Vegan Christmas Shortbread

Ok, listen up folks, because we are making Vegan Christmas Shortbread and we are breaking all the rules! When rule breaking is this good though I am here for it and you should be too.

If you are looking for super delicious Christmas Shortbread bars that involve no fuss and take minutes to make with no fancy cookie cutters or chilling of the dough involved, then this recipe is your friend.

So what exactly is going on here?

Well, basically, we are taking vegan shortbread cookie dough, pressing it into a loaf pan with our fingers, spreading it with a layer of very festive vegan mincemeat, then pressing another layer of shortbread dough on top of that to make a very fun mincemeat sandwich that gets sliced up into hefty sized bars.

This is what you will be needing and why:

• All purpose flour - Essential for shortbread's colour, texture and flavour. Don't sub it for anything else.
• Cornstarch - Essential for the best texture. Don't switch it for arrowroot or any other flour.
• Cane sugar or white granulated sugar - Also essential for colour, texture, sweetness and flavour.  Other sugars will not work well.
• Vegan butter - Fat is essential in shortbread for that short, crumbly, texture and also for good flavour. Store bought vegan butter is fine or use my vegan butter recipe. Just make sure you make my butter recipe at least the day before you are planning to make the shortbread so it has time to set.
• Salt - A bit of salt makes literally everything better!
• Mincemeat -  The sweet, fruity kind. I have a vegan mincemeat recipe or you can use a jar of store bought. If you go the store bought route, check that it's vegan before you buy it. Most contain suet. Some suet is vegetable-based and some is animal-based. It will say in the ingredients list.
• Flaked almonds - These are mainly for garnish but the little nutty hits in each bite are nice too! If you have a nut allergy feel free to omit them.
• Dried Cranberries - They add a nice chew and also work as a garnish. Their red colour looks nice and festive! You can safely omit them if you don't happen to have any.

And this is how it's done ....

Line a loaf pan. One strip up the middle and one the other way like so:

Take the top off the food processor and being careful of the blade, take a little handful and squeeze it together in your hand.

If it sticks together it's done. If not, put it back in and keep pulsing until it will come together in your hand.

Put approximately half of the mixture into a lined loaf pan.

Press it down firmly all over with your hand.

Top with a layer of mincemeat.

Bake, then leave in the tin for 15 to 20 minutes.

Cut carefully into bars with a sharp knife about 15 - 20 mins after it comes out of the oven and leave to cool completely.

There aren't many tips here because this Christmas Shortbread is very easy to make and practically foolproof.

1. Only pulse the food processor when mixing the cookie dough. Over processing it will make it tough and less short and crumbly.
2. Don't add any liquid to the dough. It will ruin the shortbread texture. It might feel like it is too dry and won't come together but I promise it will.
3. Line the loaf pan as instructed or you will never get it out in one piece.
4. Cut carefully into portions with a large sharp knife 15-20 minutes after it comes out of the oven. Set a timer so you don't forget. Don't leave it any longer because it will firm up too much and just crumble into pieces.
5. Very hard I know, but wait until it's completely cool before eating. This is one cookie that's better cool.
6. As always with recipes involving flour, I highly recommend that you use a kitchen scale. Cup measurements are not accurate enough to get the best and consistent results. Digital kitchen scales are available at most big superstores now and you can pick one up for around $10. They are a great investment and are so worth having! If you do need to use cups, spoon the flour into the cup then level off the top with a knife without compacting it or shaking it down. By doing it like this you will get roughly the correct amount and make your chances of success better. Do not scoop the flour up into the cup as you will end up with much more than intended and it will affect the outcome of the recipe.

I don't recommend changing the way these Christmas shortbread bars are made, but the filling and the garnish can be adapted. Here are some ideas:

• Use pistachios instead of almonds on the top of the vegan shortbread. It will add a lovely festive green twist!
• Dried sour cherries will work well instead of the cranberries
• Try using a good fruity jam instead of the mincemeat.
•  Maybe a drizzle of melted dark chocolate over the top?
  

This recipe can be frozen in its uncooked state and also once it has cooked and cooled.

• To freeze it raw - Prepare the recipe as instructed and pack it into the pan and decorate it with the nuts and cranberries. Then wrap the pan extremely well and place in the freezer. Cook straight from the freezer for an extra 10 minutes.
• To freeze once cooked - Cook the shortbread, lift it out of the pan and cut into portions after 15 to 20 minutes as instructed. Then lift it by the paper and put it back in the pan. Leave to cool completely, then wrap very well and freeze. To defrost, unwrap, remove from the loaf pan using the parchment paper as handles, and place uncovered  on a cooling rack so the air can circulate around it and to stop condensation making it soggy. Leave to defrost completely then store in an airtight container.