Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread Cookies

I love cookies! Shortbread cookies are at the top of my favorites list.  I find them to be one of the easiest cookies to make and I love the simple ingredients.  Remember Lorna Doones?  Maybe you still buy them and dunk them in a glass of milk?  When I was a kid we ate our share of those packaged cookies, always with a glass of ice-cold milk.  My Dad liked them a lot so we had them around often.  I admit, back then I liked them a lot too!  THEN I discovered I could bake my own shortbread cookies and have never looked back at a store bought package of shortbread cookies!

When I received an invitation to enter an Epicurious Holiday Cookie Contest and saw that Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread Cookies were one of the recipes to choose from it was a complete no-brainer for me.  This is one of the easiest shortbread recipes ever and I bet you have all the ingredients right in your kitchen!  I did, except I didn’t have enough quality chocolate for dipping, sad me.  I dipped one snowflake and all of the rectangle cut cookies when my good chocolate ran out, and then you know what I did?  I ate some without dipping and I was ok with that because the delicate shortbread is delicious all on it’s own.  What I like about the chocolate dipped ones is that you get dark, rich chocolate yumminess and then finish off with the simple goodness of the plain cookie.  It’s a win-win!

You can find the recipe here on Epicurious and I’m posting below too!

Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread Cookies

Recipe Type

:

Cookie

Serves:

about 3 dozen

Ingredients

• 2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 2/3 cup sugar

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 8 ounces high-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Instructions

1. Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 325°F. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. In electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt at medium speed just until smooth. Add flour and mix at low speed until combined. Divide dough in half and shape into 2 disks.

3. On lightly floured work surface, roll out 1 piece dough to 1/4-inch-thick rectangle. Using fluted pastry wheel or large knife, cut into 2- by 1-inch rectangles. Transfer cookies to baking sheets, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart. Repeat with remaining dough.

4. Prick each cookie several times with tines of fork, then chill 10 minutes. Bake until edges are golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on pans 5 minutes, then transfer to racks and cool completely.

5. To decorate: Line baking sheet with clean parchment or wax paper. In medium heatproof bowl set over saucepan of simmering water, melt half chocolate. Add remaining chocolate, remove bowl from heat, and stir occasionally until smooth. Pour into small bowl.

6. Dip each cookie halfway into chocolate, let excess drip off, and place on baking sheet. Let stand until chocolate is set, about 1 hour. Store in airtight container at room temperature. (Do not refrigerate.)

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