Gluten-Free Shortbread Cookies

Classic buttery shortbread with a crisp, sandy snap, made from just butter, sugar, salt and a gluten-free flour blend with a little rice flour. Pressed into a pan, scored and baked low and slow, it cuts into 16 neat fingers.

Prep: 15 min Cook: 40 min Total: 105 min Serves: 16

At a glance: This easy desserts recipe yields 16 servings in about 1h 45m (15 min prep, 40 min cook). It uses 7 ingredients — including salted or unsalted butter, granulated sugar, salt — and walks through 6 steps. Updated October 24, 2026. Browse more desserts recipes or return to all gluten-free recipes.

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Shop links in the ingredient list are affiliate links and do not change the recipe.

Cross-Contamination Warning for Gluten-Free Shortbread Cookies: When preparing this desserts recipe, store gluten-free shortbread in its own tin, away from other holiday cookies, because crumbs from standard cookies transfer easily. Flour dust travels. Bake this on a day the kitchen is not also handling flour that contains gluten, use clean bowls, beaters and baking sheets, and keep the gluten-free flour blend in its own sealed container.

Gluten-Free Notes for Gluten-Free Shortbread Cookies: Shortbread is normally just butter, sugar and flour that contains gluten. Here a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend and white rice flour take the place of that flour. Use rice flour, vanilla and a flour blend labeled gluten-free.

Scale Recipe:

servings

Ingredient amounts update automatically

Ingredients

Shop links on this page are for granulated sugar, plus 1 tbsp for sprinkling, pure vanilla extract, gluten-free all-purpose flour blend. Buy the package that says gluten-free. A shared production line is the usual risk with these pantry items. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. Confirm the product is labeled gluten-free before you buy.

1 cup (2 sticks, 226 g) salted or unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tbsp for sprinkling Shop
1/2 tsp salt (1/4 tsp if using salted butter)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (optional) Shop
1 3/4 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour blend (about 245 g) Shop
1/4 cup white rice flour (about 40 g) Shop
1/2 tsp xanthan gum (skip if your blend already contains it) Shop

Instructions

1 Line an 8x8-inch metal pan with a parchment sling.
2 Beat the butter, 1/2 cup sugar and salt on medium-low until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Mix in the vanilla if using. Do not whip in a lot of air; shortbread should be dense and crisp.
3 Add the gluten-free flour blend, rice flour and xanthan gum (if using) and mix on low until the dough just comes together in clumps.
4 Press the dough evenly into the pan with your fingers or the bottom of a measuring cup. Prick it all over with a fork and score it into 16 fingers with a knife, cutting about halfway through. Chill for 20 minutes.
5 Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Bake the shortbread for 35-40 minutes, until firm and pale golden at the edges.
6 Sprinkle the hot shortbread with the remaining 1 tbsp sugar and immediately cut along the score marks. Cool completely in the pan, about 30 minutes, before lifting it out and breaking it into fingers.

Tips & Notes

Cut the shortbread along the scored lines while it is still hot from the oven. Once it cools it sets crisp and shatters instead of cutting cleanly.
Use the best butter you can find. With only four main ingredients, the butter is the flavor of the shortbread.
The white rice flour gives the classic sandy texture. If the shortbread tastes gritty, rest the pressed dough in the fridge for an hour before baking so the rice flour absorbs more moisture.

Common questions

What cross-contamination risk is specific to Gluten-Free Shortbread Cookies?

Check salted or unsalted butter, softened, granulated sugar, plus 1 tbsp for sprinkling, salt before they go into Gluten-Free Shortbread Cookies. Store gluten-free shortbread in its own tin, away from other holiday cookies, because crumbs from standard cookies transfer easily. Flour dust travels. Bake this on a day the kitchen is not also handling flour that contains gluten, use clean bowls, beaters and baking sheets, and keep the gluten-free flour blend in its own sealed container.

Which gluten-free swaps does Gluten-Free Shortbread Cookies use?

Gluten-Free Shortbread Cookies relies on 1 3/4 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour blend, 1/4 cup white rice flour and 1/2 tsp xanthan gum. Keep those gluten-free-labeled products in place of a gluten-containing flour or sauce.

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