These chocolate shortbread cookies are buttery and crisp with a melt in the mouth texture. Made with just 6 ingredients these cookies get done in less than 20 minutes. A fuss-free recipe that needs no chilling or special equipment.
Table of Content
Have you tried my shortbread cookies recipe? These are the same with the addition of cocoa powder. My mom would make both these together and we'd call them black and white cookies.
These are light and airy made with butter and cornstarch which makes them buttery with the crumbly texture from the cornstarch. Also, they are naturally eggless, so they make perfect cookies to have in the jar when kids come over. No eggs and no nuts mean no worry about allergies. And who doesn't love chocolate? Right?
Ingredients and substitutes
- Butter - I prefer unsalted butter over salted. And yet, if salted butter is all you have - go ahead and use it. Make sure to omit the extra salt in the recipe
- Powdered sugar - This helps to create a nice creamy texture and melt in the mouth smooth, not a grainy texture. You can use the same amount of regular sugar just make sure you cream it a bit longer until almost dissolved.
- Cornstarch - That crisp melt in the mouth feeling you get with shortbread cookies usually comes from adding a starch such as rice flour or cornstarch. That's because they soak up all the moisture in there. If you can't find cornstarch, you can use an equal amount of rice flour instead.
- Vanilla - a good quality vanilla extract goes a long way.
- Cocoa powder - I use regular unsweetened dutch processed cocoa powder for these cookies.
Step by step instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170 C/340 F.
- In a bowl using a spatula or whisk, cream butter for a minute then add the powdered sugar.
- Add the vanilla or (rose) flavoring. Followed by the flour, cocoa, and cornstarch. Combine well and shape into a ball.
Tip - all flour absorbs moisture differently so if necessary add one to two teaspoon of water if the dough is dry. - Make 32 cookies - Divide dough into four and each into another four. Continue to divide until you have 32 pieces.
Tip - I like small shortbread cookies but you can also make these fewer and bigger in size - Roll each piece of dough into a ball and flatten it on the palm of your hand. Gently dap the flat cookie into granulated sugar.
- Place on a baking tray. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes.
- Cool in the tray for 5 minutes then cool completely on a cooling rack before you store in a cookie jar.
Frequently asked questions
Most cookies are best in the first few days of baking. However, shortbread cookies do have a longer shelflife. These cookies will keep well at room temperature for about 2 weeks. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
I like to control the amount of salt in my baking recipes so I always use unsalted butter but if you only have butter with salt, use it. But, make sure to omit salt in the recipes.
Shortbread cookies have a good shelf life as a dough as well as cookies. The dough, if wrapped well, can usually stay in the fridge for 5 to 6 days before rolling and baking. And you can even cover the cookies and place them on a parchment-lined tray, wrapped well with cling wrap, for about 3 to 4 days.
You certainly can. I wanted to keep these cookies white so I omitted any color from the spices. But, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, gingerbread spice, chai spice would work. You can even add ½ cup finely chopped nuts. You may need to add a tablespoon of water to bring the dough together if you add nuts.
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Printable Recipe
Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
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Conversions Used
1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) Unsalted butter ((2 sticks) room temperature)
- ½ cup (60 g) Powdered sugar
- 1¾ cup (220 g) All purpose flour / plain flour
- 4 tablespoon (30 g) Cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract ((try clear vanilla) )
- ¼ cup (50 g) Fine granulated sugar ((for coating))
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170 C/340 F.
- Add the vanilla or (rose) flavoring. Followed by the flour, cocoa, and cornstarch. Combine well and shape into a ball. Tip - all flour absorbs moisture differently so if necessary add one to two teaspoon of water if the dough is dry.
- Make 32 cookies - Divide dough into four and each into another four. Continue to divide until you have 32 pieces. Tip - I like small shortbread cookies but you can also make these fewer and bigger in size
- Roll each piece of dough into a ball and flatten it on the palm of your hand. Gently dap the flat cookie into granulated sugar.
- Place on a baking tray. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes.
- Cool in the tray for 5 minutes then cool completely on a cooling rack before you store in a cookie jar.
Recipe Notes & Tips
- Make sure the butter is room temperature before you start creaming otherwise you will have small little lumps that take forever to cream
- Powdered sugar works better for this recipe because it adds to that crumbly shortbread texture as well as easy smooth creaming
- You can make the dough up to 3 days ahead. Wrap well and keep it in the fridge until ready to use.
- You can add ½ teaspoon of spice to these cookies - try cinnamon, gingerbread, chai spice, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- You can also add up to ½ cup finely chopped nuts to this recipe
- If the dough is too crumbly when working, just add a few tablespoons of water to shape it into a ball.
- This dough can be rolled and cut into shapes.
- You can even roll the dough, cut it into rectangles and dock the top with the tings of a fork for a classic shortbread cookie
- These bake quickly. Depending on the thickness these take about 8 to 10 minutes but if you like them crisper with a nutty flavor by all means bake them up to 12 minutes.
- These are delicate cookies so store them stacked well and avoid too many movements (or you may end up with crumbles after a long trip)
- If you plan to send these as gifts, wrap them in individual parchment paper for presentation.
- You can also dip these in chocolate - I like to dip half the cookie in melted chocolate and sprinkle some chopped nuts.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Cai
Do hou think thses cookies could be used to make a crust for cheesecake???
Veena Azmanov
Yes of course, Cai
Danielle
Made these cookies last week. So good!! Love how simple and easy they were to make
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Daniell. So happy that this recipe worked well for you and you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for coming back to write this feedback. Love to hear from those who tried my recipe.
Gloria
Our house loves shortbread cookies. I have never made a chocolate version. I think I am adding this to my holiday baking list. I know they will be a huge hit...and disappear in a flash. I might as well just make a double batch!
Veena Azmanov
Thanks, GLoria. I have been eating the chocolate version since I was a kid.
Tammy
I love shortbread but never had it with chocolate. What a wonderful idea! These look delightful, Veena! ^_^
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Tammy. Yes, chocolate is rare but so delicious.