Mean Chefs Classic Shortbread Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Line two baking sheets with parchment.
• Combine butter, sugar and salt in a stand mixer (use paddle attachment).
• Mix on low speed until the butter combines with the sugar, but isn't perfectly smooth, 1-2 minutes.
• Add flour and mix on low, scraping frequently, until dough has just about pulled together, about 3 minutes.
• Don't overmix.
• Roll dough on a lightly floured surface to a uniform 1/4 inch.
• Cut dough into bars or squares with a sharp knife or use a cookie cutter.
• Reroll scraps- refrigerate dough if it becomes sticky.
• Arrange on baking sheets and refrigerate until chilled- about 20 minutes.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 300 degrees.
• Bake cookies until golden on the bottom and edges and pale to golden on the top- 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Rotate baking sheets every 15 minutes.
• Cool.
• Variations: Brown sugar and oatmeal- use brown sugar in place of white and add 1/2 cup quick cooking oats with the flour.
• Chocolate dipped espresso- Add 2 Tbl finely ground espresso coffee beans with the flour.
• Dip half of each cooled cookie into melted chocolate (9 oz semisweet chocolate melted with 1 Tbl vegetable shortening).
• Place cookies on parchment line sheetpan to set up- 2 hours.
• Orange-Hazelnut- Add 2 1/2 oz (1/2 cup) skinned, toasted and finely ground hazelnuts (use food processor) and 2 tsp (loosely packed) finely grated orange zest from 1 orange along with the flour.

Steps:

• Position 1 rack in the top 1/3 and another in the bottom 1/3 of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
• Melt the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler over hot, simmering water.
• Remove from the heat but keep the chocolate mixture over a bowl of hot water to ensure that the mixture does not set.
• In a small bowl, combine the vanilla extract and the espresso powder and whisk until the espresso powder is dissolved.
• Stir the espresso mixture into the chocolate mixture.
• Combine the eggs and both sugars in the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer (you can double the recipe and it will fit a 5 or 6 qt mixer bowl).
• Set the bowl over a pan of hot, hot simmering water.
• Stir with a hand-held wire whisk until warm to the touch.
• Attach the bowl to the mixer stand.
• Using the wire whip attachment, whip the mixture on high speed until pale, thickened and cool, about 5 minutes.
• Fold into the warm chocolate mixture.
• Fold in the flour.
• Stir in the chocolate chips and pecans.
• Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto the 2 prepared pans leaving about 1 to 1/2 inches between the cookies (at work I make these a lot bigger so that they come out about 5 inches across).
• Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the cookies are set: switch the positions of the baking sheets halfway through the baking time for even baking.
• Cool the cookies on the baking sheets on wire racks for about 3 minutes, then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
• Repeat with the remaining dough.