Chocolate Shortbread X Mas Trees Recipes

CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD TREES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat butter and confectioners' sugar until blended. Beat in vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour and cocoa; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-1/4-in. tree-shaped cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. If desired, sprinkle with nonpareils., Bake 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool on pans 5 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. With an electric mixer, beat butter until creamy. Add flour, sugar, and cocoa; mix just until combined. (Chill dough in the refrigerator 10 minutes if it is too soft to handle.)
• Pat dough into an 8-inch round cake pan; press edges down with the tines of a floured fork. Bake until firm, 30 minutes. Immediately score into eight wedges; cool completely. Turn out of pan; break wedges apart. Decorate with icing.

CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD TREES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Combine butter, powdered sugar and vanilla in bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add flour, cocoa and cinnamon; beat at low speed until well mixed.
• Roll out dough on lightly floured surface, one-half at a time (keeping remaining dough refrigerated), to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with 2 1/2- to 3-inch tree-shaped cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet. Cool completely.
• Melt baking chips and shortening in 1-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, 2-3 minutes or until smooth.
• Place icing in small resealable plastic food bag. Snip 1/8-inch off one corner. Pipe icing as desired onto cooled cookies. Decorate as desired. Let stand until set.

THE BEST SHORTBREAD COOKIES FOUR WAYS

Steps:

• All of the shortbreads are made in the same manner using an electric mixer. If you're making a shortbread with two kinds of flour, whisk the flours together.
• Working in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter, confectioners' sugar, salt and zest, if using, together on medium speed until soft, creamy and homogenous, scraping the bowl as needed. One by one, beat in the yolks, followed by the vanilla.
• Turn off the mixer, add the flour(s) all at once and mix on low speed only until incorporated. If you've got wheat germ, chocolate or flax seeds or nuts, mix in now.
• Scrape the dough out onto the work surface and divide it in two; the dough will be soft and sticky. Put each piece on a sheet of parchment and cajole it into a log that's 6 to 6 1⁄2 inches long, tightening the log with the paper and twisting the ends. Refrigerate the logs for at least 3 hours (overnight is better) or freeze them for 2 hours. (The logs can be frozen for up 2 months; slice when they're still frozen. You might need to add a minute to the oven time.)
• When you're ready to bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
• Using a chef's knife, cut each log into 1⁄2-inch-thick rounds. Lay them out on the baking sheet, leaving about an inch between them.
• Bake, rotating the cookie sheet after 10 minutes, for 21 to 23 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown around the edges and set. The cookies will still be soft, so leave them on the sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack and allowing them to cool to room temperature. DO AHEAD: The cookies can be packed in an airtight container and kept at room temperature for at least 5 days.

CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD X-MAS TREES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°.
• Combine powdered sugar and butter in mixer bowl.
• Beat until creamy, 1-2 minutes.
• Add flour, cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon until well mixed for about 1-2 minutes.
• Roll out dough on lightly floured surface one-half at a time (keeping remaining dough refrigerated), to 1/4-inch thickness.
• Cut with X-mas tree cookie cutters.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes.
• Melt baking chips and shortening in 1-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally until smooth.
• After cookies are cooled, drizzle glaze over cookies.
• Let stand until set.