Honey Saffron Shortbread from the Flying Apron Cookbook

A few months ago someone contacted me to see if I was interested in the Flying Apron’s Gluten-free & Vegan Baking Book by Jennifer Katzinger. Of course I was. If you’ve been following my blog you know that I’ve experimented with a few vegan baking recipes from Babycakes NYC (check out this post, and this post, and this post).  While I love butter and cream it is a lot of fun to try baking with non-traditional baking ingredients.

The Flying Apron is a popular bakery in Seattle that bakes gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, whole grain and organic treats.  The owner of Flying Apron Jennifer Katzinger developed this cookbook that’s filled with over 80 recipes that fit in with her bakery’s philosophy.  What’s different about this book (especially when compared to the Babycakes book) is that that recipes in this book are 100% gluten-free.  Not bad!

I’ll admit, it took me a while to get around to baking something from this book.  I’ve been doing a lot of baking but nothing allergen free, in fact I’ve been doing some allergen-heacy baking.

The other day I was crazy something sweet and not too complicated so I figured I’d see what Flying Apron had to offer.  This recipe for Honey Saffron Shortbread sounded delicious and I had everything on hand.  PLUS I had my bottle of fresh Jamaican honey too.

The cookies were really neat!  They had the crumbly texture of a shortbread cookie but without the butteryness to back it up.  If you’re a fan of honey you’ll love this because the cookies really feature a strong honey flavour.  I didn’t get much of a saffron taste or colour so I almost think it could be omitted (or use more).

This was a great introduction to the cookbook and I can’t wait to see what else the Flying Apron has to offer.

Honey Saffron Shortbread
This recipe was created with the winter holidays in mind; however, this shortbread is great any time of year. The brightness of the honey and saffron adds warmth to a cool season.
12 cookies

1 cup coconut oil or palm oil
½ cup honey
1/8 teaspoon saffron
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups brown rice flour
½ cup ground toasted walnuts
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the coconut oil, honey, saffron, salt, and vanilla until well mixed. With the mixer on low speed, add the brown rice flour and mix until a smooth dough forms. Stir in the ground walnuts. Note: This is a very sticky dough.
Press the dough into a 10-inch tart pan or 9-inch square cake pan. Prick in several places with a fork. Bake until golden and firm to the touch, about 20 minutes.
While the shortbread is still hot, score it into 12 pieces with a knife. After the shortbread has cooled, slice it the rest of the way through.
To make shaped cookies: Chill the dough for 4 hours or overnight. Dust your counter liberally with brown rice flour. Roll out the dough to ? inch thick and cut the dough with a floured cookie cutter. Transfer the cutouts to a greased baking sheet and bake until golden brown, approximately 20 minutes. Cool before transferring to a cookie tin or serving platter.