Paleo & Keto "Shortbread" Butter Cookies

Paleo, Keto & Vegan
Free of grain, gluten, dairy & sugar
What evokes warm Christmas baking memories better than the timeless Butter Cookie? A butter cookie is the ultimate in versatility, with SO MANY options for any festive occasion. A confectionary blank canvas, if you will! Dressed up or down, you CANNOT go wrong!

This unleavened recipe creates a crisp buttery cookie that falls somewhere between a Shortbread and Butter Cookie. The flavor and texture of these heavenly morsels is nothing short of delightful! While you can enjoy these age-old cookies in their naturally satisfying simplicity, they can also be dressed up for the holidays with almost ANY festive ensemble.

Want to take your cookies from delicious, to deliciously DISTINCTIVE? Transform your cookies into mouth-watering masterpieces by stamping artistic designs into your cookie dough! Take a gander at these fun options: 3D Rolling Pins offer a wonderfully fun option for pressing designs into your cookie dough. Choose between a hardwood, laser cut OR a silicone 3D rolling pin. Your hardwood option certainly adds that rustic charm, which I LOVE, but be aware that they are a touch more high-maintenance; cleaning them requires a stiff bristled brush and plague-level avoidance of your dishwasher, while the silicone is dishwasher friendly. Be sure to always work with chilled dough ONLY, and always flour BOTH the surface of the dough AND your rolling pin with Arrowroot.

Cookie stamps work much in the same way and are available in an array of fun designs as well! *Be sure to check out ALL my tips below!

Now that redefines the term “Eye-Candy,” now, doesn’t it!?

 Butter Cookie Recipe

¾ c Butter 

½ c Granular Lakanto Golden sugar

1Tbsp Flax, ground

2Tbsp Water

2 tsp Vanilla

3c Almond flour

1c Arrowroot

¼ tsp salt

1. Blend the almond flour, arrowroot, and salt in a bowl, and set aside.
2. Mix ground flax and water until it becomes gelatinous. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugar.
4. Add the flax mixture to the butter mixture and blend well.
5. Add your dry ingredients roughly 1 cup at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl to incorporate fully into the butter mixture.
6. Roll out dough onto a parchment paper-lined work area. Shape your dough ball into a rough, somewhat flattened shape. Cover with plastic wrap and roll out to 1/8 to ¼,“ adjusting plastic wrap as needed.
7. Cover with plastic wrap and slide onto a cookie sheet (using a flexible chopping board makes it easier to stack if you are making multiple batches…. Which trust me, you will want to).
8. Chill for *at least 30 min
9. Preheat oven to 325°
10. Cut cookies out with cookie cutters & transfer to parchment lined baking sheet. See *tips
11. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until edges start to lightly brown
12. Enjoy them in the buff or decorate them as desired.  
    

 Tips

-Lightly sprinkling dough with arrowroot flour helps keep your dough from sticking.

-Get creative and imprint a design onto your cookies with a laser cut rolling pin.

 Substitutions

-The 2 Tbsp of water & 1 Tbsp of ground flax can be replaced with 1 egg

-Coconut, maple and erythritol sugar can replace Lakanto Golden sugar equally

-Almond, lemon or coconut extract can replace vanilla equally

Get creative!

-For a delectable floral note, Add 2 tsp dried lavender to recipe by grinding lavender and creaming it with the butter.  You can find high quality lavender products at Norwood Farm, a beautiful family owned farm!
-Dip baked and cooled cookies halfway into melted chocolate. Check out Enjoy Life (sweetened with cane), Lakanto (sweetened with monk fruit), or Pascha (pure unsweetened) chocolate chips.  All are free from allergens and great for those avoiding soy.

-Check out ‘India Tree,’ Choco Maker,’ or ‘Yum Earth’ for dye-free sprinkles and cookie décor www.indiatree.com 

-Sprinkle with powdered sweetener and lightly rub cookie to highlight imprints

-Try a glaze by adding milk to ¾ cups of powdered sweetener, ½ tsp vanilla, and 1 tbsp at a time (up to 3 tbsp), until it’s the proper consistency. You could even add a vegetable based dye from ‘India Tree’ to make it more festive!