Gluten- Free Lemon-Thyme Shortbread
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Have you ever spotted Kerrygold butter at your supermarket? Inexplicably in the cheese section? And wondered if it were any good?
Well, it is. My mother brought me some this weekend. She spoils me, still, at age 30. Along with the butter, she brought her favorites from the Greek market — a tin of olive oil, a branch of dried oregano, a block of manouri cheese — along with some pantry items she knows I hate spending money on (cheesecloth and parchment paper).
Of course, there were some baked goods in the mix, too: Bakery Lane’s honey-whole wheat bread and toasted coconut-raspberry jam bars. Delicious. As my mother says, I felt like a bride.
But the butter — the gold foil-wrapped bars of Kerrygold Butter — which is made in Ireland from the milk of grass-fed cows is truly special. It’s definitely a splurge, too, best saved perhaps for spreading on good bread or topping simply with radish slices and flaky sea salt.
Or, if you’re feeling luxurious, you could use it to make shortbread.
Several months ago, after watching Thomas Keller make polenta waffles and fried chicken on tv using his new Cup4Cup flour — a gluten-free mix that can be subbed one-for-one with all-purpose flour — I immediately ordered a bag.
Beyond curiosity, I didn’t have a reason to buy this gluten-free flour, but I’m so happy I did. So far, and I’ve only made a couple of things (shortbread and waffles), I’m impressed. It’s pricey, certainly, but it’s a good product — worth it for the mere convenience of being able to use it in nearly any pastry, dessert, or quick bread.
Inspired by a recent visit to 2Amys, where a wedge of lemon shortbread stole the show (after the pizza of course), I used the Cup4Cup to make a gluten-free shortbread using my favorite Melissa Clark recipe as a guide. A few simple adjustments to the recipe — lemon-thyme for the rosemary and the addition of fresh lemon zest — produced a lemon shortbread to swoon over. I can’t stop eating it.
PS: One of my favorite things to make for my gluten-free friends is my favorite brownie recipe but with the flour substituted by almond flour. So simple and delicious!
When making shortbread, it’s important to not over pulse the dough. This is about what the mixture should look like:
Gluten-Free Lemon-Thyme Shortbread
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 16 to 18 pieces
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Adapted from Melissa Clark’s recipe for rosemary shortbread (addictive!).
A few notes:
The thyme or lemon-thyme is purely optional. It’s a very subtle flavor, one I really like, but if you’re not into herbed sweets, just leave it out.
Ingredients
- 2 cups C4C gluten-free flour or your favorite gluten-free flour mix (or all-purpose flour if you are not making these gluten-free)
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon of finely chopped fresh lemon thyme or thyme (optional — this flavor is very subtle)
- zest of one lemon
- 1 teaspoon plus 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted cold butter, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 1/2 teaspoons honey
- sparkling sugar or granulated sugar for finishing, optional
Instructions
- Heat oven to 325ºF. In a food processor, pulse together flour, sugar, thyme, zest and salt. Add butter and honey, and pulse to fine crumbs. Pulse a few more times until some crumbs start to come together, but don’t overprocess. Dough should not be smooth.
- Press dough into an ungreased (or parchment paper-lined for easy removal) 8- or 9-inch-square baking pan. Bake until golden brown, 32 to 35 minutes for 9-inch pan, 35 to 37 minutes for 8-inch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Sprinkle with 1 to 2 tablespoons of sparkling or granulated sugar if using.
- Let the shortbread cool for 30 minutes; then cut into bars. Then let the shortbread cool completely in its pan. Run a knife along the cut marks before removing.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
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29 Comments on “Gluten- Free Lemon-Thyme Shortbread”
I was actually thinking of making a batch of your shortbread for my mom for mother’s day. Rosemary sounded good, but now you’ve tempted me with this lemon thyme version. So which is better — rosemary or lemon thyme?
Christina — They are both so good, just a little different. Go with the lemon! It’s more springy!
I’m not sure it’s made from actual cows, just their milk! lol
Irish butter is the best, but then I’m Irish so I’m biased. These shortbreads look delicious!
Rachael — Bahh! Thanks for catching that. I’m delirious half of the time I’m writing these posts. So glad to hear you approve of the butter! I feel like I have gold in my fridge right now. It’s pretty amazing.
