramel-packed treats inspired by this candy classic.

Gluten Free Caramel Cookies (Homemade Twix)

65 g (½ stick + ½ tbsp) unsalted butter, softened

g (2 ½ tbsp) caster/superfine sugar

vanilla bean paste ((or 1 tsp vanilla extract))

flour

g (¼ cup) corn starch (US)/cornflour (UK)

salt

g (4 tsp) whole milk, room temperature

+ ½ tbsp) double/heavy cream

g (½ cup) granulated or caster/superfine sugar

golden syrup

salt (optional)

flaky sea salt (optional)

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position, pre-heat the oven to 320ºF (160ºC) and line two large baking sheets with baking/parchment paper.

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

Sift in the gluten free flour blend, corn starch, 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.

Add the milk and mix well until it starts coming together.

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 might be very slightly crumbly or crack in places, but it should hold together well.

Roll the dough to a thickness of about 4-5mm between two sheets of baking/parchment paper. Tip: Rolling between sheets of baking/parchment paper reduces cracking and also means that you don’t need to flour your surface, which in turn eliminates the possibility of incorporating extra flour into the cookie dough.

Use a 2 inch (5cm) round cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Re-roll any scraps to make more cookies until you&#39;ve used up all the cookie dough. You should get about 22 cookies.

Transfer them onto the lined baking sheets and bake them, one baking sheet at a time, at 320ºF (160ºC) for about 20-24 minutes or until evenly golden brown. Tip: The slightly lower oven temperature (compared to the more usual 350ºF/180ºC) works better here, as it gives a more even bake.

Allow to cool on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Set aside until needed.

Gluten free shortbread:

In a saucepan (or in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave), heat the double/heavy cream and half of the butter together until hot and all the butter has melted. Set aside until needed, making sure that the mixture stays warm.

In another saucepan, combine the sugar and golden syrup, and cook over medium-high heat with frequent stirring until the mixture reaches 295ºF (145ºC).

Remove from heat, pour in the cream mixture and stir well until combined.

Return to the heat and cook with constant stirring until the mixture reaches 235-240ºF (112-116ºC). Immediately remove from heat and stir in the remaining butter and salt (optional).Tip: In the 235-240ºF (112-116ºC) temperature range, the sugar is in the so-called &#39;softball&#39; stage. This means that once cooled to room temperature, the caramel will be pleasantly chewy, without being too soft or too hard.

Allow the caramel to cool to 120-130ºF (50-55ºC) before assembling the cookies.

Homemade caramel:

Once the caramel has cooled to 120-130ºF (50-55ºC), transfer it into a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle (the nozzle diameter should be about ⅓ inch/8mm).

Pipe the caramel in a spiral going out from the centre of the cookie (see the post for photos). Make sure to leave about 3-4mm of caramel-free space around the edge, as the caramel will spread ever so slightly after piping.

Chill the caramel-topped cookies in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Tip: This sets the caramel even further, which helps when you dip the cookies into the slightly warm chocolate in the next step.

Assembling the caramel cookies:

Dip the slightly chilled caramel-topped cookies into melted chocolate (ideally, use tempered chocolate for the best shine and crisp texture).

After you’ve dipped them into the chocolate, lift them out with a fork and make sure to allow the excess chocolate to drip away – you want a fairly thin, even chocolate layer. To achieve this, I like to use a small offset spatula to gently remove the excess chocolate from the top of the cookie, and then tap the fork on the side of the bowl to shake off the rest.

Place the chocolate-covered cookies on a wire rack (ideally, cover the wire rack with a sheet of cling film, as that makes it easy to remove the cookies after the chocolate has firmed up) and allow the chocolate to set at room temperature for 15-20 minutes. If it’s correctly tempered, you shouldn’t need to refrigerate the cookies.

Chocolate shell:

Use the leftover chocolate to drizzle or pipe a few ‘zig-zag’ lines on top of the set chocolate shell, and then sprinkle them with some flaky sea salt.

Allow the chocolate decoration to set before serving.

Decorating (optional):

The cookies keep well in a closed container in a cool dry place for about 1 week.

Storage:

These gluten free orange shortbread cookie sticks are guaranteed to become a new holiday favourite. They’re perfectly buttery, with a melt-in-the-mouth texture and a wonderfully intense orange flavour, thanks to the addition of both orange zest and orange juice to the cookie dough. They’re incredibly easy to make and perfect for dipping into coffee, cocoa or hot chocolate.

