I always loved shortbread, but as a vegan had given up on shortbread cookies. They never seemed the same without butter…until now.

This recipe is for strawberry shortbread cookies with chocolate chips, but can be easily modified to make classic shortbread cookies. Instead of using large amounts of icing sugar, these cookies are made with flavoured vegan protein powder. This is a healthier, gluten-free cookie that is very simple to make (unlike regular shortbread cookies, which are labour intensive).

You won’t believe how easy it is to make shortbread with this simple recipe. These cookies taste good baked or raw, but only the baked version has the texture of shortbread.. The raw cookies have a soft cookie dough texture that is also delicious.

The coconut oil and coconut flour used in these cookies do not add a strong coconut flavour. For those who may notice and who do not want the subtle coconut taste, you can substitute almond flour for coconut flour and use refined coconut oil (which does not have a coconut taste).

For classic shortbread cookies (rather than the strawberry chocolate chip version), use plain sweetened or vanilla flavoured vegan protein powder and omit the chocolate chips. You can make these cookies with any type of vegan protein powder you have on hand. If your protein powder is unsweetened, add sweetener of your choice. I used strawberry flavoured soy protein powder for these cookies.

Be very careful to avoid over baking. The cookies burn quickly. Remove from the oven after 4 minutes only. The cookies will be very soft and flexible immediately after baking, so allow them to cool on the baking sheet because they will be too fragile to move. Once cool, the cookies will have the perfect shortbread texture.

Vegan shortbread cookies are healthier than their non-vegan counterparts. Because they are low-carb and gluten-free, these cookies also appeal to a wide variety of dietary preferences. Many people consider coconut oil to be a health food, but because coconut oil is high in fat, I recommend eating these cookies in moderation.