At the 11th hour I noticed this month’s Gluten Free Ratio Rally: shortbread. Awhile back I made my favorite Bundt Cake for the ratio rally and decided what a wonderful opportunity to push myself again. Time to be creative and learn more about the chemistry and weights behind gluten free baking. And a big thanks to Meaghan from The Wicked Good Vegan for hosting.

Ruhlman’s ratio for shortbread is simple, 1:2:3 (sugar, fat, flour). I chose the flavors I thought would work and did just that. Using nut flours gets a bit confusing when it comes to fat and flour ratio so I tweaked this over and over until these became exactly as I hoped.

The base is the same for both flavors which I found to be a wonderfully simple way of mixing up dessert for dinner guests. For dessert today I ate the chocolate espresso in a bowl with sour cream and strawberries. Tomorrow I think I want the zesty lemon version. Can’t beat that.

Shortbread Two Ways
100 grams blanched almonds
45 grams cashews
25 grams tapioca flour
25 grams white rice flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
6 Tablespoons butter
65 grams sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted

Espresso Chocolate:
3 teaspoons espresso
2/3 cup bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Salted Lemon Rosemary:
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon fleur de sel

To make the base, combine almonds and cashews in a food processor and blend until fine meal. Add the flours, baking soda, and the salt. Blend well. Add the butter and sugar and mix until the consistency of sand. Add the pecans and pulse until blended.

For the espresso chocolate shortbread dissolve the espresso in 1 1/2 tablespoons of boiling water. Add the espresso and chocolate chunks to the base and mix until just blended. Take all of the dough and place in saran wrap. Use the plastic to help shape the dough into a log about 3 inches in diameter.

For the salted lemon rosemary shortbread add the zest and rosemary to the base and blend. Take all of the dough and place in saran wrap. Use the plastic to help shape the dough into a log about 3 inches in diameter. Once it’s in a roll, sprinkle the fleur de sel across the top and then press the saran wrap down around it so the salt sticks and the dough is wrapped tightly.

Place wrapped dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours or over night. When it’s time to bake, preheat the oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the fridge and slice 1/2-inch circles. Place the rounds on the paper and bake for 10 minutes. The cookies will harden once cooled.

Be sure to check out the other Ratio Rally participants this month:
Heather at Discovering the Extraordinary made Buckwheat Shortbread Cookies with lemon curd
Jonathan at The Canary Files made Black Sesame Teff Shortbread Cookies
Mary Fran at Franny Cakes made Gluten-Free Jammie Dodgers
Meaghan at The Wicked Good Vegan made Gin and Tonic Cookies
Meg at Gluten-Free Boulangerie made Lemon Bars with Lemon Shortbread Crust
Morri at Meals with Morri made Earl Grey Shortbread