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    Home » Recipes » Cookies

    Chocolate Shortbread

    Published: Dec 1, 2021 · Modified: Jun 2, 2022 by Laura Reigel · This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump To Recipe Comments
    baking sheet of chocolate shortbread cookies

    These chocolatey chocolate chip shortbread cookies are extra delicious if you're a chocolate lover. They're made with black cocoa for an ultra-rich chocolate shortbread cookie, and then they're stuffed with dark chocolate chunks.

    Hello, tall glass of milk! Meet your new best friend.

    double chocolate shortbread cookies with a bit taken out

    What you're going to love about this recipe

    • The chocolate cookie dough is rich dark chocolate with the deep dark flavor of an oreo cookie with the buttery texture of shortbread.
    • You can mix in chocolate chips or chocolate chunks if you want to, or you can bake this up without any mix-ins at all.
    • The cookie dough freezes well, so you don't have to bake a huge batch. You can freeze the dough and have cookies on demand all year long.

    What you'll need

    ingredients for chocolate shortbread
    • Unsalted Butter. Use European-style unsalted butter, which has a higher butterfat content than American butter.
    • Sugar. Granulated sugar. Superfine sugar is a good choice here because it melts into the butter more quickly.
    • Salt. Always use Kosher or fine sea salt for baking.
    • Egg yolks. Egg yolks help to refine this dough and give it a more tender crumb.
    • Vanilla.
    • All-purpose flour.
    • Cocoa powder. Cocoa powder will be replacing some of the flour that would be in a traditional shortbread cookie. Use whatever cocoa powder you like. I've chosen dutch process or alkalized darker cocoa powder. The flavor is similar to Oreos.

    First of all: Why Are They Called Shortbread?

    Shortbread or a short dough is a dough that gets its name from the interaction that the high ratio of butter has on the gluten proteins in the flour.

    The high amount of butter in this dough prevents gluten from forming long bonds, as you might see in bread, and keeps the crumb tight and "short."

    The result is a crispy, crumbly dough. This ratio of butter to flour is what makes a shortbread cookie so delicious.

    The butter heats up and lightly toasts the flour and sugar during the baking process, giving it a buttery, savory flavor with just a hint of sweetness. The flour is merely holding all of the butterfat molecules in place so that they don't run off the baking sheet.

    Good job, butter, and flour! 🏆

    baking sheet of chocolate shortbread cookies

    Which Cocoa Powder?

    Chocolate shortbread involves replacing some of the flour in traditional butter shortbread with cocoa powder. This shortbread cookie recipe calls for dark or black cocoa powder. However, you can substitute any unsweetened cocoa powder.

    Cocoa powder has a different chemical composition than flour. You may not realize how much flavor variety there is in cocoa powders.

    You're probably familiar with Hershey's Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. Hershey's is a pretty standard and super easy-to-find cocoa powder, and Hershey's cocoa has a well-rounded flavor and is suitable for most baking applications.

    Hershey's also has a Special Dark variety of cocoa powder double processed, yielding, and darker flavor. It's more like the flavor that you know from an Oreo cookie.

    My favorite Cocoa Powders

    • Sharfenberger
    • Guittard
    • Ghiradelli
    • Valrhona
    • Weirdo Good Black Velvet
    • King Arthur Flour Black Cocoa

    I encourage you to try different cocoa powders and find your signature chocolate shortbread cookies.

    Using a different cocoa powder than most people are used to tasting gives your cookies that extra special something that leaves everyone wondering what you did to get that unique flavor!

    PRO-TIPs for Making Chocolate Shortbread

    • Butter and eggs should always be at room temperature before baking.
    • Do not whip the butter. You want to blend the butter with the sugar for a long time so that the sugar dissolves into it. However, you don't want to introduce a lot of air into the butter. Excess air will cause the cookies to spread.
    • A stand mixer with a paddle attachment makes easy work of shortbread.
    • Make sure you have plastic wrap so that you can wrap and chill the dough.
    • Chill the dough overnight, if possible.
    • Use parchment paper to line your cookie sheets.
    a stack of chunky chocolate shortbread cookies

    Let's Get Baking

    1. Set all of your ingredients out, make sure the butter and flour are at room temperature.
    2. Start by sifting together the dry ingredients. I usually add my dry ingredients to a medium bowl and then give them a quick stir with a whisk.
    3. Add the butter to your stand mixer, fixed with a paddle attachment, and cream the butter until it is creamy and the sugar is dissolved into it.
    4. Add the sugar. Beat until light in color for about 3 minutes.
    5. Add the egg and the vanilla. Beat again
    6. Scrape down the sides and beat one more time.
    7. Add all of the dry mixture in at once.
    8. Turn the mixer on low. Beat very slowly until the mixture becomes crumbly.
    9. Scrape all of the mixture onto the countertop and then press it together.
    10. Divide the dough into four equal portions and make four eight-inch logs. The logs can be round or rectangular.
    11. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least four hours and up to overnight.

    When You're Ready to Bake

    This chocolate shortbread recipe is easy to slice and bake. If you have more cookie dough than you want to bake you can freeze it for several months, or even longer.

    1. Preheat the oven to 350℉.
    2. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
    3. Slice each log of cookie dough into approximately 12 slices. They will be a little bit fatter than a quarter inch.
    4. Bake the cookies for 14 to 18 minutes. Watch closely as oven temperatures vary.
    eating a chocolate shortbread cookie

    Frequently Asked Questions

    How to tell when they are done

    Touch the edges, and they should feel firm and crispy. The middle of the cookies will still feel slightly soft but should feel like they have a crust on them. They will crisp up as they cool.

