Lemon, rosemary and sweet lemon icing make an amazing shortbread. This is my version and it is different, as always, I like to change things up. It is vegan, gluten-free, oil-free and not only delicious, but so much healthier than butter and oil-filled shortbread cookies. It’s dense, moist and has a nice crisp around the edges. It’s not quite crunchy like traditional shortbread, but not soft and tall like a cake…..soooo, it’s a cross between shortbread and cake, hence the title. My husband just loves this dessert. You don’t need butter or oil to enjoy it either. This is one of my all-time favorites.
The shortbread cake itself is very lightly sweetened, so adding a sweet lemon icing on top is what really gives it more of a dessert cake feel. It’s so good! I hope you try and love it!
Be sure to leave me feedback below after you make it, I would love to hear!
Lemon Rosemary Shortbread Cake
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons warm water
- 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 3/4 cup finely ground oat flour use gluten-free if needed
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary leaves finely chopped
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Lemon Icing
- 2 teaspoons water
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice or if you want just a sweet icing, omit the lemon juice and use water
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract use gluten-free if necessary
- 1/2 cup vegan powdered sugar
Instructions
- Pre-heat an oven to 300 degrees and spray an 8 inch cake pan with nonstick spray.
- In a small bowl or large mug, add the water and heat for 15 seconds in the microwave. Add the flaxseed and whisk well for 30 seconds with a fork, set aside for 5 minutes at least, to thicken and become gel-like.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the almond flour, oat flour and salt. Whisk well until thoroughly combined or use your hands. Slide the rosemary leaves off the stems and finely chop them. Stir into the dry ingredients.
- Next, add the syrup, almond butter, lemon juice and vanilla to the reserved flaxseed mixture and whisk very well until smooth.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula. Once it all comes together in a ball, pour it into the pan and press down flat and evenly, pressing the dough out to the edges with the rubber spatula. Bake 25-30 minutes or until slightly golden around the edges and pulling away from the pan. Mine took about 26 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine the lemon icing ingredients, whisk well with a fork until thick and set aside.
- Allow the shortbread to cool completely in the pan (about an hour). Turn out the shortbread onto a plate, tapping the back to release it. Use a very sharp knife to gently slice into 8 slices. Drizzle reserved lemon icing over the top and let it dry for a few minutes. Store in the fridge or room temperature. I prefer mine cold, straight out of the fridge with coffee in the morning!
I love shortbread and REALLY love lemon and rosemary. These are gorgeous!!
Thank you so much Suzanne!! I love this combo and all the rosemary specs throughout 🙂
This sounds delicious. Lemon and rosemary work so well together and things always taste better when there’s a glaze on top. 🙂
Ha! I agree….the glaze completes it! Thanks John!
What a wonderful combination! I love rosemary!!! Love the smell and I think it’s so pretty! Great recipe!
Thank you so much Alice! It was super yummy but light and refreshing too!
So pretty!
Thank you Sarah!
I love shortbread and haven’t eaten any for a long time. This looks and sounds delicious. Loving the fresh rosemary with it and the lemon icing. Perfect combination. The pictures smell through the screen! Someone mentioned that it is too bad we didn’t have scratch and sniff features. This would be a perfect time for it 🙂
Thank you Judy!!! Yes, scratch and sniff would be amazing huh! 🙂 It does smell fabulous! I love the smell of rosemary…could smell it all day!
WOW Yum Brandi….this is perfect to make and take to a Christmas Party
Thanks so much Heather!! Yes!
Looks delicious, Brandi! Can’t go wrong with shortbread … and lemon, you say? Delightful and different — thanks so much for sharing! =)
Thank you so much Christina!! I appreciate that…I love shortbread too…especially this different kind 🙂
I love the sound of these! i feel like they’d make a perfect part of a New Year’s Day brunch, don’t you think?
