Tigernut Shortbread Cookies

These buttery-sweet Tigernut Flour Shortbread Cookies are grain and nut free plus super simple to make and extra decadent dunked in a silky carob coating!
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And so the unusual flour experiments continue.

Or more accurately the grain-free flour experiments, since coconut flour isn’t really unusual anymore. Or maybe just non-oat flour experiments, that is really the common thread here.

First I dabbled in almond flour baking with this buttery tart. Then there was banana flour in the form of this cake I can’t stop craving. And then there was coconut flour in the easiest recipe I think I’ve ever posted. And now tigernut.

I kinda want to circle back around now–funky flours round 2. Or maybe move on to cassava flour next, that is one I’ve been meaning to do a recipe with for a while now but somehow every time I order a bag the entire contents disappear in the form of mini donuts…oops!

But I digress. Back to tigernut…

Even though autocorrect has not yet recognized tigernut as a thing, the grain-free baking world seems to be all about right now. It’s gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, and actually made from tiny tubers. Plus it conjures up mental images of a ferocious jungle cat in my mind every time I say it, which is not something that can be said for many other baking ingredients.

Grain-free recipes. In my own life, I have been sticking to a mostly grain-free diet lately for the sake of a happy gut. And I must say it has been helping immensely! Adjusting to this different way of baking and all these new flours has been tricky and filled with fails, but fun nonetheless. There are still many things I have not yet figured out how to make without my go-to oat flour, which is why the grain-free recipes have been just slowly starting to pop up around here. But there will be more to come, so I hope you are enjoying them too.

Tigernut flour. I first tried tigernut flour in these adorable mini raspberry muffins from Food By Mars, because Alison is pretty much a pro with the grain-free baking. Then more recently I revisited it in these cute little chocolate cookies from my friend Mandy over at Be Sol-Ful Living. Although I sadly didn’t get a photo of those because…well…it was late and dark and they were very yummy.

The texture of the flour reminds me somewhat of almond flour, although it is much lower in fat so not as naturally buttery. The flavor (especially in those mini muffins) is very reminiscent of cornmeal or cornbread in my opinion. It is not super bind-y by itself, so often used in combination with other flours, although for these Tigernut Shortbread Cookies I did use it alone and employed coconut butter to help hold things together.

Other shortbread essentials. I modeled this recipe very closely off of a classic shortbread cookie recipe. They are usually quite simple: flour, butter, sugar, and vanilla. That’s it. No leavening agents. Sometimes salt, but it’s optional.

So sticking with that simple theme, my healthier grain-free version is: tigernut flour, coconut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla. 

AIP-friendly. Since tigernut flour is not only grain-free but AIP-friendly (something else I’ve personally been dabbling with lately) I stuck to that theme in my choice of “chocolate” coating. So while it looks like these shortbread cookies are chocolate dipped, they are actually carob dipped.

Instead of using melted chocolate, I created a carob sauce with sifted carob powder (because that stuff can be seriously lumpy!) and coconut oil so it would harden in the fridge. You could add maple syrup to sweeten, but carob is much sweeter than cacao powder in my opinion so I don’t even think you need it. Or you can just use melted chocolate of course if you don’t care about the AIP part.

Enjoy their buttery-delicious flavor plain. Dip in melted chocolate or carob. Or share with your favorite ferocious jungle cat friend!

Or if you are in search of a similarly simple cookie but with good old oat flour, may I suggest -> THESE

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