It looks amazing! I’ve never actually tried the KerryGold Butter, but shortbread is a good place to start. I’m intrigued by the C4C Flour, but I’m skeptical as to whether it’s any better than the blend that I make. With the Keller name on there, I’m sure it will make tons of $$ but the blends are so easy to make yourself.
RecipeGirl you need to help me! And by help, I mean I’ll just visit your site and find your gluten-free flour mix recipe. Is it really easy to mix up? I have about five different bags of various gluten-free flours stashed in my freezer — I bet I can use them in your mix?
You had me at Kerrygold. Their butter is beyond fabulous and makes everything it touches extra special and extra delicious.
does it say I need to change the sheets every other day? eeeek, I don’t think I want to know!
um, enough with these delicious sheetpan concoctions. I’m still working on the buckle, should be gone by tomorrow night considering I manage about three pieces before lunch time even rolls around. This shortbread looks amazing. We don’t have Kerrygold or C4C flour here, so I’ll just have to hope the swiss cows have been eating some good alp grass. Beautiful as always!
Talley — Kerrygold is optional, as is C4C. I imagine your Swiss cows produce some amazing butter. Do try this recipe – it’s amazing!
I love the lemon thyme combination–so clever. By the way, I bought your pear print and just had it framed. It looks so wonderful in my kitchen! The design is very contemporary and clean, but warm, too. Thank you! This is going to be my new shower present.
Oh my gosh, Liz, thank you so much! I can’t believe it. You are too nice. Email me a picture if you feel like it. I still haven’t seen it in real life.
Your mother sounds funny. I’ve not yet jumped on the gluten free bandwagon, although I am curious to try a recipe gluten free. The flour intrigues me, but the price would probably stop me, unless I wanted to make something special for someone who needed gluten free. I’m with you. Love shortbread, and the one with lemon thyme or rosemary would work for me.
Love your site! Will be making this recipe for sure!
Your mother sounds like my husband. Aack! Funny from an outsider’s perspective, but not so much when they are family methinks.
Thanks for posting a GF recipe. My mother was kind and gracious enough to buy me a package of c4c flour to play around this. I’m looking forward to making this.
What a nice mother you have! I would love to hear how the shortbread turns out for you. I have been impressed by the c4c flour, and personally, for the convenience, I think it’s worth the price.
Has anyone made this successfully with almond flour? I tried but then learned you can’t substitute cup-for-cup – an amount or weight for this recipe from someone who has had good success with almond flour would be much appreciated! I think it would be so tasty if I got it right 🙂
gs — wish I could help. As I noted, I love substituting almond flour in my brownie and blondie recipes one for one with the flour, but those recipes do call for much less flour. I think two cups might be too much, as you are suspecting yourself. I’ll let you know if I make any discoveries next time around.
Hi! These look amazing, but I wanted to ask you if I would be abel to cut these using a cookie cutter, and bake them on a sheet pan? I could obviously adjust the cooking time, but am nervous that they’ll spread….any ideas? Thanks : )
Hmmm, this worries me a little bit. I think they will spread too much. What shape are you planning on using to cut them into? Part of me feels you should bake them in a square pan, let them cool for about 10 minutes or so, and then use the cookie cutter. This obviously will create a little bit of waste, but I just don’t trust that the shapes will hold up if you cut them with the cookie cutter before you bake them. They are too buttery.
Can you use rice syrup or Agave instead of sugar?
I am sure you can, though I have never tried. But go for it!
Hi! I wonder if I can make these today and then freeze them until we do our holiday treat deliveries…I think I did that last year but I’ve had too many babies to be able to remember. What do you think?
Haha, I love it, I hear you 🙂 Yes, I think that would be fine. Shortbread freezes well, though I’ve never frozen gf shortbread, but I imagine it’s the same. Happy holidays Emily! Sorry for the delay here.
Can I make this without a food processor? Maybe with either softened butter or a pastry cutter?
Yes, definitely, I wouldn’t use softened butter, but a pastry cutter should work well.
I do not have a food processor, any suggestions?
You could grate the cold butter on a box grater.
This is the most popular shortbread recipe at our house and one of the most favorite of all cookie recipes. I make it every year at Christmas time and it is always a big hit. Guests take one bite and go “wow!” I make it with Kerrygold butter. No one knows how easy it is. Our secret! I love it! Thank you for all the amazing recipes!
Hooray! Kerrygold is such a treat 🙂