4-Ingredient Gluten-free Choc Chip Shortbread Recipe (2024)

4-ingredient gluten-free choc chip shortbread recipe, anyone? They only take 20 minutes to whip up, they’re lovely and buttery and you only need 4 ingredients to make them.

4-ingredient gluten-free choc chip shortbread recipe – it’s finally here! You only need 4 simple ingredients to make these beauties and they’re super easy to make dairy-free or vegan too, if you fancy. They’re just like the ones I can NEVER eat at Starbucks!

Don’t forget to check out my traditional gluten-free shortbread biscuits recipe if you like this one too!

My main inspiration when baking has always been recreating ALL the things I see, but can’t eat.

(how on Earth are there still so few gluten-free options in coffee shops in 2020, for example?!)

And this story started in Starbucks – I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve longingly stared at their chocolate chip shortbread… then ordered absolutely nothing to eat whatsoever.

So naturally, I got home, go my apron on and whipped these up. Wow, that was a very short story, wasn’t it?

Why make my 4-ingredient gluten-free choc chip shortbread recipe?

• It only takes 20 minutes to make.
• You only need 4 ingredients.
• You’d NEVER know they’re gluten-free – even the muggles will love these!
• They’re just like the choc chip shortbread I remember enjoying from Starbucks.
• This is one of the few recipes on the blog to have tons of step-by-step photos AND a full recipe tutorial video. So you can’t go wrong!
• This recipe is super-easy to adapt to be gluten-free or vegan with two simple swaps.

And here’s the result! It’s been over a decade since I last had one of these in Starbucks, but after one bite, I felt like I was tasting the real deal.

Every bite was full of buttery, golden shortbread, packed with tons of chocolate chips. It honestly didn’t taste like a ‘gluten-free version’ AT ALL.

And nope, it wasn’t incredibly, dry or crumbly, or at risk of falling apart like some gluten-free shortbread I’ve tried.

But don’t take my word for it – get baking! After all, eating is believing…

Here’s everything you’ll need for my 4-ingredient gluten-free choc chip shortbread recipe. Keep scrolling until you see the recipe card below if you’re looking for the measurements and method ??

4-ingredient gluten-free choc chip shortbread recipe: Ingredients

• 235g butter, softened or dairy-free hard margarine
• 110g golden caster sugar (regular caster sugar and granulated sugar work fine too)
• 360g gluten free self raising flour (if your flour doesn’t contain xanthan gum, add a 1/2 tsp of that too)
• 150g chocolate chips (dairy free if necessary)

So I thought I’d kick things off with a little frequently asked questions section – if you just want the recipe, then keep scrolling.

But I’ve thrown in some tips here that will be really helpful if this is your first time baking this, or you want to adapt it. So here they are!

4-ingredient gluten-free choc chip shortbread recipe: Frequently asked questions

Can I make this recipe gluten free? Is it suitable for Coeliacs?

It is gluten free, though nobody would know just by tasting it – trust me!

Bear in mind that minimising cross-contamination is hugely important if you’re Coeliac or making this for someone who is. Here’s some tips from Coeliac UK on minimising the risk of cross contamination:

Also, make sure that all ingredients used don’t have any gluten-containing ingredients. Then make that that they also don’t have a ‘may contain’ warning for gluten, wheat, rye, barley, oats (which aren’t gf), spelt and khorasan wheat (aka Kamut).

Here’s some more info from Coeliac UK on identifying safe gluten free products.

Can I make your 4-ingredient gluten-free choc chip shortbread recipe dairy free?

Yes you can with two simple swaps! All you need to do is use a block of hard dairy-free margarine like a Stork baking blockor Flora Plant Butter.

If using dairy-free alternatives to butter, I’d recommend adding 1 tsp of vanilla extract as you’ll be losing that ‘buttery’ flavour.

Lastly, simply use dairy-free chocolate chips. Easy!

Can I make your 4-ingredient gluten-free choc chip shortbread recipe vegan?

If you follow the steps above to make this recipe dairy-free, then that also makes it vegan too.

Can I make this recipe low FODMAP?

If you use any type of lactose-free chocolate chips, then yes!

That’s the only change you need to make – then one shortbread biscuit would be suitable for the elimination phase of the diet.

Is your 4-ingredient gluten-free choc chip shortbread recipe nut free?

Yep, this is a nut-free recipe as far as ingredients go, BUT make sure you check the ingredients label on ALL the products you use just to be safe.

Even if the products don’t contain nuts, they may have a ‘may contain nuts’ warning due to being produced in a factory that handles nuts.

You can never be too careful so always read the labels on everything first.

Can I make your 4-ingredient gluten-free choc chip shortbread in a food processor or standing mixer?

Both are actually a little overkill for this recipe. You only need an electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugar initially.

After that, we’re aiming for a breadcrumb-like consistency for our shortbread dough – then you need to stop mixing immediately. A food processor or stand mixer can be a little too heavy handed for this part.

So because of that, I only use an electric whisk for this recipe. Here’s a link to the electric whisk I use.

Do I need any special equipment to bake your 4-ingredient gluten-free choc chip shortbread recipe?

Nope – all you’ll need is a large baking tray and some non-stick baking paper.

