Oat Shortbread

 

I once saw a recipe for Scottish shortbread which included oatmeal.  That is how I knew that making shortbread using oat flour would be simple. And also delicious. Shortbread is subtly sweet, which makes it that much easier to eat several without feeling like you are over indulging.  :)

Oat Shortbread

 

Makes 3 dozen 3-inch cookies.

 

Ingredients

•       8 ounces cold salted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces 

•       1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

•       270 grams gluten-free oat flour (cold)

 

Method

•       Preheat the oven to 300°F.  Put the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

•       Cream the butter and brown sugar together on low speed until the butter combines with the sugar but isn’t perfectly smooth.  This will take a while but you don’t want the mixture to get warm.

•       Add the oat flour and mix on low speed, scraping the bowl frequently, until the dough has just about pulled together, about 3 minutes.  Shortbread is similar to pastry, so undermixing is better than overmixing. 

•       On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thick, and as even as possible.

•       Cut the dough into bars or squares with a sharp knife or cookie cutters. If using cookie cutters, you can reroll the scraps and cut out more cookies. If the dough becomes sticky, refrigerate it briefly. 

•       Bake the cookies until golden on the bottom and edges, and pale to golden on top, 30 minutes to 1 hour. (After 15 minutes, rotate the baking sheet 180 degrees for even baking.) 

•       Cool on wire racks.

•       Store in airtight containers.  They freeze well.

 

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do, and that you will let me know how they turn out for you.