Pink Grapefruit and Thyme Vegan Shortbread Recipe
A delightful vegan shortbread cookie infused with fresh grapefruit zest and thyme, topped with a tangy grapefruit icing. Perfectly crisp and subtly flavored, this pink grapefruit and thyme vegan shortbread makes an elegant dessert or snack.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 16 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Western
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
Grapefruit and Thyme Shortbread
- 240g (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 100g (¾ cup) icing sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp loosely packed, freshly grated, fine grapefruit zest
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 240g (1 cup) cold 1-inch cubed unsalted vegan butter
Icing
- 200g (1 ½ cup) sifted icing or powdered sugar
- 60g (¼ cup) freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, strained
- Red or pink food gel coloring (optional)
- Fresh thyme or pearl sugar to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 300F (150C) to prepare for baking the shortbread.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a food processor, combine flour, icing sugar, salt, grapefruit zest, and fresh thyme. Pulse until the ingredients are well mixed.
- Add Vegan Butter: With the processor running, add the cold cubed vegan butter one piece at a time until the mixture forms a rough ball of dough.
- Shape Dough: Press the dough evenly into a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom, making sure the surface is smooth and level.
- Bake Shortbread: Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes until the edges are slightly golden and the dough looks firm and dry.
- Cut Cookies: Remove from the oven and immediately slice the shortbread into 16 equal pieces with a sharp knife. Let it cool completely in the tart pan before removing the cookies by lifting the removable bottom.
- Prepare Icing: While the shortbread cools, whisk the grapefruit juice slowly into the sifted icing sugar until you reach your desired consistency. Add food coloring if using.
- Dip Cookies: Holding each cookie by the side, dip the top into the icing until fully coated. Place cookies on a drying rack to set the first coat.
- Apply Second Icing Coat: After the first layer dries slightly, dip each cookie a second time for a full two layers of icing coverage.
- Garnish and Dry: Sprinkle fresh thyme leaves or pearl sugar on top of each cookie and allow icing to dry completely until firm. Enjoy the cookies once set.
Notes
- Use cold vegan butter to ensure a flaky texture in the shortbread.
- If you don’t have a tart pan with removable bottom, you can shape the dough on a baking sheet but adjust cutting carefully.
- Adjust grapefruit juice amount in icing to get the thickness you prefer for dipping.
- Fresh thyme can be substituted with dried thyme but fresh provides a brighter flavor.
- Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
