Vegan Chocolate Shortbread | Heart of a Baker

Easy, buttery and SO GOOD. Vegan chocolate shortbread is the best vegan cookie out there, hands down! Baked using almond flour, dark chocolate, and olive oil for that perfectly buttery shortbread taste, without the butter.

This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this space possible! 

If you’ve been following along on Instagram you know that I’ve been trying SO HARD to conquer vegan macarons. I went through 5 trials, lots of 90 degree days, and SO many frustrated exclamations after pulling a tray of them out of the oven. My original plan was to conquer a vegan macaron recipe that ANYONE could make and find a way to make it way easier and less temperamental than all the other recipes out there. Turns out, that’s WAY easier said than done, and I need to let the recipe just chill for a bit before I jump back into testing it again. BUT, the good news is that I actually ended up making the best vegan chocolate shortbread I’ve ever come across and it is 10/10 way easier than macarons! Worth almost pulling out my hair and losing my mind over recipe testing? I think so.

Let’s talk vegan shortbread! Typically, shortbread is full of butter and/or oil. This gives it that super awesome buttery texture and causes it to be so tender and perfectly sweet, without being too boring. I know usually shortbread is just plain vanilla, without any other flavors going on in it, but I wanted to make this version a cookie that could easily stand alone, or pair well with homemade vanilla ice cream. I also opted to make these vegan chocolate shortbread cookies with olive oil vs. coconut oil, because it tends to lend itself better to being paired with chocolate. I still love coconut oil, but have found that lately, I’m really digging on baking with olive oil instead! Also, using Bob’s Red Mill almond flour vs. all regular flour really gives this vegan chocolate shortbread some heft and ensures it is just a tiny bit hearty.