Chocolate Shortbread

I had such success with creating a recipe for Espresso Shortbread Cookies that I decided I should come up with another version of the recipe and that's how these Chocolate Shortbread cookies came about.

What makes them different and in my mind better than traditional chocolate shortbread is that I used finely chopped dark chocolate in the dough instead of cocoa powder. The tiny bits of chocolate enhance the texture of the cookies by adding flecks of melted chocolate goodness.

I like these a lot and they are simple to make. Here is the recipe:

Chocolate Shortbread
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
1  tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
10 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped (use a food processor to do this)
1/2 cup turbinado sugar (for coating the cookies before baking)

Cream together the butter, sugar, vanilla and sea salt. Add the flour and mix just until the dough begins to come together. Add the chocolate and mix until a soft dough forms.

Add the finely chopped chocolate after the flour has been mixed for a bit and the dough is just about ready to come together.

The finished dough will look like this.

Divide the dough into thirds and place each third on a large piece of plastic wrap. Fold the plastic wrap over the dough and shape into even-sized logs or long rectangles about 1.5-inches in diameter.

Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Place the turbinado sugar on a piece of parchment or plastic wrap. Roll each of chilled logs into the sugar, being careful to coat them evenly. You might need to use your hands to help press the sugar into the dough.

The turbinado sugar and a chilled log of dough.

The log after being evenly coated with sugar.

Slice the logs into 1/4-inch-thick cookies. Place the cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets, being sure to leave at least 1-inch of space between them.  Bake the cookies in a 350 degree oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let the cookies cool for a bit on the pan before transferring to a cooling rack.

Slicing off the cookies.

Make sure you leave space between the cookies since they will grow during baking.

Let the cookies cool for a bit before transferring to a cooling rack.