These Double Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies are both vegan and gluten free. They’re easy, but impressive. And these treats are the best way to step up your holiday cooking game this season. No one will guess that these chocolate shortbreads are vegan!
Even Vegan Shortbread needs Butter!
We partnered with Melt Organic to create these decadent chocolaty gems. Butter is a necessity when it comes to shortbread. So even though these peppermint cookies are completely dairy-free, they are just as rich and buttery. All that richness comes from Melt’s vegan buttery sticks.
We love Melt Organic products. They’re truly a one-to-one replacement for regular butter. They also add that delicious buttery taste to baked goods like these shortbread cookies. Really, they come in handy all the time in the kitchen. One of my favorite ways to use their buttery spread is simply on some toast with a bit of raspberry jam…yum! Or, for a vegan omelette-like breakfast, use a bit of vegan butter to fry up a tofu scramble for breakfast.
One thing to note about using butter for these vegan shortbread cookies: the butter must come to room temperature before adding it to the gluten free cookie dough. Otherwise, the dough will be difficult to work with. Luckily, vegan butter tends to soften up faster than regular butter. If you leave it on the counter for half an hour or so before you start baking, you should be good to go.
Vegan Peppermint Shortbread is way easier than you think
Just like regular shortbread, these chocolate peppermint shortbread cookies only call for a few simple ingredients. You probably already have in your pantry!
Just butter, flour, sugar, vanilla, and of course cocoa. The mint comes as part of the decorating process. Which, though highly recommended, is not 100% necessary 🙂
How to decorate dark chocolate shortbreads with peppermint
These vegan chocolate shortbreads are delicious on their own (my husband ate at least 10 one night…no kidding). However, we like to add a bit of festive flair to make them the true holiday cookie winners they are.
We first melted some pure dark chocolate. Then we drizzled and dipped the cookies in it. Finally, we sprinkled everything with plenty of crushed candy canes. The result is delicious, buttery chocolate shortbreads covered in more chocolate and a simple garnish that only looks fancy. The minty topping is a great way use all the random candy canes that seem to pop up around the holidays. As we always say, double chocolate is never a bad idea!
The best vegan cookies to add to your holiday cookie list
Craving more vegan and gluten free holiday cookies? Make these Chocolate Caramel Pecan Shortbread Bars. For these shortbreads, you can substitute the coconut oil for vegan butter if you’d prefer! Another favorite are these Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies with a Hot Cocoa Cashew Cream Filling. And to accompany your vegan holiday cookie bender, why not some delicious dairy-free eggnog from Roasted Root?
We love this time of year. Mostly because of the ample reasons to pile our table high with delicious treats. What kinds of cookies or desserts does your family love sharing around the holidays?
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A dark chocolate drizzle + crushed candy canes brings these buttery (vegan) shortbread cookies to the next level!
Ingredients
- 1 cup Melt Organic vegan buttery sticks, softened at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 2 1/4 cups gluten free all purpose flour
- 16 oz melted dark chocolate
- 1/2 cup crushed candy canes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Soften vegan butter at room temperature.
- In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until well incorporated and creamy.
- Add vanilla, salt and cocoa powder and continue beating until incorporated.
- Add gluten free flour and beat just until mixture starts to come together.
- Transfer to a non-stick surface and sprinkle with some flour. Knead the dough into a ball and roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness, then cut into desired shapes and repeat until all dough has been used.
- Transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 14-16 minutes. Let cool completely before decorating.
- Melt dark chocolate in 30 second intervals in the microwave, stirring between each interval. Dip/drizzle cookies in chocolate and sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Let harden before eating. Enjoy!
Notes
The butter must be completely softened before using – if you forget to leave it out at room temp for a few hours, slice each stick into a few pieces, place on a microwave safe plate and microwave in 7 second intervals until soft but not melted.
Keywords: christmas cookies
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