Vegan Shortbread Cookie (Whole Wheat, Crunchy, Dunkable Midnight Snack!)

Sometimes I just want a plain cookie. No chips. No lemon. And, believe it or not, no chocolate. Growing up, we had a ready supply of "pecan sandies" on top of our fridge (along with the "Count Chocula" and "Lucky Charms"). In our house, the shortbread cookie was a staple. Like cigarettes and eye brow pencils. Maybe not in that order. I don't ever recall our mother whipping up a batch of shortbread cookies from scratch. Just that they were there . . . all the time.

Speaking of "mothers". I was card shopping the other day. Suddenly, wherever I turned, I was smack dab in the middle of a Mother's Day rain storm! It was mother this and mother that. Nothing wrong with mothers. If you're a mother, great! If you have a mother, great! If you have none and are not one, well . . . good luck managing through the onslaught of all that is MOM in the coming weeks. I just find this time of year a little difficult is all.

I guess memories of mom and pecan sandies beckoned--I couldn't see straight until I had a shortbread cookie in front of me. No going to the store because I've yet to find a vegan shortbread sold commercially that I liked.

 Once again--it's the 'hunt'. Which recipe? Which ingredient list? How long should I let them bake? Roll or press into a 9" cake pan (because several recipes suggest to bake the dough in a round cake pan, then cut into triangles--that seemed fussy to me). Finally, turning to this lovely cookbook I found last Christmas on sale at a used bookstore: The All American Cookie Book by Nancy Baggett, I'd found the direction I was looking for. Her book unveils some of the longest history of American cookies I have ever read. (Not including my grandmother's recipe box.) It's a beautiful cookbook. According to Nancy, the cookie that started the shortbread fascination seemed to have come from Scotland. In the traditional sense, old fashioned Scottish shortbread is rolled, cut and then stamped--but during baking--which helps hold the stamp imprint. I was good to get mine rolled and poked with the fork. But it was nice to know this "stamping" back story about the cookie. 

King Arthur provided input on the matter, as well. Sure enough, they had a lovely, well-reviewed shortbread cookie recipe. Their shortbread called for powdered sugar--a key ingredient to getting that nice crumb. I'm sold!

To me, a proper shortbread should have an uber-crunch factor, with crumbs that fall in your lap so you have to keep a paper towel handy to catch them. (Or a dog nearby.) I am picky about shortbread. So yes, while on its own, this recipe is quite ordinary in its ingredient requirements--the baking of said cookie should not be taken lightly.

I can report that these cookies were simply one of the best shortbreads I've tried. I love the crunch. I love the crumb. I love having two (okay, maybe three) of them at night right before bed with a cup of Sleepy Time Tea (extra strength!). 

Begin by adding all of the ingredients to your mixing bowl--hold back a bit of the flour adding it in two separate additions--you will have a very dry dough. But no worries. The dough loosens up after mixing. I "healthified" mine up a teensy bit by using part white whole wheat flour.  

Here's the dough after adding all the ingredients and I am just about ready to divide it into two balls, then flatten onto my kitchen counter with the palm of my hand--no rolling pin needed--and just a light dusting of flour on the counter is all you'll need. Just gather all the dough together and shape into a flat disc, then slowly keep pressing the dough out to a larger circle or rectangle until about 1/4" thick.

Here's the cookies just before baking. I prefer my shortbread square. You cut your dough out--and then poke with a fork (to keep the dough from puffing up on you during baking).

The cookies bake for a fairly long time at a low temperature. That is what gives them their crunch. Allow them to cool fully on the wire rack. Then, let the crunching and dunking begin!

Vegan Shortbread Cookie

*Adapted from King Arthur Baking Site

1 cup regular vegan butter (2 sticks Earth Balance)

1 cup (4 ounces weighed on a scale) powdered sugar *I used my scale to get the right weight of powdered sugar--you don't want to pack the powdered sugar down when measuring it.

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon almond extract* (optional)

1/8 teaspoon butter extract* (optional, but I DO love the flavor it added!)

1 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour *(your total flour amount in ounces: 8 1/2--I weighed my flour, too)

Preheat oven to 300. Lightly spray two cookie sheets and set aside. You could even skip spraying the cookie sheets owing to the butter content--they are pretty non-stick in their own right. In a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients, being sure to hold back half the flour--adding 2nd addition of flour after a few turns of the mixer and the mix begins to come together. Mix until the dough looks crumbly. It will be a stiff dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured--very lightly floured--work surface. Split the dough in half so you are only working with half of the dough at a time--cover the other half. Shape into a disc, then flatten with the palm of your hand to 1/4" thick. Cut desired cookie shape out or free hand shape the dough with a pizza cutter. Carefully lift the cookies and place evenly spaced on cookie sheet. Poke holes in cookies with a fork. Bake for about 35-40 minutes--until the edges of the cookies begin to turn golden. Remove from oven. Allow to cool for five minutes on cookie sheet, then carefully remove to cooling rack. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.