What chocolate chips should I use to bake this?

I’ve recently started using the Callebaut chocolate chips (or callets) and I can tell you, though expensive, they are AMAZING.

You definitely don’t need to use them for this recipe, but I thought I’d share what I used in the photos.

Does this recipe need xanthan gum?

You’ll see xanthan gum in a lot of my recipes as it’s an essential ingredient in gluten free baking. But not with this one, it’s not required.

There’s a little xanthan gum in gluten-free self-raising flour which goes a long way, so no need to add any extra unless yours doesn’t contain it already.

Can I make this recipe using other gluten free flours like buckwheat flour or coconut flour?

There’s a big difference between ‘gluten free plain/self-raising flour’ and a *singular* type gluten free flour. When I say ‘gluten free plain or self-raising flour’ in a recipe, I mean a BLEND of gluten free flours, not just one, singular flour.

Most gluten free flour you buy in the supermarket typically contains a blend of rice flour, potato flour, maize flour, tapioca flour AND buckwheat flour. That’s a lot of different flours!

In gluten free self-raising flour, there’s usually even a little baking powder and xanthan gum in it too which always helps. So to replace it with just one specific type of flour… that’s not going to cut it at all. Definitely go for a gluten free flour blend.

Do I need weighing scales to bake your 4-ingredient gluten-free choc chip shortbread recipe?

In short… yes, yes and yes! And I wouldn’t advise attempting any of my recipes without them.

A lot of work went into fine tuning ratios and quantities and for me, baking is all about consistency and precision. I want you to make this recipe and for it to turn out EXACTLY like mine did.

I’d recommending using digital cooking scales like these so you know you’re getting an accurate measurement and replicating my recipe as accurately as poss.

Can I bake your 4-ingredient gluten-free choc chip shortbread recipe with less sugar / without sugar?

I can definitely understand the need to reduce sugar in our foods, but this is one of the recipes where I wouldn’t advise removing it from the cake batter itself.

Of course, the sugar isn’t just for sweetness. It’s integral to the structure of the cake once baked and is sooo important.

This recipe definitely won’t work without sugar, so remove at your own risk!

How long can I keep your 4-ingredient gluten-free choc chip shortbread for?

I’ve kept these for 3-5 days in an air-tight container with no problems.

Can I freeze your 4-ingredient gluten-free choc chip shortbread?

Of course! I’ve frozen them for up to 2-3 months.

When you want to enjoy one, each biscuit should take 2 hours to defrost at room temperature.

How can I tell when my 4-ingredient gluten-free choc chip shortbread aredone?

They should be a little pale with the slightest sign of turning golden at the edges. You definitely don’t want the entire biscuit to be golden – that means they’re over-done and will likely be very dry and crumbly.

Can I print your 4-ingredient gluten-free choc chip shortbread recipe?

Yes! Just hit the print button located on the recipe below ?? (otherwise you might end up printing this entire post which would probably make your printer go into early retirement)

4-ingredient gluten-free choc chip shortbread recipe: Method

Preheat your oven to 160C fan / 180C. Prepare a large baking tray with non-stick baking paper (I usually have a couple of trays)

Beat together your softened butter / baking block and sugar until smooth. This shouldn’t take very long – an electric hand mixer would be ideal. Add in your 1 tsp vanilla extract, if using – I more recommend this if you’re making this recipe dairy-free in the absence of that ‘buttery’ taste.

Add in your flour and mix again. Mix until there is no white flour showing but it still looks like its all more crumbly bits.

Add in your chocolate chips and stir so evenly dispersed.

Bring the dough together in your hands, I tend to do this in 2-3 lumps (by doing it this way you don’t over mix the dough).

Wrap up the dough in some cling film and allow to sit in the fridge for at least an hour to firm up. If you don’t do this step the shortbread will spread as the butter/baking block melts too much.

Once chilled, lightly flour a surface and roll out your dough to between 1cm and 1.5cm thick. Using a knife, cut out a ‘wobbly triangle shape’!! I made myself a little card template and cut around it so they were all similar size. To be honest you can cut them whatever shape you like!!

Keep cutting out your shapes and place them on a prepared baking sheet. Keep rolling your dough out and cutting it out until all the dough has been used up. Don’t place your shapes too close together though, they don’t tend to spread but if they could a little if its a warm day!

Bake in the oven for about 12-15 minutes until they start to turn slightly golden around the edges. (If you need to do multiple trays of them continue to do so)

Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the baking tray. Don’t try to move them when they are hot, they are delicate at that stage and firm up once cool.

Ok, so here’s a printable version of my 4-ingredient gluten-free choc chip shortbread recipe. Please remember to give it 5 stars if you tried it and enjoyed it as it helps people know it’s worth trying too! ⭐️ Feel free to leave your written reviews in the comments below this post.

Thanks for reading all about my 4-ingredient gluten-free choc chip shortbread recipe! If you make it, I’d love to see how it turned out so don’t forget to take a snap of your creations and tag me on Instagram!

Any questions about the recipe? Please do let me know by following me onInstagram and leaving me a comment on a recent photo!

Thanks for reading,

Becky xxx

Don’t forget to pin this for later!