These vegan chocolate shortbread cookies are delicate and totally melt-in-your-mouth. If you like your shortbread cookies to be just like that, look no further than this recipe.
These treats take less than 30 minutes to make and the process is really simple. Soft and buttery dairy-free treats are ready in no time and they're just so moreish. I can't wait for you to try them!
Whether you're sharing the shortbread cookies out with friends and family or you're enjoying them alone, they go down well in every household.
Are you looking for more vegan shortbread recipes? If that's a yes, you also need to check out these vegan melted snowman cookies, vegan fudge strip shortbread cookies and vegan chocolate wafer cookies which are all so much fun to bake.
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Why You Will Love These Cookies
- Beautiful Texture - When I make vegan shortbread, I want it to turn out to be soft to the bite and I can confirm that these tasty cookies are just that. These are delicate shortbread cookies and they're definitely one of my favorite recipes on the entire blog!
- The Chocolate - These cookies are dipped in warm vegan dark chocolate, as well as having Lotus Biscoff crumbs sprinkled on top! It's a match made in heaven. The bitterness of the melted chocolate compliments the sweetness of the shortbread cookies nicely. Some other delectable chocolate treats that you'll love include my vegan chocolate fudge lava cake and my vegan brownie cookie dough.
- Easy to Make - Making the cookies is so easy. All you need to do is make the shortbread dough, roll it out, cut out the cookies, bake them and dip them into the chocolate.
- Allergy Friendly & Plant Based - This vegan chocolate shortbread cookies recipe is completely vegan and dairy free.
Ingredient Notes
- All-purpose flour - Use ordinary, plain flour for this recipe. This is the only flour that I've tested which gives the final cookies the desired consistency which I have described.
- Superfine sugar - Also known as caster sugar in some parts of the world, this popular sugar type will give the shortbread a much finer texture, as opposed to granulated sugar which makes the cookies more coarse.
- Vegan butter - This is the most important ingredient in a vegan shortbread recipe, as it helps to keep the gluten inside the flour soft. It also helps to give the cookies an amazing structure.
- Vegan chocolate chips - You can also melt a vegan chocolate bar if you prefer, like I did in my vegan chocolate peanut butter almond bars and vegan chocolate bounty bars.
- Vegan double cream - When mixed with the dairy free chocolate chips, it helps them to melt properly without becoming clumpy and unappetizing.
See recipe card for full information on individual ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- If you prefer other flavors to the speculoos in Lotus Biscoff, you can choose a different topping. I went for the crumbled Biscoff cookies as I love recipes with it included such as, my vegan biscoff brownie bark, but you can choose anything you wish. Oreos would also be great.
- Something that many of you may want to do is to make your vegan cookies bigger (or smaller). It all depends on the sizes of the cookie cutters that you have at home and your personal preferences. This recipe calls for an 8cm diameter cookie cutter but 7cm and 9cm cutters are also fine. You can even change the shape of the cutters in order to make them extra funky!
How To Make Vegan Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
For the full method, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1: Line two regular baking trays.
2: Combine the cookie dough ingredients until the dough becomes a little sticky and crumbly like breadcrumbs.
3: Squeeze the dough together with your hands until a large dough ball forms.
4: Roll out the shortbread dough and cut out the individual cookies.
5: Bake the cookies then let them cool fully.
6: Decorate the shortbread cookies by dipping them into melted dark chocolate and sprinkling Lotus Biscoff cookie crumbs onto the chocolate.
Expert Tips
Make sure the vegan butter is softened at room temperature - If the dairy-free butter isn't soft enough it won't be easy to combine it with the rest of the shortbread dough mixture.
Roll the dough out to be 1cm thick - After making this vegan shortbread recipe many times over the years, I've found that rolling it out to be roughly 1cm in thickness is the optimum amount for taking a bite out of the cookies.
Let the cookies cool fully before dipping - Allow your vegan shortbread cookies to fully cool down before dipping them into the melted chocolate. This allows the coating to be even and smooth.
Recipe FAQs
No. Butter cookies have more sugar and bake at a higher temperature than shortbread cookies.
Start with room temperature vegan butter which isn't too warm because if the dough becomes too warm it will be too greasy and difficult to roll.
They should be a light golden brown and extra crisp around the edges.
Shortbread is a traditional Scottish biscuit which dates all the way back to the 12th century. Originally, it was named shortbread due to the sugar to fat ratio. The large amount of vegan butter/butter in vegan and non-vegan shortbread gives them a high fat content.
Place in an airtight container and store in the fridge for a week. Alternatively, freeze in an airtight container for three months.
More Vegan Cookie Recipes
If you tried this Vegan Chocolate Shortbread Cookies Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
Vegan Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
Shortbread Cookies:
- 300 g All-purpose flour
- 80 g Caster sugar
- 250 g Vegan butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Chocolate Topping:
- 100 g Dairy-free chocolate chips
- 50 g Vegan double cream
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 160C.
- Line two baking trays with parchment paper. Set aside.
Making the shortbread dough:
- In a medium-sized bowl sift in the flour, followed by the sugar. Mix and then add in the vegan butter, vanilla and salt.
- Using your hands, combine the shortbread mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs. Squeeze it all together until a smooth dough forms.
- Lightly, sprinkle some flour onto your vegan shortbread dough and carefully, use a rolling pin to roll it out to roughly 1cm thick.
- Using an 8cm diameter cookie cutter, cut out your shortbread. Make sure that you use of the dough by re-rolling.
- Place your cookies onto the prepared baking trays 1cm apart. You can even sprinkle a little extra caster sugar on top if you wish.
Baking the cookies:
- Bake your cookies into the center of the pre-heated oven for 13 minutes or until the edges become golden brown. Oven temperatures vary so keep checking them!
- Remove the shortbread cookies from the oven and let them cool fully.
Making the chocolate topping:
- Whilst you're waiting for them to cool, melt your chocolate chips with the vegan cream. I filled a saucer with hot water, placed a steaming pan over it and a metal mixing bowl above that.
- Dip the tips of your cooled cookies into the melted chocolate, then sprinkle the Biscoff crumbs onto them if you wish.
- Let them set and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- If the dairy-free butter isn't soft enough it won't be easy to combine it with the rest of the shortbread dough mixture.
- After making this vegan shortbread recipe many times over the years, I've found that rolling it out to be roughly 1cm in thickness is the optimum amount for taking a bite out of the cookies.
- Allow your vegan shortbread cookies to fully cool down before dipping them into the melted chocolate. This allows the coating to be even and smooth.
Anonymous says
The softest vegan shortbread. So yummy!🙌🏻