I don’t know about you, but when the Christmas season hits that means cookie season is in full swing. Like, let me tell you, cookies have always been my one true love. You can ask any of my friends, they know it and they will tell you. So when Christmas comes to town, that means AIP Christmas cookie baking every day, yeah? (ok, maybe not that excessive, but if I had unlimited time, ingredients, and space in my belly the answer to that would be 100% yes!) One classic Christmas recipe is shortbread cookies. You know the ones they sell in holiday boxes in the store. I’m about to share with you the easiest anti-inflammatory Paleo shortbread cookie recipe you have ever seen. And it is GOOOOD.
I know it’s really good because I’ve had to hide the AIP shortbread cookies from my husband so he wouldn’t eat them all.
These AIP Shortbread cookies are made from 5 simple ingredients, and they are AIP, paleo, vegan, and grain-free. What makes these AIP Christmas cookies fun is that they can be customized in so many different ways! These paleo shortbread cookies have three holiday inspired flavors: chocolate cherry, cinnamon swirl, and AIP powdered sugar, and each combination is FIRE! These AIP Christmas cookies get nice and crispy on the outside but stay slightly soft and crumbly on the inside. They are easy to make and take very little active prep time. You will want these paleo shortbread cookies on your anti-inflammatory holiday table and in your AIP Christmas cookie round up!
Now that you are sold on these paleo shortbread cookies, let’s talk about baking them!
Tips on making these Paleo Shortbread Cookies
Can I make only one flavor of these AIP Christmas Cookies?
If you want to make only one paleo shortbread cookie flavor, it is fairly easy.
- For chocolate cherry, add ½ cup chopped cherries and ⅓ cup chocolate chunks.
- For the cinnamon swirl, mix 3 tablespoons of coconut sugar with 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon and fold into the dough.
- For the powdered sugar, make sure to have about ¼ cup of powdered sugar on hand to coat the cookies with.
What type of cassava flour should I use in these paleo shortbread cookies?
Having the right quality of cassava flour is really important for success in AIP baking. You may have seen this before, but not all cassava flour is made the same. Some cassava flour can be very gummy and will not work well in this recipe. Finding good reliable cassava flour really comes from trial and error in baking. My favorite cassava flour brand to use is Otto’s cassava flour; it has the best performance. I have also found that Bob’s Red Mill and Just About Foods have good cassava flour as well.
What should I use for AIP “chocolate” chips in the AIP Chocolate Cherry Shortbread Cookies?
If you plan on staying AIP compliant, then you can make my AIP Chocolate Chunk recipe, It takes about 5 minutes to prep and about 10 minutes in the freezer to be cold enough to use in the recipe. One whole recipe makes enough to do all the dough as chocolate cherry flavored. If you have reintroduced chocolate into your diet, then Evolved chocolate is a great choice to add to your recipe.
How do I make AIP powdered sugar?
To make AIP powdered sugar, you will need maple sugar. You can buy a small bag here. Measure your sugar into a blender. I used a blender cup on my Ninja blender and it worked well. Typically your sugar will double in size when you powder it. So if you blend ¼ cup of maple sugar you will have a little less than ½ cup of powdered sugar. For the cookies you will need about 2-3 Tablespoons of powdered maple sugar. I like to make more than I need and save it for later use. You can also make powdered sugar out of coconut sugar, but the flavor is stronger and it has a darker color and texture.
Let's make some AIP Christmas cookies!
In a large bowl, mix the shortening and maple syrup together. The mixture will likely not mix fully together, but get it as incorporated as you can. Add in the vanilla extract and salt and mix again.
Add the cassava flour to the mixture one half at a time. Start by adding ¾ cup of cassava flour and stir until the flour is well mixed. Add the second ¾ cup of cassava flour and again stir until the dough has formed. The flour may seem like it does not want to mix in because the dough is too dry, but don’t worry, keep mixing the dough will form.
Split the dough into three sections, one section for each flavor of shortbread cookies. (If only making one flavor, check the notes section above!)
To make the three flavors, follow the next steps:
For the Chocolate Cherry AIP Shortbread, take 3 tablespoons of dried cherries and chop them into smaller pieces. Add the cherries to the dough and mix. Then add 2 tablespoons of AIP chocolate chunks or if in stage 1 of reintroduction use your favorite dark chocolate. Finally roll the dough into a log to chill.
