My Vegan Shortbread Creations
I’m a shortbread addict and I have several variations to share with the world: Lemon and Thyme Shortbread, Chickpea Shortbread and Hazelnut Shortbread Sticks
I proudly identify as a shortbread addict.
I find it difficult to resist intensely flavored little biscuits with a crispy exterior and soft and chewy interior and just enough sugar to tickle my taste bud receptors. Throw in a cup of coffee or tea – depending on time of day – and I wonder how I manage to restrict my intake to 3 or 4 shortbread biscuits. Or eat anything else for that matter.
I don’t know how this passion developed. I’m sure the first shortbread biscuits I ate were factory-produced knock off versions of an original Scottish shortbread – the overpriced buttery and crumbly ones that are often sold by the pallet-full in Scottish duty-free shops. These biscuits tasted of stale manufactured butter…yuck! But somehow, I knew there was promise because I loved the texture and mouthfeel. So, I began experimenting…
Well, one thing led to another and before I knew it, I produced a variation that was extraordinary. The initial crunch gave way to a melting interior and my mouth was filled with joy. And I was hooked.
But then things changed in how I ate, and butter – a crucial ingredient to shortbread – was no longer an option…and I began to wonder if it was possible to produce a shortbread biscuit without butter. As it turned out, the answer was in the name – shortbread.
‘Short’ bread is just another way to describe the crumbly texture – a texture that is created when gluten strands that develop when mixing flour with liquids are ‘shortened.’ These shorter strands are more fragile and tend to fall apart much easier…and that’s what creates a crumbly texture. And the best way to shorten gluten strands is by introducing fats – the more you add, the crumblier the texture. The default fat used in most recipes is butter (earlier, it was lard – again, yuck!) but it doesn’t have to be – there is no universal law that says butter shortens gluten better than oil – at least I couldn’t find one.
So, I started to experiment with extra virgin olive oil in to produce shortbread biscuits…using 82% of the amount of butter called for and adding a bit more liquid to the mix. Success. I proved delicious vegan shortbread was indeed possible. I guess at that point, I went a bit crazy in creating variations of shortbread biscuits – versions adopted from numerous other ‘butter’ cookies worldwide.
I hope you find my vegan interpretations of shortbread biscuits inspiring. And who knows, maybe someday we will meet and swap shortbread creations and ideas? In any case, I would love to receive your feedback. Feel free to spark a conversation by leaving a comment below and sharing with me your vegan custard experiences.
Lemon and Thyme Shortbread
The combination of lemon and thyme work extremely well in these heavenly vegan shortbread biscuits.
The exterior is crisp, while the interior remains soft and crumbly. And in my opinion, that is exactly how a shortbread biscuit should be. The texture and mouthfeel come from the use of the oil in the recipe, which ‘shortens’ the gluten strands caused by mixing the flour with liquids – this is the only way to get this kind of crumbly texture.
This recipe can be prepared in about one hour…from that urge to eat a biscuit, to actually eating one! But be careful – these biscuits are extremely addictive!