Chocolate shortbread cookies add a delightful chocolatey spin to traditional buttery shortbread.
These crumbly cookies have a deep chocolate flavour and a satisfying crunchy texture that will keep you going back to the cookie jar for more.
One of the treats that I look forward to the most during the holiday season is shortbread.
We never made shortbread when I was a kid, but at some point during my teens, someone gifted my family a box of those popular Scottish shortbread cookies from the grocery store, and we got hooked.
Now, my mom makes a batch every Christmas.
We enjoy classic shortbread, coconut shortbread and whipped shortbread, but these easy chocolate shortbread cookies are my favourite.
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🧈 Ingredients & Substitutions
Traditionally, shortbread is made with just three ingredients: butter, sugar and flour.
Over the years, people have altered the recipe to include more ingredients that change the cookie's flavour and texture.
For my mom's chocolate shortbread cookie, she has added cocoa powder and salt, vanilla and icing sugar.
Her cookies have a denser, crunchier texture than some shortbreads, which I particularly enjoy.
(These are not the melt-in-you-mouth kind of shortbread. But they are delicious!)
Also, this recipe is egg-free. In case that's helpful.
- All-purpose Flour: Do not substitute the flour.
- Cocoa Powder: Use Dutch-processed cocoa powder as it provides more chocolatey flavour than natural cocoa powder, and is less bitter.*
- Salt: I added salt because I used unsalted butter.
- Unsalted Butter: If you substitute salted butter, omit the additional salt in the recipe.
- Granulated Sugar: This adds texture to the cookie.
- Icing Sugar: This adds softness to the cookie (also called powdered sugar.)
- Vanilla Extract: this is optional but adds a nice warm flavour.
Please see the recipe card for quantities.
*Note: Cocoa powder and instant hot cocoa mix are two different things. Instant hot cocoa mix usually has sugar (and sometimes also powdered milk) and is not the right choice for this recipe.
🥣 Making the Cookie Dough
Chocolate shortbread cookies are easier to make than you might think!
My baking skills (and patience) are very limited, and even I can make these cookies.
So, even if you're not a fan of baking, I think you'll still be able to whip up a batch of these if you want to!
Making the dough just takes some careful measuring, some mixing, and a short visit to the fridge.
First, sift together the flour, cocoa powder and salt. Set this aside.
Next, cream the butter and sugar together until it's light and fluffy.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until you form a dough.
Turn the dough out onto a flat surface. Shape it, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Please scroll down to the recipe card to get the full ingredient list and recipe instructions.
Tip: Your butter should be at room temperature - not cold or melted. Otherwise, it won't cream properly with the sugar. Also, it's important to measure your flour correctly to avoid using too much.
🔪 Slice and Bake Cookies
This is my preferred method for making these cookies.
Not only is this much faster and easier than cutting out shapes, but they have a slightly lighter texture because they haven't been rolled with a rolling pin.
To make slice and bake chocolate shortbread cookies, you'll need to roll your dough into a log.
Wrap the log with plastic wrap, and then place it in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes to chill.
Once the dough is chilled, take it out of the fridge. Unwrap the dough log and place it on a cutting board.
Tip: It's always a good idea to stabilize your cutting board by placing a damp paper towel or towel under it.
Use a sharp knife to cut slices of cookie off of your dough log. If the dough is too hard to cut through, let it warm up at room temperature for a few minutes.
The longer the dough has been in the fridge, the more time you may need before you'll be able to cut through it.
I like to make the slices about 1 cm (½ inch) thick. You can make them thinner, about ½ cm (¼ inch) thick, but they will take less time to cook.
Place the cookie slices on a sheet pan lined with parchment or a non-stick baking mat (like a Silpat). If you're using a mat, note that your cookies may spread more and become darker on the bottom.
If you've taken a really long time to slice your cookies and the dough seems very soft, you can put them back into the fridge to chill for ten minutes before baking.
I haven't found that I've needed to do this, but the option is there.
Bake sliced cookies at 350°F (175°C) for about 14 minutes, or until the cookies have dried out a bit and are no longer soft, wet and sticky.
Allow them to cool for 5 minutes on the baking tray before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
🌲 Cutout Cookies
If you'd rather cutout fun shapes from your cookie dough - you can!
Instead of rolling your dough into a log before chilling, you're going to make a flat disc shape.
Wrap your disc in plastic wrap and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
Once chilled, place the dough on a flat surface lined with parchment paper. I like to do this on a large cutting board.
Place another piece of parchment on top of the dough. Then, roll the dough to your desired thickness using a rolling pin. A ½ cm (¼ inch) thickness works well for cutout cookies.
Note: Parchment prevents the dough from sticking to your rolling pin without adding more flour. Unlike some recipes, adding more flour to chocolate shortbread dough can ruin the texture of the baked cookie
Use your desired cookie cutter to cut shapes from the chilled dough.
Then, use an offset spatula to carefully lift the cookie shapes from your work area and place them onto a sheet tray lined with parchment or a Silpat.
Again, if you're using a baking mat, your cookies may spread more and become darker on the bottom.
Place the baking tray with the cookie shapes in the fridge to chill for about 10 minutes. This will help them keep their shape while they bake.
Bake the cutout cookies at 350°F (175°C) for about 14 minutes, or until the cookies have dried out a bit and are no longer soft, wet and sticky.
Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the baking tray before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.