For the Cinnamon Swirl Shortbread Cookies, take your ball of dough and flatten the dough out to fold in the sugar and cinnamon. Mix 1 tablespoon of coconut sugar and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon together. Sprinkle onto the surface of the dough then fold the dough a few times until the dough holds together. To achieve the swirl, do not over fold or over mix the spices into the dough! Finally, roll the dough into a log to chill.
For the Powdered Sugar Shortbread Cookies, just take the plain dough and roll it in a log to chill in the refrigerator.
Put all the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Baking the AIP shortbread cookies
When the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit.
Take out the chilled dough and roll the chocolate cherry log in maple sugar, and roll the cinnamon swirl in coconut sugar and cinnamon. Leave the plane as is. Slice each log into 9-10 slices and place the cookies on a baking sheet.
Bake the cookies for 16-20 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Flip the cookies about half way through the baking. Cookies will be done when they start to show a slight golden brown on the edges or bottom. Do not over bake the dough or it will make them very dry and crumby!
Once the cookies are out of the oven, let them cool about 3-4 minutes. Take each plain cookie and drop in the maple powdered sugar on both sides until they are coated.
Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to a week (if you don’t eat them all). This recipe makes about 30 cookies total.
If you liked this recipe, Check out these!
AIP & Paleo Shortbread cookies: Powdered Sugar, Chocolate Cherry, Cinnamon Swirl
Ingredients
Base Cookie Dough
- 1 ½ Cup Cassava flour
- ¾ Cup Palm shortening
- ¼ Cup + 2 Tablespoons Maple syrup
- ½ Teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ¾ Teaspoon Salt
To make one flavor reference notes
Powdered Sugar Cookies for ⅓ of the dough
- 2 Tablespoons Maple powdered sugar for dusting
Chocolate cherry cookies for ⅓ of the dough
- 3 Tablespoons Chopped dried cherries
- 2 Tablespoons AIP chocolate recipe in notes
- Maple sugar for rolling
Cinnamon Swirl cookies for ⅓ of the dough
- 1 Tablespoon Coconut sugar
- ½ Teaspoon Cinnamon
- Extra coconut sugar and cinnamon for rolling
Instructions
Base cookie dough
- In a large bowl, mix the shortening and maple syrup together. The mixture will likely not mix fully together, but get it as incorporated as you can.
- Add in the vanilla extract and salt, and mix again.
- Add the cassava flour to the mixture one half at a time. Start by adding ¾ cup of cassava flour and stir until the flour is well mixed. Add the second ¾ cup of cassava flour and again stir until the dough has formed. The flour may seem like it does not want to mix in because the dough is too dry, but don’t worry, keep mixing until a thick dough has formed.
- Split the dough into three sections, one section for each flavor of shortbread cookies.
Powdered Sugar
- For the powdered sugar shortbread, just take the plain dough and roll it in a log to chill in the refrigerator.
Chocolate Cherry
- For the chocolate cherry, take 3 tablespoons of dried cherries and chop them into smaller pieces. Add the cherries to the dough and mix. Then add 2 tablespoons of AIP chocolate chunks or if in stage 1 of reintroduction use your favorite dark chocolate. Finally roll the dough into a log to chill.
Cinnamon Swirl
- For the cinnamon swirl, take your ball of dough and flatten the dough out to fold in the sugar and cinnamon. Mix 1 tablespoon of coconut sugar and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon together. Sprinkle onto the surface of the dough then fold the dough a few times until the dough holds together. To achieve the swirl, do not over fold or over mix the cinnamon sugar into the dough! Finally, roll the dough into a log to chill.
- Put all the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Baking cookies
- When the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit.
- Take out the chilled dough and roll the chocolate cherry log in maple sugar, and roll the cinnamon swirl in coconut sugar and cinnamon. Leave the plain as is. Slice each log into 9-10 slices and place the cookies on a baking sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 16-20 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Flip the cookies about half way through the baking. Cookies will be done when they start to show a slight golden brown color on the edges. Do not over bake the dough or it will make them very dry and crumby!
- Once the cookies are out of the oven, let them cool about 3-4 minutes. Take each plain cookie and drop it in the maple powdered sugar on both sides until all are coated.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to a week (if you don’t eat them all). This recipe makes about 30 cookies total.
How much vanilla extract are you supposed to use? It’s not listed in the ingredients but it’s on the instructions.
Ah! Thank you Vanessa for pointing this out to me! You will use 1/2 tsp. Of Vanilla Extract for the whole recipe.