Vegan Coconut Shortbread, a delicious, melt-in-your mouth cookie made with healthy fats.
Indian sweets often combine the classic medley of coconut, cardamom and sugar. In my vegan Coconut Shortbread, I use these Indian ingredients to put a delicious spin on a Scottish favorite.
Desi loves shortbread and so do I. What's not to love about a cookie that's utterly simple and yet stunningly exquisite? I make my Vegan Shortbread Cookies for him often enough, but this time I wanted to try something different and something possibly healthier. Therefore, this vegan Coconut Shortbread.
For my Coconut Shortbread I chose not use coconut flakes-- I don't like the idea of anything, even delicious flakes, interrupting the perfect texture of shortbread. Instead, I substitute the butter with coconut oil. And then add a smidgen of coconut milk to intensify the flavor.
Coconut oil is a great substitute for butter in shortbread and other recipes that require flaky crusts, like pies, and even in cake frosting. That's because it remains solid at room temperature in all but the most tropical climates, like shortening would. Be sure to use an organic variety to make sure you get the purest flavor and texture.
One thing to keep in mind when baking with coconut oil is that it has a strong, coconutty flavor, so don't use it in a recipe where you want a neutral flavor. It works perfectly in this shortbread, though, because we want it to be as coconutty as possible. The reason I said that this shortbread is possibly healthier than regular shortbread is because some research shows coconut fat is actually heart-healthy (although any fat is still fat, so moderation is key).
Cardamom makes this coconut shortbread extra-special and reminds me a little of Naralachi Barfi, an Indian coconut fudge that is a sweet childhood memory. My mom would often make these soft and diamond-shaped barfis for my brother and me when we were kids and they would be pink or blue, exactly as a child would love them. They filled the house with the heady fragrance of sugar, coconut and cardamom, much like this shortbread does.
Try these vegan cookies next
- Vegan Sable or French Shortbread
- Pink Lemonade Cookie Bars
- Vegan Cardamom Sugar Cookies with Mango Icing
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vegan Coconut Shortbread
Equipment
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- 8 X 8 inch baking pan
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup coconut milk (cold)
- 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 tablespoon sugar (for dusting shortbread, optional)
Instructions
- Mix together the flour, cardamom powder, and salt.
- Cream together the coconut oil and the powdered sugar with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer until it's soft and fluffy, about two minutes.
- Add the coconut milk and vanilla and mix well.
- Add the flour in three batches, mixing well with a spatula after each addition.
- Cover and refrigerate the dough for 15-30 minutes.
- Grease an 8 by 8 inch glass baking pan.
- Place the shortbread dough in the pan. Press with your fingers into an even layer all the way to the corners of the pan.
- Bake the shortbread in a preheated 300-degree oven for 50 minutes or until it is slightly darker at the edges.
- Remove to a rack, cool for 10 minutes, and then, using a sharp knife, cut into diamond shapes without going all the way through the shortbread.
- Cool thoroughly and then separate into diamond shapes.
Ania's Sweet Secrets
Hi,
How long do you think these will last in the room temperature?
Rusty
Just made these and it was delicious.
Although I didn't get shortbread crumbly texture, I got like a chewy cookie/ brownie or blondie kind of texture, which I love, so was not disappointed.
I think I would use less oil/ more flour next time but I was thinking coconut oil is probably quite variable depending on the room temperature when using it, and that probably affects the measuring process.
Definitely will make it again
Rusty
I'll add that it is August in Hong Kong, for more context regarding the oil temperature. I did keep it in the fridge right up until measuring it but it got soft very quickly.
Kimberly
Thank you for the recipe! I tried this today, and while the flavor is nice, the texture did not turn out like traditional shortbread. Instead of that crisp, crumbly, Sandy texture, mine are soft, almost a hint of chewy, and fairly brown in color. Only the very edges, which are dark brown, are crispy/crunchy. I followedThe recipe as written, but I used an 8” square silicone pan instead of glass. What texture do you get? Thanks so much for any suggestions.
Vaishali
Hi Kimberly, the silicone pan will definitely affect the texture and color of the cookie. Try baking these in glass or a metal pan next time.
Jeffrey Wong
This is DA BOMB!!!!
The cardamom is DA BOMB!!
I'm going over the edge and adding a little lemon juice (one tablespoon or whatever I can get from one lemon) and lemon zest to this!
See you over there!
Sasha
Just made these and they are delicious! Next batch I think I'll add some pistachio nuts too. Total success. One question: have you tried freezing these & if so were they ok after?
Vaishali
Freezing should be fine! So glad you tried them.
