Gluten-Free Spiced Chocolate Shortbread

• Gluten-free.
• A fantastic recipe to make with the kids.
• We used the Christmas tree cookie cutters from Lakeland.
• Dusted with sugar-free icing mix.

Plain White Flour, Gluten-Free, 1kg (Dove's Farm)

475g Gluten-Free Plain Flour, sifted.

Organic Cacao Powder (1kg) - Sussex WholeFoods

125g Cacao Powder

Virgin Coconut Oil, Organic 400g (Biona)

300g Coconut Oil

Blackstrap Molasses, Organic 600g (Meridian)

300g Molasses

Natural Egg Replacer - No Egg 200g (Orgran)

2 heaped tsp egg replacer

Icing Sugar Alternative, 400g (Sukrin)

2 tbsp Icing Mix (for dusting)

Almond Extract 60ml (Nielsen Massey)

1 tsp Almond Extract

Organic Ginger Powder 100g (Sussex Wholefoods)

2 tsp Ground Ginger

Organic Ceylon Cinnamon Powder (100g) - Sussex Wholefoods

1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

Allspice Powder, Organic 100g (Sussex Wholefoods)

frac14; tsp Ground Allspice

Other Ingredients

• A pinch of salt.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°c/ 160°c Fan/ 350°F/ Gas 4. Lay baking parchment onto several flat baking trays/sheets.
2. Melt the coconut oil/butter in the microwave. Then add the Molasses and Vanilla Extract. Note: This mixture will not properly combine, but don’t panic – it will still work!
3. Then in a separate bowl, sift the flour, egg replacer and cocoa powder. Add the spices and gently mix with a large spoon.
4. Now add the wet mix into the dry mix and slowly combine the ingredients with the spoon. Then as the mix starts to come together, use your hands to bring the dough together into a large ball.
5. Place the dough ball back into the mixing bowl. Cover with cling film or a tea towel and put in the fridge for around an hour.
6. Split the dough ball into half and roll out the dough to around a little less than a centimetre thick. Cut out your chosen shapes and place the shapes straight onto the baking parchment. Keep rolling and cutting until you have used up all the mix. Note: You may need to transfer the uncooked shapes onto extra baking parchment whilst the rest bake if you only have one or two baking trays like us!
7. Bake the cookies on the middle shelf of the oven for around 15 to 20 minutes or until firm. Allow the cookies to cool for around 10 minutes and then transfer onto a wire rack.
8. Decorate as you like and store in an airtight container. These biscuits actually improve in flavour after a day or so and should be good to eat for at least a week.