Gilded Chocolate Shortbread Recipes

Steps:

• Mix the butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon. Stir in the flour and cocoa, followed by the chocolate chips - you'll probably need to mix it together with your hands at this stage. Halve the dough and roll each piece into a log about 5cm thick. Wrap in cling film and chill for 1 hr or for several days. Can be frozen for up to 1 month.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Slice logs into 1cm-thick rounds, transfer to a baking tray lined with baking parchment and bake for 10-12 mins. Cool on the tray.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F Line 2-3 cookie sheets with parchment.
• Cream butter and vanilla with mixer. In a separate bowl, sift together powdered sugar, cornstarch, flour and salt. Gradually add dry ingredients to butter, beating constantly on high until the batter is the consistency of whipped butter (about 5 minutes).
• Drop dough by heaping teaspoons onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until cookies begin to turn golden on edges.
• Immediately after removing cookies from oven, press one chocolate piece into the center of each cookie. Cool completely.
• Enjoy with milk!

Steps:

• Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer, beat the butter, both sugars and vanilla on medium-high till it's super light and fluffy (3 to 5 minutes for a stand mixer; 6 to 8 for a hand mixer). Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl and, with the mixer on low, slowly add the flour, followed by the chocolate chunks, and mix just to blend. If necessary, knead the dough with your hands to make sure the flour is totally incorporated. At this point, the dough should be smooth and feel like Play-Doh with no pockets of flour.
• Divide the dough in half, placing each half on a large piece of plastic wrap. Fold the plastic over so that it covers the dough to protect your hands from getting all sticky. Using your hands, form the dough into a log shape; rolling it on the counter will help you smooth it out, but don't worry about getting it totally perfect. (Don't be afraid to make them compact. Shortbread is supposed to be dense. That's part of why it's so good.) You can also do this using parchment paper, if you prefer, but plastic wrap is easier when it comes to shaping the log. Each half should form a 6-inch log, 2 to 2¼ inches in diameter. Chill until totally firm, about 2 hours.
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the outside of the logs with the beaten egg and roll them in the demerara sugar (this is for those really delicious, crisp edges).
• Using a serrated knife, carefully slice each log into ½-inch-thick rounds (if you hit a chocolate chunk, slowly saw back and forth through the chocolate). If the cookies break or fall apart, just press them back together - the dough is very forgiving. Place them on the prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart (they won't spread much). Sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake until the edges are just beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool slightly before eating them all.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
• Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3 by 1-inch finger-shaped cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.
• When the cookies are cool, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put 3 ounces of the chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. (Don't trust your microwave timer; time it with your watch.) Stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted. Add the remaining chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it's completely smooth. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier.
• Drizzle 1/2 of each cookie with just enough chocolate to coat it.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer at low to medium speed until light. Gradually add flour until combined. Stir in chips by hand. IF dough seems dry or crumbly, it will stick together when shaped in your hands.
• Using the palms of your hands roll well rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into 1 inch balls. Place on a ungreased cookie sheets and bake for 12-15 minutes. Cookies will be pale. Let stand on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before removing and dusting with powdered sugar.

Steps:

• In a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream the butter and 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar. Beat in the cocoa, vanilla and salt, mix until smooth. On low speed, gradually mix in the flour until fully incorporated. Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Prepare a clean, dry work surface by dusting with the remaining confectioners' sugar.
• Roll chilled dough out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into shapes with a knife or cookie cutters. Place cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Using a small stiff brush or flat pastry brush, lightly dust the tops of the cookies with the 24-karat gold dust. Bake cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, or until firm. Be careful not to overbake; you cannot tell by looking because of the dark color of the dough. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.