Chocolate Covered Chocolate Shortbread

Now that the holidays are over and SFW is in full swing, our weekly meetings with our sweets loving director M have resumed. I asked her what she wanted for the meeting and she immediately responded, anything with chocolate. Of course. But I was running low on eggs and so my options were narrowed significantly. Thankfully, I remembered that shortbread is made without any eggs and it is so simple to make. I used the Chocolate Shortbread recipe from the KAF Cookie Companion (they have a whole chapter devoted to shorbread) but decided to take a page out of Carole Walter's cookie book by opting to dip the shortbread sticks into chocolate melted with a bit of oil. The only thing I did differently was bake the cookies in one 9x13 inch pan instead of two 9 inch pans and from there cut them into sticks. If you're going to dip into chocolate, or white chocolate, make the recipe ahead of when you need it because it takes ages for the chocolate to dry. That didnt deter anyone from eating them at the meeting. I left the rest of them at home while I went to meet my dad and came home the next day to an emptied tray. And compliments. Fudgy and chocolately. Obviously they weren't fudgy but I think dutch process cocoa just does miracles for baked goods. So there you have it, delicious chocolate shortbreads. 

Chocolate Covered Chocolate Shortbread

adapted from the Cookie Companion

1 cup unsalted butter or margarine, softened

1 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup Dutch process cocoa

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 3/4 cups flour

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1 tsp vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a 9x13 inch pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

Place the margarine, sugar, salt and vanilla in a bowl.

Using a mixer or a whisk, beat until creamy and smooth.

Add the flour and cocoa powder,

and blend to make a smooth dough. I used my hands to knead the dough together.

Press into your prepared pan and dock the dough with a fork. Refrigerate the dough for ten minutes to firm it up.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until it appears done around the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool in its pan five minutes.

Turn it out onto a silpat or clean surface. Remove the parchment paper and while it is still hot, slice into desired size. Allow to cool completely. Cookies will harden upon cooling.

Melt the chocolate. Stir in the vegetable oil. Dip each cookie and place on a piece of parchment to set. Enjoy!