Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies are all the goodness of melt-in-your-mouth shortbread combined with a little bit of chocolate. Your family will love these easy tasty cookies!
Shortbread is a buttery and kind of crumbly biscuit that originated in Scotland. The term “short” is used as in “not long lasting,” or “crumbly.” Interestingly, the word “shortening,” didn’t always mean hydrogenated vegetable fat like Crisco, but any butter or fat that could be used to make shortbread. The buttery taste and crumbly texture of shortbread cookies are the perfect qualities to pair with a touch of chocolate. These cookies are a fun departure from overly sweet and chewy cookies. Take a perfect treat to your next book club or add these to a cookie tray—you and your guests are going to love these fun and fancy, chocolatey confections!
These cookies are made by creaming powdered sugar and butter together and then adding vanilla and then flour to make a coarse dough. Then you will add mini chocolate chips, which actually help to pull the dough together. You will place the dough in a gallon-size resealable plastic bag and roll it out within the bag. Then you will refrigerate it, flat for 1-2 hours. After that, you will remove the flattened dough and cut it into whatever shapes you prefer. Once those are cut, you will bake them for 18-20 minutes and cool. Lastly, you will dip the cookies in melting chocolate for a delicious and decadent touch.
Is the dough supposed to be so crumbly?
Yes, it is a shortbread dough, which is meant to bake into wafer-like cookies that are slightly crumbly, so the dough is also a little coarse.
How do I get the dough out of the plastic bag and keep the flat shape?
Good question! It is easiest to cut the resealable plastic bag away from the dough. This method makes it so easy to roll the dough out and to retain its shape after refrigerating it.
What kind of chocolate is best for melting?
We prefer chocolate melting wafers because they are just so easy to work with and they maintain a perfectly smooth texture. You can also use chocolate chips or other melting chocolates as well—you can even opt for white chocolate to dip them in. You also don’t have to dip them in chocolate at all. It adds a fun and fancy finishing touch and a higher chocolate content, but they are great even without being dipped.
What other shapes can I cut these into?
These cookies hold their shape which means you can cut them in squares or rectangles as shown, or you can use cookie cutters to come up with your own shape. Smaller cookie cutters may require a slightly shorter cooking time so be sure to watch them closely.
If you’re looking for more awesome cookie recipes here is a variety that will satisfy your sweet tooth:
- Pecan Sandies
- Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookie
- Perfect Cowboy Cookies
- Cinnamon Roll Cookies
- Old Fashioned Gingerbread Cookies
- Spiral Christmas Sugar Cookies
- Cinnamon Candy Cane Cookie
Watch the video below where Rachel will walk you through every step of this recipe. Sometimes it helps to have a visual, and we’ve always got you covered with our cooking show. You can find the complete collection of recipes on YouTube, Facebook Watch, or our Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.
Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
- 8 oz melting chocolate wafers
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to beat together butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add in vanilla extract and beat until combined.
- Add in flour and mix just until flour disappears. Fold in mini chocolate chips.
- Transfer dough to a gallon-sized resealable plastic bag, or place between two layers of plastic wrap. Roll until 1/4 inch thick. Refrigerate on a flat surface until firm, about 1 to 2 hours.
- Remove dough from plastic and use a butter knife to cut into equal-sized squares or rectangles. Transfer cut pieces to a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 18-20 minutes, until edges are just lightly kissed with brown.
- Melt dipping chocolate in a small microwave safe bowl by microwaving on high for 30 seconds at a time, stirring between. Dip cookies in chocolate covering 1/3 or 1/2 of the cookie and transfer to parchment paper to harden.
Nutrition
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Jess says
First time making shortbread and this recipe was perfect and easy to follow. I found it easier to use my hands beating the butter and sugar and then folding the flour rather than a hand whisk as the dough was quite stiff. I also only chilled my dough for 30 mins wrapped in cling film then rolled it out between two pieces of baking parchment before cutting into shapes and baking which worked fine. Thanks for a great recipe!
Lucie says
I was a bit confused with the measurements as my interpretation of I cup of butter equaled 155g but then I saw it on the other weight conversion and it said 227g!
I had already gone with the 155g.
Came out okay though. Will use recipe again
Ash says
These are FANTASTIC! I have made them twice and yum!!
Blessed for the recipe! Thank you!
Kim Evans says
can I sub vegan butter sticks that are hard for the butter?
Rachel (The Stay At Home Chef) says
Yes, if you want to use a vegan substitute, the hard baking “butter” sticks are best.
Ken C. says
I made these last night. Great recipe. They’re fairly simple to make, and the results make me look like a pro. They are so rich. These are like something you would get at an upscale bakery or European pastry shop. They’re fun to make and they look really cool. (I drizzled on a little extra chocolate for good measure). The recipe didn’t specify what type of butter, so I used salted butter and it made them disappear before morning. Go figure.
Thanks again for another recipe that makes me look good.
Ken C.
Fort Worth TX
Becky says
I made these for Christmas and they are really delicious – it’s a melt-in-your-mouth shortbread for sure. I cut them using a ravioli cutter / crimper for nice fluted edges.
Ashley says
I took these to a holiday potluck and they were devoured. People were asking me to make them a batch and they would pay lol.