Brown Sugar Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Recipes

CHOCOLATE-CHUNK SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Sift together flour and salt into a medium bowl. Beat butter with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add sugar gradually, beating between additions; continue to beat until mixture is very pale, about 2 minutes total. Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture; beat until just combined.
• After beating in the flour, beat in 4 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate (3/4 cup). Press dough evenly into a parchment-lined 9-by-13-inch rimmed baking sheet; refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes. Cut dough in eighths lengthwise, then quarters crosswise, making 32 rectangles. Evenly pierce all over with a skewer.
• Bake until shortbread is firm in center and golden brown, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer pan to a wire rack; immediately recut rectangles with a paring knife. Let shortbread cool completely in pan.
• Melt 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate. Dip bars into chocolate, place on parchment-lined baking sheet, and refrigerate until chocolate is set, about 10 minutes.

CHOCOLATE CHUNK SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Combine flour and cornstarch; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate. , Shape into 1-in. balls. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten with a glass dipped in confectioners' sugar. , Bake at 300° for 25-30 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

BROWN SUGAR SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually stir in flour and mix well. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 3 minutes. Pat into a 1/3-in.-thick rectangle measuring 11 in. x 8 in. , Cut into 2-in. x 1-in. strips. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Prick with a fork. , Bake at 300° for 25 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

SALTED CHOCOLATE CHUNK SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer, beat the butter, both sugars and vanilla on medium-high till it's super light and fluffy (3 to 5 minutes for a stand mixer; 6 to 8 for a hand mixer). Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl and, with the mixer on low, slowly add the flour, followed by the chocolate chunks, and mix just to blend. If necessary, knead the dough with your hands to make sure the flour is totally incorporated. At this point, the dough should be smooth and feel like Play-Doh with no pockets of flour.
• Divide the dough in half, placing each half on a large piece of plastic wrap. Fold the plastic over so that it covers the dough to protect your hands from getting all sticky. Using your hands, form the dough into a log shape; rolling it on the counter will help you smooth it out, but don't worry about getting it totally perfect. (Don't be afraid to make them compact. Shortbread is supposed to be dense. That's part of why it's so good.) You can also do this using parchment paper, if you prefer, but plastic wrap is easier when it comes to shaping the log. Each half should form a 6-inch log, 2 to 2¼ inches in diameter. Chill until totally firm, about 2 hours.
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the outside of the logs with the beaten egg and roll them in the demerara sugar (this is for those really delicious, crisp edges).
• Using a serrated knife, carefully slice each log into ½-inch-thick rounds (if you hit a chocolate chunk, slowly saw back and forth through the chocolate). If the cookies break or fall apart, just press them back together - the dough is very forgiving. Place them on the prepared baking sheets about 1 inch apart (they won't spread much). Sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake until the edges are just beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool slightly before eating them all.

ICEBOX SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• With an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth. With mixer on low speed, add flour, mixing just until a dough forms. Stir in desired mix-ins.
• Divide dough in half; place each half on a piece of floured waxed or parchment paper. With floured hands, gently roll each into a 1 1/2-inch-diameter log. Dividing evenly, sprinkle logs with desired coating if using, rolling log (to help coating adhere) and pressing in gently. Wrap logs tightly in the paper, and refrigerate until firm, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. (To store longer, wrap log and paper tightly with plastic wrap.)
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap logs; with a serrated knife, slice dough 3/8 inch thick (if dough crumbles, leave at room temperature 5 to 10 minutes). Arrange slices, about 1 inch apart, on baking sheets.
• Bake until lightly golden around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 1 to 2 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

SALTED BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHUNK SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Beat the butter, granulated and brown sugars and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl as needed. Add flour and mix just until combined. Add chocolate chunks and mix just until incorporated. (Mixture will look crumbly.)
• Divide dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper, waxed paper or plastic wrap and use your hands to form the dough halves into logs about 2 to 2 1/4 inches in diameter. Chill until totally firm, about 2 hours. I hastened this along in the freezer (30 minutes, tops) but did feel that the cookies were better after resting longer. (But do know that it works!)
• When you're ready to bake the cookies, heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 1 or 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Lightly beat the egg and unwrap the chilled cookie logs to brush it over the sides. Sprinkle the coarse sugar on the open wrapping and roll the logs into it, coating them.
• Using a sharp serrated knife, cut logs into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. You're going to hit some chocolate chunks, so saw gently, squeezing the cookie to keep it from breaking if needed. Arrange cookie slices on prepared baking sheets 1 inch apart (they don't spread much) and sprinkle each with a few flakes of sea salt. Bake until the edges are just beginning to get golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool slightly before transferring the cookies you don't eat immediately to a wire rack to cool.

BROWN-SUGAR CHOCOLATE-CHUNK SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Beat together butter, sugars, and salt on medium speed until creamy and combined, 2 minutes. Add vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add flour, and beat to combine. Beat in chocolate. Divide dough into two pieces, each about 1 pound. Roll into logs (each about 8 1/2 inches long and 1 3/4 inches in diameter).
• Wrap logs in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. Dough can be made to this point, well wrapped, and frozen for up to 1 month. (It can also be sliced and re-formed into logs before freezing; see cook's note.)
• Remove from refrigerator or freezer (if frozen, let stand 10 minutes to soften). Brush with egg white and roll in sanding sugar to coat. Use a serrated knife and a back-and-forth motion to cut logs into 1/2-inch-thick slices (if any crack around larger chunks of chocolate, just press back together).
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Place cookies on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake until golden on edges, 16 to 18 minutes. Let cool on pans on wire racks 10 minutes, then transfer to racks and let cool completely, about 45 minutes. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days, or freeze up to 1 month.

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED BROWN SUGAR SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange two racks evenly spaced in the oven.
• Place the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on medium speed just until the butter and sugar are combined so you don't whip a lot of air into it. With the mixer on low, add the vanilla and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and mix just until the dough comes together.
• Scoop out 1-ounce pieces of dough (about a tablespoon), roll each one into a ball, then roll it into a 2 1/2-inch-long log. Place the logs 2 inches apart on two sheet pans lined with parchment paper and bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until the cookies start to brown around the edges and spring back when lightly touched. Set aside to cool on the pans.
• For the coating, place the chocolate and the butter in a heatproof bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir the mixture vigorously and continue to microwave in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted.
• Drag half of the rounded top of each cookie through the chocolate and place it, chocolate side up, on a piece of parchment paper. While the chocolate is still warm, sprinkle on the pecans. Repeat with all the cookies. Set aside for at least 30 minutes for the chocolate to firm.

BROWN SUGAR SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. If you want to make yourself a guide, use a 6-inch round cake pan or bowl to trace two circles onto the parchment, then turn the parchment over (so the ink won't touch the dough). Or just wing it.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl, using a hand mixer), cream the butter and brown sugar on medium-low speed until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Add the vanilla and mix on low speed to combine. Scrape the bowl well. Add the flour and salt and mix on low speed just until incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 2 equal portions (about 306 grams each) and shape into disks. Place one disk on one half of the prepared baking sheet and use your hands to flatten the dough into a 6-inch round. Repeat with the second disk, leaving 1/2 inch of space between the rounds. If using, brush a coat of egg wash onto the surface of each round.
• Use a sharp knife to score each round gently into 8 wedges--press down just enough to barely cut into the dough, to a depth of about 1/4 inch. Bake until the edges of the shortbread are just beginning to turn golden and the surface appears set, 12 to 14 minutes.
• Cool the shortbread completely on the baking sheet, then cut along the score lines into wedges.