    Because the cookies are dark, you can't really see if they are browned. I use this "feel" test to figure out if they are done or not.

    Hungry for more cookie recipes?

    • Persimmon Cookies
    • The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Pecan Shortbread Cookies
    • Molasses Sugar Cookies
    • Milk Bar's Compost Cookies
    • Homemade Oreos
    • Parmesan Shortbread
    • Shortbread Dipped in Chocolate
    • Cut Out Sugar Cookie Recipe
    • Shortbread Cookies
    • Christmas Cookies
    • Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Persimmon Cookies
    • Blondie Recipe

    ➽ Did you make this recipe? I love to see what's going on in your kitchen. Please show me what you're cooking. 🍳 Tag me @foodologygeek on your favorite social channel! Facebook, Instagram & Pinterest. If you loved ❤︎ this recipe, please leave a five ★ review and a comment!

    chocolate shortbread recipe with chocolate chips
    Favorite Saved!

    Chocolate Shortbread

    Laura Reigel
    These chocolatey chocolate chip shortbread cookies are extra delicious if you're a chocolate lover. They're made with black cocoa for an ultra-rich chocolate shortbread cookie, and then they're stuffed with dark chocolate chunks.
    PRINT PIN SAVE SAVED
    Prep Time 20 mins
    Cook Time 11 mins
    Fridge Time 4 hrs
    Course Cookies
    Cuisine American
    Servings 60 cookies
    Calories 86 kcal

    Equipment

    • Stand Mixer
    • cookie baking sheets
    • silpat baking mat
    • parchment paper
    • sharp knife

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 ¾ cup unsalted butter
    • 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
    • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
    • 3 egg yolks
    • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
    • 3 cups all-purpose flour
    • ¾ cup black cocoa powder

    Optional Mix-In

    • 5 ounces bittersweet Chocolate chips or chopped
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions
     

    • Set all of your ingredients out, make sure the butter and flour are at room temperature.
    • Start by sifting together the dry ingredients. I usually add my dry ingredients to a medium bowl and then give them a quick stir with a whisk.
      3 cups all-purpose flour, ¾ cup black cocoa powder
    • Add the butter, sugar, the salt to your stand mixer, fixed with a paddle attachment. Beat the butter and sugar until it is soft and creamy.
      1 ¾ cup unsalted butter, 1 ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
    • Add the egg yolks one at a time.
      3 egg yolks
    • Add the vanilla. Beat again and then scrape down the sides and beat one more time.
      1 tablespoon vanilla extract
    • Add all of the dry ingredients in at once. Turn the mixer on low. Beat very slowly until the mixture becomes crumbly.
      3 cups all-purpose flour, ¾ cup black cocoa powder
    • OPTIONAL: Mix in chocolate chips here, if you are using them.
      5 ounces bittersweet Chocolate
    • Scrape all of the cookie dough onto the countertop and then press it together. Divide the dough into four equal portions and make four eight-inch logs. The logs can be round or rectangular.
    • Wrap each log in plastic wrap and chill for at least four hours and up to overnight.

    When You're Ready to Bake

    • Preheat the oven to 350℉.
    • Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.
    • Slice each log of cookie dough into approximately 12 slices. They will be a little bit fatter than a quarter inch.
    • Bake the cookies for 14 to 18 minutes. Watch closely as oven temperatures vary.
    • Remove the cookies from the oven, rest for 2 minutes. Then cool on a cooling rack until they are room temperature.
    • Store in an airtight container.

    Laura's Tips + Notes

    Ingredient Notes
    • Unsalted Butter. Use European-style unsalted butter, which has a higher butterfat content than American butter.
    • Sugar. Granulated sugar. Superfine sugar is a good choice here because it melts into the butter more quickly.
    • Salt. Always use Kosher or fine sea salt for baking.
    • Egg yolks. Egg yolks help to refine this dough and give it a more tender crumb.
    • Vanilla. Use a high-quality vanilla extract.
    • All-purpose flour. You can also use gluten-free flour in this recipe. I've had good success with King Aurthurs One-to One
    • Cocoa powder. Cocoa powder will be replacing some of the flour that would be in a traditional shortbread cookie. Use whatever cocoa powder you like. I've chosen dutch process or alkalized darker cocoa powder. The flavor is similar to Oreos.
    How To Tell If They're Done
    Touch the edges, and they should feel firm and crispy. The middle of the cookies will still feel slightly soft but should feel like they have a crust on them. They will crisp up as they cool.
    Because the cookies are dark, you can't really see if they are browned. I use this "feel" test to figure out if they are done or not.

    YOUR OWN NOTES

    Click here to add your own private notes.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1cookieCalories: 86kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 1gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 37mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gCalcium: 8mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword chocolate, cookies, holiday
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?Snap a 📸 and share it. Tag me @foodologygeek and don't forget to hashtag #foodologygeek!

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    About Laura Reigel

    Laura is the owner and CEO of Foodology Geek. She holds a degree in Physiology and Neuroscience as well as a Certification as a Nutrition Coach. Laura uses her love of cooking and science to create healthy real food recipes that you'll love eating.

    As a certified recipe hoarder, and meal prep maven Laura is passionate about sharing her love for cooking easy from-scratch recipes. She also shares the occasional family recipe and all of the technical details.

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