Gluten Free Choc Chip Shortbread: Starbucks Style
My Gluten Free Starbucks Style Shortbread recipe is here! Melt-on-your-mouth buttery biscuits with an ever so slight crumble & packed with chocolate chips. What’s more, they are completely gluten free but you’d never, ever know it. Vegan too if you use vegan choc chips. And you only need 4-ingredients. Surely you don’t need any more convincing?!
I LOVE my “Best Ever Shortbread” recipe – its genuinely one of my favourite recipes on my website because its easy, absolutely delish and works perfectly every single time. So I’ve just made a few tweaks to turn it into this Starbucks classic!
Why did I decide to make this? My Gluten Free Starbucks Style Shortbread was born out of jealousy. I was walking down Brentwood high-street last week and a girl was sat outside, thoroughly enjoying her Starbucks with her frapp and choc chip shortbread. Admittedly, I was mad. I reaaaaally wanted a bite… and the fact Starbucks doesn’t offer even one gluten free product is annoying. So, I went home and made my own – who needs them anyway 😉
Ingredients for my Gluten Free Choc Chip Shortbread
4 super duper easy ingredients! Always think its worth reading this bit before you get cracking 🙂
(1) Gluten Free Flour
- Self-raising is my preference but if you’ve only got plain flour in the cupboard, it’ll still work.
- Brand: I like Doves Farm FREEE
(2) Stork Block
- The block of Stork in the picture below is the best if you can get it (you want the one that comes in 250g foil block, NOT a tub, and it says “biscuits and pastry” on the front)
- Stork is naturally dairy free too!!
- If you can’t get Stork:
- You can buy alternative brands but it has to be a vegetable oil based block. Make sure the ingredients states “vegetable oil” (usually 75%). The packet will likely say something like “baking block for biscuits”.
- Don’t substitute with a block of real butter e.g. Lurpak (which is made of milk, not oil) because the results will be very different!!
(3) Caster Sugar
- White granulated sugar would be fine too. Or golden caster sugar (will just result in a slightly browner shortbread)
(4) Chocolate chips
- Any will do… white, dark or milk!
FAQ’s
Q. Can I make this recipe dairy free?
A. It is! This Stork is naturally dairy free. Its actually VEGAN too!
Q. How long will my gluten free shortbreads keep for?
A. Usually 3-5 days in a sealed, air-tight container… although they never last that long in my house!!
Q. Why is my shortbread crumbly?
A. It could be down to your brand of flour. My favourite is FREEE Self-Raising which contains Xantham gum which reduces the crumbliness of cakes and biscuits. If your brand hasn’t got any Xantham gum in it, you can buy it in the free from aisle of most supermarkets. Add 1/4 tsp for this recipe.
Q. Why are my shortbread cookies a bit too brown around the edges?
A. Either they’re slightly overbaked or your oven is too hot.
How to tell: if they’re dry and crumbly throughout, you’ve overbaked them and need to reduce your cooking time by a minute or two. If they’re perfect in the middle and not dry, the oven was too hot so just reduce the temperature by 10oC next time (everyone’s oven is a slightly different temperature so its really easy for this to be the case!)
Q. Do I reaaaaally need to chill the dough in the fridge
A. It develops the flavour and also firms up the dough, making it less sticky and easier to roll out so its certainly a good idea but not compulsory.
Q. I haven’t got baking paper – can I use tin foil
A. Yes! I think baking paper is preferred due to the heat distribution but I’ve never had a problem using either.
Gluten Free Starbucks Style Shortbread
Ingredients
- 250 grams Stork block - see description in the "Ingredients" section of the blog post
- 380 grams gluten free self-raising flour - can also use plain if that's what you've got in the cupboard
- 120 grams caster sugar
- 100-200 grams chocolate chips - depending on how chocolately you'd like it!
Instructions
- Cut the Stork into rough squares and place into a mixing bowl. Add the caster sugar to the bowl too.>This is to make it easier to whisk at the next stage
- Cream the butter & sugar until smooth and fluffy.>Whisk with an electric hand whisk for about 30 seconds. Don't cut this time short because (1) it creates a creamy shortbread and (2) it warms up the butter which makes the next stage easier!>You could also use a wooden spoon but you'll have to really go for it!!
- Add the flour and whisk again. It'll start resembling breadcrumbs like the first picture. Keep whisking and it will then form bigger lumps like the second picture. Stop at this point!>Don't worry about sieving the flour – just tip it in 😉>There should be no white flour showing by the time you've finished this stage, it should be all mixed in
- Add your chocolate chips and stir through so they are roughly evenly distributed.
- Use your hands to press the mix together into a big ball.>If its still quite crumbly, you might find it easier to make several balls.
- Transfer the shortbread dough to a big piece of cling film>*Pic hasn't got the choc chips but I just wanted to show you what I meant!>Don’t worry if its falling apart a little, it'll firm up in the fridge>I go for a sausage shape as it chills more evenly in the fridge than a big ball
- Wrap it up tightly. Put it in the fridge for at least an hour to firm up.
Baking
- Pre-heat your oven to 175oC (fan).
- Remove from the fridge, remove the cling film & take a lump of the dough.>It's easiest to do the next bit with about 1/2 or 1/3 of the dough at a time.
- Dust your hands in flour. Play with the lump of dough, moulding into a smooth ball.>You can be quite heavy handed with it here, play with it like its playdough!
- Scatter some flour over the worksurface. Place the ball the surface, use the palm of your hand to flatten slightly and then bash with a rolling pin to flatten a little more>Bashing with the rolling pin helps to stop the shortbread dough from falling apart. This is my fave top tip for this recipe! It makes the dough so much easier to work with.
- Add some flour to your rolling pin and roll out until its about 2cm thick. Cut out your shapes into rough triangles with a knife – don't worry about being neat! The Starbucks ones aren't!!>If you'd rolled too thin, don't worry just gather the dough together and start again! Add more flour to the rolling pin, work surfaces and your hands.>You won't be able to cut through a chocolate chip so the edges of your triangles might not be perfectly neat. Rough is fine! But equally, you can use your fingers to neaten them up a little if you'd like!
- Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper, a few cm apart from each other. Place in the oven for 15 mins, until the edges are just browning.>You may want to spin your baking tray about 10 minutes into the cooking time. Most peoples ovens are hotter at the back than the front (or vice versa!), so rotating the tray will give the biscuits a nice even colour.
- Remove and leave ON THE TRAY until cool.WARNING: if you try to move them before they have cooled, they’ll probably crumble. Don't be tempted to push them around on the tray either!! Just leaaaave them!!!Eat!!!
Want some more shortbread recipes?
Here’s all of my favourites! (all gluten free & dairy free options too):
- My Best Ever Shortbread – the original recipe! “Plain” shortbreads, perfect on their own or ready for you to add your own flavours
- Strawberry & White Chocolate Shortbreads
- Raspberry Shortbreads
- Jammy Dodgers
- Millionaire Shortbread
3 Comments
jkitchengf
1st February 2022 at 5:14 pm
Perfect every time
coeliacgfalison
1st February 2022 at 6:00 pm
Never fails!!! Perfection
bear
9th March 2023 at 4:22 pm
found this recipe because my local starbucks don’t seem to stock this anymore, but I’ll be visiting a friend abroad who loves it – so wanted to bake at home to still bring some along with me. Ohhh my goodness, I have NEVER followed such an easy-to-use and thorough recipe with tips that turned out so effortlessly beautiful and yummy as this one. and vegan!!! I’m in shock and awe and will be making this again! thank you!!