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.
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.
Recipe Notes
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.
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