Absolutely, sounds like a great idea Raechel! They are not overly sweet, the icing is really what gives them their sweetness. You can always just use water too instead of lemon juice if you want a less tart icing. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
I LOVE rosemary in my baked goods (I’m currently obsessed with pairing it with cranberries). And this is so genius that it is also gluten free. We cannot find sweet rice flour here in Mexico (I have looked)… but we do get Bob Red Mill’s regular one- would that work? I know you specified to use the sweet… argh! haha
Thank you so much Paola!! That is so sweet of you to say! I’m not sure, it may not hold together as well without the sticky kind but it certainly is worth a shot. Just make sure to let the flaxseed sit properly first to become gel-like and let the shortbread completely cool from the oven before slicing and after adding the icing. Let me know if you try it! 🙂
looks beautiful!
Thank you so much! 🙂
Haha I definitely pinned your chocolate peppermint shortbread and glad it’s going viral!! It deserves to, I can’t wait to make it! These look fabulous too, such geniusness 🙂
Thank you so much Erika! The genius comments are way too kind girl! 🙂 I had another blogger make them this past weekend for her party and they were a hit she said, so it made me happy. Always makes me nervous when others make my recipes, lol!
Right?? Same here! Though I will say that I find that I don’t quite have 100% confidence in some blogger-written recipes, but I’ve always had the sense that yours would be great!
Aww your so sweet, I feel the same about yours! So far, all my non-vegan friends have enjoyed them but you NEVER know…we all have different taste buds. Just do me a favor..if you decide to make one of my recipes..choose one that has been “approved” by fellow bloggers and non-vegans as your first one, since I know your not vegan, LOL! Like my Supersized chocolate chip cookies…every non-vegan has loved them… you’ll be shocked they are vegan I think 🙂
Hahaha okay will do! I AM a vegan-admirer though, so I will be inclined to like any of your recipes 🙂 But omg your supersized chocolate chip cookies do look like a fabulous recipe to start with!!
Brandi, I’ve been looking for a recipe just like this to jazz up shortbread (one of my favourite holiday cookies). I love baking with rosemary too – it must taste divine combined with the lemon. Your cookies are gorgeous, especially with that icing on top!
Thank you so much Nancy for your kind words!! I hope you like this recipe if you do try it…it’s definitely different than traditional shortbread…not as buttery and a completely different flavor profile…but then again, that was my idea….to do it different ya know. The bread itself is not very sweet at all, the perfect backdrop for the sweet flavorful icing! 🙂
Yum! That’s a stellar gluten-free recipe! ^_^
Thank you so much!! 🙂
Lovely photo! My garden is positively heaving with rosemary. This looks like a beautiful way to use it.
Thank you so much! Let me know if you try it! 🙂
They look lovely ! I have rosemary growing rampantly in the garden ..love shortbread .. lemons are easy peasy to get hold of .. so no excuse really not to make !!
Thanks 😀
Thank you! Oh, sounds perfect for you then! 🙂
mmm 🙂
This recipe turned out great. The lemon and rosemary are an interesting flavor combination, and the icing is a nice sweet complement. I replaced some of the powdered sugar with erythritol, powdered in a magic bullet blender, just to cut down on the sugar and still maintain the sweetness.
Thank you so much David for the feedback! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Re: “In a coffee mug, add the milk and water for 15 seconds in the microwave.”
I think I am missing something… in the list of ingredients I do not see “milk” — I am assuming almond or some other yet I keep looking and can’t see where the amount is listed. HELP… I want to make this ASAP~
Hi Shelley! I’m so sorry, that is a mistake, I don’t know why I have milk listed there, I will correct it now! I apologize for that. It is just the water that yo uneed to heat up. Please let me know how it turns out, thank you!
This sounds fabulous! I’m suprised to see only 3 1/2 tsps of liquid for the icing. Is that right ? Looking foward to trying it!
Hi Trish! That is actually only for under the “icing”. Look above for 1/4 cup syrup for the shortbread portion 🙂 Let me know if you try it, I’d love to hear!