Gluten Free Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies
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Buttery, crisp shortbread cookies made with almond flour. These naturally Gluten Free Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies are a holiday treat that will impress even those that eat wheat!
If you’re looking for more naturally gluten free cookies check out some of my other favorites like my recipe for The Best Gluten Free Frosted Gingerbread Cookies, The Best Gluten Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, or my Gingerbread Florentines.
Table of Contents
I will start this post by saying that I am not gluten free, but these gluten free cookies are so good! At my bake shop, we sold organic cookies that were also gluten free because I never wanted anyone to feel excluded, and I feel the same way here. While I do provide simple adjustments for *almost* all of the cookies on my site, I use a gluten free flour blend that's free of nuts for easy substitutions. But, in these chocolate peppermint cookies, I'm using my personal favorite flour mix for gluten free cookies, which is just almond flour and coconut flour.
These Christmas cookies have a classic flavor profile, and you'll simply adore these chocolate peppermint cookies this holiday season. The mix of almond flour and coconut flour creates a perfectly crispy shortbread cookie that resembles the texture of all purpose flour almost identical. So, even if you don't need gluten free cookies, you'll still really enjoy these chocolate peppermint cookies!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Buttery and Crisp: These Gluten Free Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies are buttery and crisp, just like a shortbread cookie should be! Dense and buttery, these shortbread cookies made with almond flour have a hint of peppermint, so they make perfect Christmas cookies!
Naturally Gluten Free: These Gluten Free Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies are naturally gluten free because these are shortbread cookies made with almond flour. I’m not gluten free, so I don’t usually make gluten free cookies as I prefer gluten. But, I have so many friends that are gluten free lately and requests for gluten free cookies. And, when they're good cookies, they're just good cookies!
Chocolate + Peppermint: These organic cookies are flavored with peppermint extract for light and minty Christmas cookies. Then I dip them in dark chocolate for classic chocolate peppermint cookies.
Christmas Cookies: These are great Christmas cookies because they are chocolate and peppermint. But also because they are gluten free cookies, so if you have friends or family with a gluten allergy, then they can enjoy these too!
Ingredients
- Butter: I use Organic Valley Salted Butter, you can use your favorite. Be sure the butter is softened before beginning the recipe.
- Powdered Sugar: I use organic powdered sugar, which gives these
- Peppermint Extract: I use organic peppermint extract in the cookies, which give
- Almond Flour: I use organic almond flour in these gluten free cookies, which gives them a great crispy texture.
- Coconut Flour: I also use a little bit of organic coconut flour, this really helps balance the almond flour, so you definitely need both.
- Cane Sugar: I dust these organic cookies with a little cane sugar after coming out of the oven so they sparkle for the holidays! Totally optional, but I love the little texture it brings.
- Dark Chocolate: I use organic dark chocolate for half dipping these Christmas cookies. You can also use white chocolate or milk chocolate if you prefer too. If you're using dark chocolate chips be sure they are free of stabilizers so they melt easily. If you are using dark chocolate bars, chop them into small pieces so they melt easily.
Tools Needed
- Scale: Always use a digital food scale for the best results.
- Stand Mixer: I use my stand mixer for these organic cookies, but if you prefer to use a hand mixer you can also do so.
- Baking Sheets: You'll need two half sheet pans to bake the cookies.
- Parchment Paper: I always use nontoxic parchment paper, especially when dipping cookies in chocolate. This ensures that you can easily remove the gluten free cookies from the pans after the chocolate sets.
- Heatproof Bowl: You'll need a heatproof mixing bowl to melt the chocolate for dipping.
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Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Step 2
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, and peppermint extract. Mix on low until combined and there are no butter chunks (do not over mix).
Step 3
Add the almond flour and coconut flour and mix on low until combined into a stiff dough, it should feel like play dough in your hands.
Step 4
Using your hands, form the dough into 24 balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten them slightly so they are 2 to 2 1/2-inches in diameter.
Step 5
Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until the edges and bottoms are lightly golden brown. Sprinkle with cane sugar immediately after coming out of the oven. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets. (If you're baking at high altitude, be sure to check the Notes at the bottom of the recipe for high altitude baking instructions).
Step 6
Once the cookies have cooled, in a double boiler add about 80% of the dark chocolate. Melt until it reaches 115°F on a chocolate thermometer, then remove from heat and add in the remaining dark chocolate and stir to combine. Let rest until chocolate reaches 91°F.
Step 7
Dip half the cookies into the dark chocolate and place on parchment paper. Allow to set and cool completely, you can stick in the fridge for about 1 hour.
Baker's Tips
- Make sure your butter is soft! This is crucial for this type of shortbread cookie. It’s best to soften butter naturally at room temperature. I like to do this the night before I plan to make shortbread cookies. If you must microwave butter, only do it for 10 seconds per ½ cup, even if you have to do multiple intervals. This will help prevent it from melting pockets of butter. You do not want to use butter that is melted for this cookie recipe!
- I use a mix of almond flour and coconut flour. If you want to make these with wheat, you can replace both the almond and coconut flour with 255 grams (2 cups) organic all purpose flour.
- I use peppermint extract in these cookies. If you don’t want them to be minty, you can replace the peppermint extract with vanilla extract or even almond extract.
- I dust these with cane sugar immediately after coming out of the oven. This is mainly just for show, so if you want to skip this step you totally can!
- Gluten free cookies do not spread like regular cookies do because there’s no gluten. So, the size that you make the dough balls is the size the cookies will become after baking (even slightly smaller). So be sure to flatten these cookies to about 2 to 2 ½-inches in diameter so they are a nice size and bake up properly. If you just roll balls of dough and bake them, you’ll have balls for cookies.
- I put instructions for tempering the chocolate for this recipe in case you want to give it as gifts or make for a party. But, if you are making these just for you, you can totally skip that step!
FAQ's
Yes, if all you have is unsalted butter you can use that. But, make sure to add ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt to the recipe.
If you don’t want these to be minty, you can replace the peppermint extract with either vanilla extract or almond extract.
Yes, if you can have wheat and you don’t want to use almond and coconut flour, you can use 255 grams (2 cups) organic all purpose flour in place of both the almond and coconut flour.
Yes! You can use milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate – whatever you want! This recipe would be delicious with any of these chocolate options.
Absolutely! Shortbreads are a great cookie to bake ahead of time because they are a dry and crispy cookie. This means they can be left out for a few days, which is why they are a great cookie to make ahead of time.
Craving More?
Gluten Free Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 226 gras salted butter (softened)
- 142 grams powdered sugar (sifted)
- 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
- 198 grams almond flour
- 142 grams coconut flour
- cane sugar (for topping)
- 226 grams dark chocolate (chopped)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, and peppermint extract. Mix on low until combined and there are no butter chunks (do not over mix).
- Add the almond flour and coconut flour and mix on low until combined into a stiff dough, it should feel like play dough in your hands.
- Using your hands, form the dough into 24 balls and place on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten them slightly so they are 2 to 2 ½-inches in diameter.
- Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until the edges and bottoms are lightly golden brown. Sprinkle with cane sugar immediately after coming out of the oven. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets.
- Once the cookies have cooled, in a double boiler add about 80% of the dark chocolate. Melt until it reaches 115°F on a chocolate thermometer, then remove from heat and add in the remaining dark chocolate and stir to combine. Let rest until chocolate reaches 91°F.
- Dip half the cookies into the dark chocolate and place on parchment paper.
- Allow to set and cool completely, you can stick in the fridge for about 1 hour.
- Store in a cool dry place or in the fridge for up to 7 days.
Notes
Nutrition
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