Can I Make The Coffee Shortbreads With Gluten-Free Flour?

Our answer

Nigella's Coffee Shortbreads are melt in the mouth biscuits that are flavoured with espresso coffee powder and studded with walnut halves. The recipe uses regular plain flour, but we suspect that you may be able to use a gluten-free plain flour (one that is specifically for baking) or an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend.

The ratio of butter to flour is slightly higher in this recipe than for regular shortbreads, which means that the dough should bind together without becoming too dry, and the dough is formed into balls rather than being rolled out, which is easier for gluten-free cookies. When you press the balls of dough into patties, do this carefully as the dough is more likely to crack with gluten-free flour. Once the shortbreads have baked, let them cool completely before removing them from the baking sheet, so that they set fully, and handle them carefully as they will be very fragile. However, please note that as we have not tried the Coffee Shortbreads with gluten-free flour ourselves, we are unable to guarantee the results.