Almond Flour Earl Gray Shortbread

Shortbread cookies are deliciously soft and buttery . . . but they're made with wheat flour! These gluten-free Earl Gray shortbread cookies are made with almond flour instead. They're every bit as delicious as the traditional melt-in-your-mouth shortbread you may have grown up with!

If you love shortbread as much as I do, you'll also love these other recipes for almond flour shortbread. Take your pick or try them all!

• Orange Cardamom Almond Flour Shortbread
• Pumpkin Spice Shortbread Cookies
• Cranberry Lemon Almond Shortbread Cookies
• Buttery Almond Flour Espresso Shortbread
• Gluten-Free Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

You'll find a complete list of ingredients with amounts in the recipe card below. But before we get to the full recipe, here are a few notes about some of the key ingredients.

• almond flour:  blanched, finely ground almond flour. I use either the Kirkland Brand from Costco or Bob's Red Mill Superfine Almond Flour. Use the scoop and sweep method for measuring flour. Scoop roughly two cups, sift it, then scoop again, levelling it with a knife scraped across the top of the measuring cup. The most accurate way to measure almond flour is with a digital scale. Two cups of almond flour weigh 192 grams or 6.8 ounces.
• butter:  unsalted is best for baking. It must be softened, but not melted, as I've explained below.
• confectioner's sugar:  also known as icing sugar or powdered sugar. Using confectioner's sugar makes a light, melt-in-your-mouth cookie.
• salt: just a hint. If you have to use salted butter, omit the extra salt in the recipe.
• vanilla extract: pure
• Earl Gray tea: use 1 tablespoon of Earl Gray tea leaves, or simply cut open a tea bag.
• lemon zest: a small amount adds so much flavour to these almond flour shortbread cookies!
• For the lemon glaze: confectioner's sugar and fresh lemon juice

There are three ways to make this gluten-free shortbread recipe.

roll-slice-and-bake shortbread. Roll into a log, chill in the fridge for 2 hours until firm, then slice and bake. I use a cookie cutter with a fancy edge to trim the cookies.

drop cookie. Roll the dough into small balls, flatten slightly and bake.

cut-out cookies. Form the dough into a square inside a resealable bag, chill, then slice into rectangles or squares. If the dough has been chilled thoroughly, you can even use a cookie cutter.

Be sure to start with softened butter.

Creaming butter and sugar forms air pockets that fill with steam while the cookies are baking, resulting in a tender crumb and airy texture.

What does softened butter look like?  It should be firm enough to hold its shape, but when you poke it, it should leave an indentation. You can pick up a piece in your hands and it will be pliable.

If you've forgotten to take the butter out of the fridge ahead of time, (and who hasn't done that?) the best way to soften it is to leave it unwrapped on the counter at room temperature for at least 30 to 45 minutes.

You can also use this quick hack: Heat a glass or a measuring cup of water in the microwave, pour out the water and cover the butter with the warm glass. The heat and steam from the glass will warm the butter to gently soften it.

If you just can't wait, microwaving it is possible, but it is usually not a wise choice! It only takes a few seconds to turn butter from rock hard to melted. So if you must, you can try microwaving it for 8 - 10 seconds, no more, or you'll regret it!

To store: These cookies will stay fresh for 3 days at room temperature.

To freeze: You can freeze them in layers with a sheet of parchment paper in between. Stored in an airtight container, you can freeze them for up to 3 months.