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Chocolate shortbreads tied with string

Chocolate Shortbread


  • Author: caroline
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 22 1x

Description

Crumbly, sweet and perfect for dunking, this chocolate shortbread delivers a double hit of the good stuff. The perfect accompaniment for a brew!

The default recipe makes around 22 biscuits.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 200g butter, slightly softened but still cold (see note 1)
  • 100g icing/confectioners sugar
  • 275g plain / all-purpose flour
  • 25g cocoa powder
  • 100g dark chocolate chips (see note 2)

Instructions

  1. Add the butter and sugar to a large bowl and beat with a hand mixer for around 3 minutes – until very fluffy. 
  2. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and mix with a spoon until just combined. It will look very crumbly and dry and nothing like dough at this stage – fear not. 
  3. Remove the dough and briefly knead on a clean surface until it sticks together. Press out into a flat slab and then sprinkle in most of the chocolate chips and fold the dough back together.
  4. Place a large sheet of clingfilm over the dough and roll out with a rolling pin until around 1cm/0.4in thick. Press a few extra chocolate chips into the surface of the dough.
  5. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the biscuits (around 6cm/2.3inch in diameter is a good size). Combine and re-roll any leftover dough and repeat until all the dough is used.
  6. Carefully transfer the biscuits to a baking sheet lined with baking/parchment paper. Cover with clingfilm and place in the oven for 2 hours. (see note 3)
  7. Before baking preheat the oven to 160C/320F. Place the biscuits in the oven for 20 minutes. (see note 4)
  8. Cool the shortbread on a wire rack and then transfer them to an airtight container for up to 5 days. (see note 5)

Notes

  1. The warmer the butter is, the more time you will need to chill it before baking. It also makes the dough tougher to work with as it will be stickier.
  2. You can use milk chocolate chips, but they will blend in with the colour of the shortbread.
  3. If the butter you used was cold enough you can reduce the cooling time by half. However, it is better to plan ahead and be on the safe side if you can. You can even leave the dough chilling in the fridge overnight.
  4. Shortbread can be a little tricky to identify when done. The biscuits barely change colour and they will still be soft until cooled. To check the dough should not be sticky, and it’s advised to use an independent oven thermometer and check you bake for the right amount of time to remove any ambiguity. 
  5. You can freeze baked shortbread for up to 3 months. Place a piece of baking paper between each biscuit to stop them from crumbling when separating them. Unbaked dough can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost before cutting into shapes. 
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Category: Biscuit
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: Scottish

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1
  • Calories: 160
  • Fat: 9g
  • Carbohydrates: 18g
  • Protein: 2g

Keywords: biscuits, cookies, shortbread, scottish, snack, chocolate