Vegan & Gluten-Free Salted Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Bars
Holiday cookie #3 is these salted shortbread bars loaded with dried cranberries and dark chocolate chunks, and they are AMAZING! I’ve always loved shortbread - the simple, buttery, slightly salted dough is heavenly to me, and they’re extra great when you make them a little bit crispy. I wanted to replicate all of those elements that I love in a vegan and gluten-free version, and they turned out better than I even expected! I used Culcherd plant-based butter and it worked beautifully here, and then my tried-and-true combo of almond and gluten-free baking flour to give them that slightly crumbly, crispy texture. Extra flaky salt on top is the perfect compliment. Hope you love these!
Salted Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Bars (Vegan & Gluten-Free)
Holiday Cookie Series
Ingredients
½ cup vegan butter, slightly cold (I like Culcherd for these)
½ cup coconut or brown sugar
½ cup gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
1 ¼ cup fine almond flour
¼ tsp sea salt
½ cup chopped dark chocolate, plus more for topping if desired
½ cup dried cranberries
Flaky sea salt, for topping
Bake at 350 for 16-20 mins until edges are browned (depending how crispy you like them!)
Method
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease or line a square baking pan. In a bowl, use a fork or a hand mixer to incorporate your butter into the sugar. Add your flours and salt and mix until everything is combined - you should have a crumbly dough. Fold in the cranberries and chocolate chunks.
Press the dough into your pan, packing it down tightly using your hands or a flat surface (like the back of a measuring cup). Add more chocolate if desired.
Bake for 16-20 minutes, depending how crunchy you want your bars - the more brown they get around the edges, the crunchier they’ll get (this is how I like them!). Remove, top with flaky sea salt and let cool completely (at least 30 minutes) before removing from the pan and cutting into squares.
Makes 16 small squares