Cookie Monster
I just made these and the taste is fabulous, however during baking the oil was bubbling through the cookie dough (I poured off the excess after baking), and 50 Minutes was WAY too long! I cut off an inch of hard cookie all around. The the hard parts are wonderful for dunking in tea, and the soft part delicious, but not not melt in your mouth 'shortbready'. Since I'm baking at altitude do you think baking for a shorter bake time and/or lowering the oven temperature might yield a better result? The taste is worth it. Suggestions?
Vaishali
Hi Cookie Monster, I don't have personal experience baking at higher altitudes, but I believe that you need to increase oven temperature by 15 to 25 degrees when you do, and reduce baking time correspondingly. According to this guide at King Arthur Flour, you also need to reduce sugar when baking at higher altitudes, since sugar can weaken the structure of the baked good. This might be helpful:
Perhaps you could try increasing the oven temperature to 320 degrees and reduce baking time to 45 minutes, for a start?
Cookie Monster
Thanks Vaishali, I'm going to play around a bit to see what works best. I've never had problems with vegan shortbread before but don't bake it as long, and usually only use about 1/4 cup of sugar - so I think I'll start there. Upping the temperature has resulted in a lot of burned goodies going into the garbage. Will let you know how it works. Thank you for the inspiration 🙂
teawithqueenie
finally made these after saving the recipe months ago - absolutely amazing! can't believe they're vegan! I need to trick some people with these 🙂
Vaishali Honawar
Queenie, so happy you liked these. Thanks for the feedback!
Anonymous
Thanks for making my transition to vegan easy and delicious! Have you ever thought about adding a bit of ground rice to your shortbread for that extra sandy flavour?
Vaishali Honawar
Anon, nice idea! Thanks for sharing.
Kamini
How did I miss this? Yum. Anything coconutty is good by me. When you say coconut milk do you mean the kind in the cans in the Thai food section, or the the coconut milk in the milk aisle along with non dairy milks? Thanks V.
Vaishali Honawar
Hi Kamini, the cans in the Thai food section. The coconut milk in the milk aisle would be too liquid for this.
Manju
These look simply too good. I've never tried making shortbread yet, but must give this a try soon.
Luv,
Manju
Vaishali Honawar
Thanks, Manju. Shortbread can be quite addictive. 🙂
Priya Suresh
Omg, those shortbreads looks extremely addictive, anything with coconut is my fav.
Vaishali Honawar
Thanks, Priya.
Mints!
Surprisingly enough, I have everything for this recipe, I guess I have to make it 🙂
How about adding some dry coconut to it? May be I will try in small batch.
Vaishali
Mints, some coconut flakes would be nice here.
Pavani N
That is one delicious shortbread variation. Love the use of coconut oil. I have a bottle that needs to be used, will try your shortbread soon. Thanks for the recipe.
Vaishali
Pavani, hope you do try them.
Pavani N
Vaishali--quick question: my coconut oil is liquid now, do you think I can use it as is or do I have to refrigerate it to harden?? Thanks.
Vaishali Honawar
Yes, please refrigerate first. Or you're not going to get the proper texture.
Pavani N
Thank you Vaishali. Will give these a try soon. I'll let you know how they turned out. Tks. Enjoy your weekend.
Uma
this is awesome.. I love coconut.. nice fusion of naralachi khadi and shortbread!
Vaishali
Thanks, Uma.
Kumudha
The moment I saw these , I thought it was Badam burfi...
Coconut-shortbread looks so good. I love coconut biscuits from Bangalore bakeries.
I just love visiting your blog, I like recipes, divine food pictures and your writing...
Thank you so much for inspiring people to try plant-based diet - good for our health and our beautiful Earth.
Vaishali
Thanks for your kind words, Kumudha. You have me craving badam barfi now. 🙂
Mythreyi
Nice vegan version of this recipe..
-Mythreyi
Yum! Yum! Yum!
Vaishali
Thanks!
Cozinhar sem Lactose
Yummy!
Vaishali
🙂 thanks!
Nupur
OMG you do know how to make desserts! This fusion of shortbread and naaral burfi is pure genius.
Vaishali
Thanks, Nupur. 🙂
Nivedhanams Sowmya
Looks so similar to coconut burfi... delicious and mouth melting!!! so how many pieces did u get?Sowmya
Vaishali
Hi Sowmya, I got around 16. You could make them bigger or smaller.
Manasi
Oh wow! I like delicate coconut flavor and this reminded me of naral wadi, of course different but Oh so yum!
Vaishali, what brand of coconut oil do you use?
Vaishali
Hi Manasi, I use theCarrington Farms brand. It is organic, unrefined, and has great flavor.