Orange Shortbread Cookie Sticks (Gluten Free)

g (½ cup) caster/superfine sugar

oranges

130 g (1 stick + 1 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened

vanilla bean paste ((or 2 tsp vanilla extract))

60 g (½ cup) cornstarch (US)/cornflour (UK)

g (2½ tbsp) orange juice, freshly squeezed

150 g (5½ oz) dark chocolate (60-70% cocoa solids), melted

coconut oil (optional)

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.

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.

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).

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.

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

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&#39;t be too crumbly, it will hold together well – but it also shouldn&#39;t be sticky to the touch.

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.

Trim the cookie dough rectangle so that it&#39;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.

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

Carefully transfer the cookie sticks onto the lined baking sheet. Make sure that they&#39;re fairly straight and correct any bending.You can arrange the cookie sticks fairly close together, as they don&#39;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.

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

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

Gluten free orange shortbread:

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.

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).

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.

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.

Chocolate dip:

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.

These lemon raspberry crumble bars combine a buttery, melt-in-the-mouth lemon shortbread with a jammy raspberry filling. They’re super easy to make (it’s a one-bowl recipe!) and you’d never know that they’re gluten free.

Lemon Raspberry Crumble Bars (Gluten Free)

g (½ cup + 2 tbsp) caster/superfine or granulated sugar

140 g (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, softened

300 g (2½ cups) plain gluten free flour blend

160 g (about 1¼ cups) fresh raspberries

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position, pre-heat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and line a 9-inch (23cm) square baking pan with parchment/baking paper.Tip: When lining the baking pan, I recommend leaving some parchment/baking paper overhang, as that will help with removing the crumble bars from the pan later on.

Add the sugar and lemon zest to a large bowl, and use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar.Tip: This helps to release more essential oils from the zest, and it will make your crumble bars even more fragrant.

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 too delicate and crumbly (note the absence of any raising agents for the same reason).

In a separate bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour blend, xanthan gum and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture and mix well until it starts clumping together. Then, give it a knead until you get a fairly crumbly cookie dough.Tip: Because it&#39;s gluten free, you don&#39;t need to worry about over-working the shortbread dough!

Gluten free lemon shortbread:

Press about ⅔ of the shortbread cookie dough (about 370g) into the lined baking pan. Smooth it out into an even layer, this is easiest done with a small offset spatula.

Spread the raspberry jam on top of the shortbread base in an even layer.

Scatter over the fresh raspberries – they won&#39;t be packed closely together, just make sure that they&#39;re fairly evenly distributed.

Crumble over the remaining ⅓ of the shortbread cookie dough (about 190g), making sure that you get an even coverage.

Bake at 350ºF (180ºC) for about 40-45 minutes or until the crumble is light golden brown and you see the jam bubbling around the edges.

Allow the bars to cool to room temperature before removing them from the baking pan (with the help of the overhanging parchment/baking paper) and slicing them into individual portions.Tip: You can also serve these warm with a scoop of ice cream on top – just note that they&#39;re much more delicate when they&#39;re warm, so they&#39;re more likely to crumble when you cut them. For neater slices, cut them once they&#39;ve cooled completely to room temperature and then re-heat them briefly in the microwave.

Assembling the crumble bars:

The gluten free lemon raspberry crumble bars keep well in a closed container  in a cool, dry place (or in the fridge) for about 3-4 days. Note that the crust and crumble will soften slightly with time.

Dairy Free and Gluten Free?? Really?? My fussy family couldn't tell. They immediately became sus when I started eating them. They raved about how good they were. This GF-DF dessert passed their test! Hurrah!!

These were excellent! My son said they tasted like open faced pop tarts! I thought that was well said :-). We are also dairy free in this house, so I used dairy free butter as well.

These were SO good that I had to use all my willpower not to eat the entire pan!

Used strawberry jam instead of raspberry-

Just made these and they are delicious and so easy!!!  I did not have fresh raspberries on hand so I added fresh blueberries on top.  It was so good!!  I will be making this recipe again!  :-)

Absolutely delicious! I didn’t have any raspberries so I substituted blueberry jam and frozen mixed berries instead. Worked really well!

These were amazing! They are fairly sweet so even a small bar is very satisfying! I made them with dairy free butter also … very good! A dessert I can make for our whole family to enjoy!  Thank you!

Absolutely delicious!  Thank you Kat for all your wonderful recipes.  Love your gluten free cookbook too.

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