We’re fast approaching one of those holidays we can’t ignore. Valentine’s Day. We can’t ignore it because, well… there seem to be pink and red heart sprinkles on everything, and a Sunday night dinner reservation is 100% impossible. Every waiter or server, current or past, shudders at the mention of this day, wherein, you will likely be asked to place an engagement ring atop a slice of cheesecake, set the dessert down in front of a lucky lady and then run run run as fast as you can as to not get tied up in engagement words.
However you’re spending the love holiday, I hope there is a good dose of chocolate in it.
Chocolate. Not exclusive to this Valentine’s holiday, but appropriate. Necessary, really… for everyday.
This cookie recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart whose recipes, I’ll just say it… are sometimes great and sometimes suspicious.
Her chocolate shortbread recipe comes together in a food processor and I love an excuse to use my Kitchen Aid 9-cup food processor. Cold butter (we don’t even have to wait for room temperature timing), flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, salt (vanilla sea salt if you have it), powdered sugar, and an egg yolk specially for binding. Martha doesn’t call for an egg yolk and… I do. I’m a baker, too. I’ll add an egg yolk if I think I should.
With some blending in the food processor, we have dough!
It’ll be moist, just slightly sticky, but firm. The dough is wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for 30 minutes to rest and firm.
The dough is rolled out between two pieces of parchment paper. Lightly floured parchment. This way the dough won’t stick to the rolling pin and we still get wonderfully thin cookie dough.
Sprinkled lightly with sugar and cut into circles. You can use a heart-shaped cutter if you’re feeling the love. Use a thin spatula to transfer the cookie to a parchment lined cookie sheet.
While the cookies bake to firm, milk chocolate is melted. White chocolate is also completely reasonable.
Oh! These cookies would make really great sandwich cookies! Get a peanut butter buttercream up in these STAT. Why am I just now thinking of this!?
Dipped half in milk chocolate and sprinkled with a pinch of vanilla sea salt, because I can’t help my self.
These cookies are crisp and durable. Lovely for dipping and dunking. Lovely for a buttercream filling or a small scoop of ice cream. Other dippable favorites? See: Dipped and Crisp Peanut Butter Cookies.
I love you, k bye.
Chocolate-Dipped Chocolate Shortbread
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 18 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg yolk
- 3 ounces milk chocolate, coarsely chopped and melted
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade attachment, combie flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Add butter, vanilla, and egg yolk and process until mixture comes together into a moist ball. Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Place a rack in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Roll out dough between two sheets of parchment paper. Lightly flouring the bottom piece of partchment paper. Roll to 1/4 inch thick. Use a 2 1/2-inch round or heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out dough and use a thin spatula to transfer cookies to the prepared baking pan.
- Bake cookies until firm to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cookies cool completely on wire racks.
- Melt milk chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave, heating for 30 second intervals, removing the bowl to stir the chocolate and repeat until the chocolate is completely melted.
- Allow the cookies to cool on a wire rack before dipping in chocolate. Sprinkle with sea salt or sprinkles and allow to rest for 30 minutes to harden the chocolate. Stir in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days.
36 Responses
These were the best. I rolled the dough into a log and made them as “slice and bake.” Worked great. I also dipped in dark chocolate instead of milk. Excellent recipe.
These chocolate shortbread cookies are made extra scrumptious with the extra chocolate! Although the circles are elegant, they also look great with other shapes, such as hearts. It can also be fun to dip the cookies in other kinds of chocolate, such as white chocolate.
Oh God, they surely are super delicious!!
https://justsem.wordpress.com/
very nice recipe. Thanks for sharing it.
Regards
Archana
https://hebbarskitchen.com/
I love chocolate and I love shortbread so I can’t wait to make these.I think I’d like to flavor the chocolate with a bit of orange or raspberry flavoring. Would the addition of flavoring upset the chocolate?
Shortbread does not have egg in it. The texture will be “sandier” without the egg, which is the shortbread ideal.
Do you think this can be done without a food processor by following the directions of a regular shortbread recipe?
Love small batch cookie recipes. Yay!
Made these this evening on a whim. They’re delicious and remarkably easy to make!
Trader Joe’s has chocolate shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate and covered in sprinkles right now…and of course they’re heart shaped! This looks like a great homemade version to try.
The only thing better than a chocolate cookie is a chocolate dipped chocolate cookie. You could also doubly gild the lily and stuff these full of chocolate ganache.
Delightful, delicious, DONE! Thanks for helping us plan our Valentine’s Day menu! Sandwich cookies with cookie butter are our fave!
I made these for my workmates last night – went down an absolute treat! Did half with sea salt, and half dipped in ground chocolate-covered coffee beans!
Sometimes I think Martha’s recipes are too overly obsessed with being authentic (like, shortbread shouldn’t have eggs). But seriously, if it tastes better with an egg yolk, then DO IT! You’re the best baker! <3
Usually I’m all about defying Martha, but shortbread traditionally doesn’t have egg in it… so I can’t rag on her there. Of course it’s not traditionally chocolate either and I’m fine with that. ;) Either way, these look awesome!
I would pay to see a Martha/Joy bake-off.
She would kill me dead and look fabulous doing it.
Omg please adapt this with (salted) caramel.
Love the idea of white chocolate dip… may have to make a batch for myself for V’Day ;)
Vanilla sea salt- must find some.
You can easily make it, the same way you would vanilla sugar. Throw a split vanilla pod and some decent salt into a jar (you can even use the vanilla seeds for somethng else and just use the empty pod) and leave it for a week or two to work its magic. If the pod dampens the salt at all, you can dry it out in a very low oven afterwards. Simple :)
These look delicious!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
I couldn’t agree more about the Martha recipes. Sometimes they’re magic and sometimes they make me feel like I just wasted a bunch of time and sugar. …as for Valentine’s Day…I love it for chocolate and booze…that’s all. Hope yours is filled with both! xoxo
Perfect timing! I was looking for a yummy cookie to make with my daughter for her boyfriend for valentines day. My sweetheart might get some too, if he’s good this week. ;) I think we might do as you suggested and try some as sandwich cookies!
These look like heaven. I bet I could eat 20 of these no problem. And that vanilla sea salt is a must.
One words says it all about these cookies – YUMMY!! Once I brought a friend, who had just given birth, some homemade shortbread… and I later learned that her husband had eaten most of it!!! ; o )
So, here’s my question. I don’t like chocolate cookies. Don’t hit delete, please! Could I add a couple tablespoons more of flour and a tablespoon of espresso coffee powder as a substitute for the cocoa?
Have to say I love your attitude about the egg yolk addition…
Might need a couple with rainbow sprinkles, too. These look amazing!
They look classy too. Nice bonus. My husband is a chocolate fiend so I’m in.
Y E S!!! Just because Martha Stewart is Martha…doesn’t make her the queen of baking. Love your egg yolk addition! By the way I’m really really obsessed with that turquoise counter you have!
These look amazing, and perfect to take to the in-laws’ place in a week. Also, I like that you added an egg yolk. Because, dammit, Martha Stewart (dude, there’s an accidental “d” in her name at the bottom of your recipe) doesn’t know everything. And if you think it needs an egg yolk, then we will put IN an egg yolk. Yes!
You had me at chocolate but you really sealed the deal with cold butter and a food processor. I have no excuse NOT to make these cookies–and I’m going to go ahead and predict that I’ll probably eat too many of them!
Already made these and I was shocked to see the dough come together. It was sandy at first and magically transformed into a beautiful play-doh like ball!
This sounds absolutely delicious!
Delicious and more importantly, super easy to make. I could eat these for the rest of my life.