Who doesn’t love a good shortbread biscuit?

I had a lot of calendula oil left over after making my homemade calendula cream, so I thought I’d make some homemade shortbread with it!

Calendula has many health benefits; it’s an antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial, and makes a wonderful addition to this shortbread recipe.

Fun fact: You can add calendula oil to recipes like oil pulling.

Before we get started in learning how to make this calendula shortbread – if you like what you’re seeing, subscribe to my email newsletter at the bottom of the page to keep up to date on the latest recipes, DIYs, gardening and health tips I share!!

Homemade Vegan Gluten-Free Calendula Shortbread

These herb-infused shortbread biscuits go so well with a warm cup of tea.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup vegan butter, at room temperature or coconut oil, softened
• 1/3 cup maple syrup or raw honey
• 2 1/4 cups gluten-free flour blend (I combined 1 1/2 cups plain gluten-free flour – can also use rice flour – 3/4 cup tapioca flour and 1/2 tsp xanthan gum – can also use guar gum)
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 3-4 tbsp calendula oil
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme, minced

To make:

1. Preheat oven to 180˚C (350˚F), and line a baking tray with parchment paper or a reusable baking sheet.
2. Prepare a rolling area with two additional sheets of parchment paper, and have a pizza cutter or dough cutter and a fork handy.
3. Place butter in a large mixing bowl and whip it with a mixer until creamy. Add maple syrup, salt, vanilla, lemon juice, lemon zest, calendula oil and thyme, and mix once again until combined.
4. Add in flour and use a wooden spoon to mix. Then, knead the dough with your hands to mix everything together, and work the dough until you can shape it into a ball.
5. Once shaped, flatten into a disk.
6. Roll out the dough between the two sheets of parchment paper to 1/2 inch in thickness.
7. Use a dough cutter to slice the dough into small rectangles. I used a cookie cutter and made mine into heart shapes.
8. Carefully transfer to the prepared baking paper, spacing them 1/2 inch apart – they won’t spread as they bake. Gather up any dough scraps and repeat the process until all dough is used up.
9. Using a fork, carefully poke some holes into each cookie – this helps prevent bubbling and excessive cracking).
10. Bake for 14-15 minutes, or until edges begin turn golden. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack. The cookies will harden within minutes of cooling, so don’t overbake.
11. Allow the biscuits to cool for 10 minutes, then they’re ready to enjoy!!
12. Store in an airtight container.

As always, this is not personal medical advice and we recommend that you talk with your doctor before trying or using any new products. I am not a doctor. All opinions expressed are my own personal thoughts and feelings of the products mentioned. Check with your doctor or health practitioner if you are uncertain about trying out any of the products, recipes or tips mentioned in this post.

Have you used calendula in recipes before? What have you made? Share in the comments below.

Lots of love,

🖤 Vanessa