📖 Chocolate Shortbread Variations
While these chocolate shortbread cookies are delicious as-is, they're also easy to customize! Try one of these variations or make your own.
- Sprinkles: add sprinkles to the tops of the unbaked cookies, pushing down gently so they stick to the dough.
- Chocolate Orange: Substitute the vanilla extract with orange extract for chocolate orange shortbread cookies.
- Caramel Chips: add caramel chips (or any baking chip) to the tops of the unbaked cookies, and push them down slightly to make them stick.
- Chocolate Dipped: melt white or milk chocolate and dip the baked cookies into it. You can add sprinkles or chopped nuts to the chocolate before it sets.
🍫 Make Them Extra Chocolatey
If you want to go all out with these cookies, I strongly recommend dipping them into melted chocolate, or drizzling melted chocolate over them.
These cookies have an intense chocolate flavour already, but adding the melted chocolate gives them a lusciousness and an extra bit of sweetness that helps to round them out.
Melt white or milk chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave, and then dip the baked cookies into it. Dark chocolate will also work, but I don't think these cookies benefit from the extra bitterness.
Place the dipped cookies onto parchment paper. This will make them easier to remove once the chocolate has set.
If you want to decorate the cookies, or add more flavour to them, sprinkle on some festive holiday sprinkles or chopped nuts while the chocolate is still wet.
👩🏽🍳 Equipment
If you have a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, I recommend using it to cream the butter and sugar for these cookies. Otherwise, a handheld mixer will also work.
Additionally, you will need at least one sheet pan to bake your cookies. Two is better, though, so you can put one pan in the oven as the other comes out.
I like to line my sheet pans with parchment paper to prevent the cookies from sticking to the pan.
A baking mat (like a Silpat) will also work, but I have noticed that cookies tend to spread a bit more while baking on these mats.
📦 Storage
Store the baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.
If you prefer to freeze your baked cookies, layer them in an airtight container between pieces of parchment paper. They will stay fresh in the freezer for several months.
🙋🏽♀️ Frequently Asked Questions
The cookies should be dry and firm to the touch - not sticky, wet or very soft. Be careful not to overcook the cookies.
Take the cookies out of the freezer and place them on a wire rack. Let them sit at room temperature until defrosted. This should prevent any condensation from forming.
I don't think there is one single "secret" but there are a few tips that you should keep in mind!
1. Don't skip the salt (either add salt or use salted butter!)
2. Don't overwork the dough.
3. Don't add extra flour to your work surface.
4. Don't overcook them.
I hope you'll add these chocolate shortbread cookies to your Christmas baking list this year!
They're a fun treat to make for yourself or as holiday gifts for the chocolate lovers in your life.
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
Equipment
- stand mixer, (or hand mixer, see note)
- fine-mesh sieve, or sifter
- Silicone Spatula
- 2 sheet pans, lined with parchment
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder, Dutch-processed
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes (room temperature)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup icing sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Making the Dough:
- In a bowl, sift flour, cocoa and salt together. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- Use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment to beat butter and both sugars together on low speed. Mix just until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowls and mix again on medium speed until the mixture is light, fluffy and pale in colour (3-4 minutes).
- Add vanilla. Mix until incorporated.
- Add sifted dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing on low until the mixture comes together as a dough. Be careful not to overwork the mixture.
- Turn dough out onto a sheet of parchment on a flat surface. Use your hands to divide the dough in half.
- Shape each half into a log (for slice and bake cookies) or a disc (for cutout cookies). Wrap with plastic wrap, and place in fridge for at least 20 minutes to chill.
For Slice and Bake Cookies:
- Remove your dough log from the fridge.
- Heat oven to 350°F.
- Unwrap chilled dough and place on cutting board. Cut into 1 cm (½ inch) wide slices. Place on a tray lined with parchment paper.
- Bake cookies one tray at a time for about 14 minutes (on the middle rack). Cookies are done when they are just firm to the touch (not soft, wet or sticky).
- Allow cookies to cool for five minutes on tray before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Wait for cookies to cool before decorating with melted chocolate and sprinkles.
For Cutout Cookies:
- Remove your dough disc from the fridge.
- Heat oven to 350°F.
- Unwrap chilled dough and place on a flat surface lined with parchment paper. Place another piece of parchment on top of the dough.
- Roll dough out between two pieces of parchment to about ½ cm (¼ inch) thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut out your desired shapes. Place onto a tray lined with parchment.
- Place the unbaked cookie shapes back into the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
- Bake chilled cookies one tray at a time for about 14 minutes (on the middle rack). Cookies are done when they are just firm to the touch (not soft, wet or sticky).
- Allow cookies to cool for five minutes on tray before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Wait for cookies to cool before decorating with melted chocolate and sprinkles.
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Notes
-
- All-purpose Flour: Do not substitute the flour.
-
- Cocoa Powder: Use Dutch-processed cocoa powder as it provides more chocolatey flavour than natural cocoa powder, and is less bitter.*
-
- Salt: I added salt because I used unsalted butter.
-
- Unsalted Butter: If you substitute salted butter, omit the additional salt in the recipe.
-
- Granulated Sugar: This adds texture to the cookie.
-
- Icing Sugar: This adds softness to the cookie (also called powdered sugar.)
- Vanilla Extract: this is optional but adds a nice warm flavour.
Please read the blog post to get all of my tips and recommendations for this recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer: this nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of this information cannot be guaranteed.
Affiliate Disclosure: Links in this recipe card are affiliate links.
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