Cookies So Good, You’ll Want To Hide Them

Buttery shortbread cookies with chunks of dark chocolate, crisp sugary edges and salty tops are so good that you will want to hide some for yourself before you share them with your family and friends. Don’t believe me, bake some and then let me know what you think.

Have you ever made cookies so good that you wanted to hide some of them before they were all gone? If you have, you can relate to this story.

My husband and I were at a gathering of family and friends for a meal not long ago. One of the desserts was a couple of dozen salty dark chocolate shortbread cookies. They were passed around and most people took one to enjoy. Later in the evening several of the men went looking high and low for some more of those delicious shortbread cookies. What they didn’t know was that there had been only two left and my son-in-law had hidden them for a friend who was going to stop by the next day.

Needless to say that when you see grown men go searching through all the kitchen cabinets trying to find those hidden cookies, they have to be something very special.

My son-in-law likes to bake cookies and I had watched him make the dough the day before. He usually bakes large chocolate chip cookies but these were different and I didn’t realize at the time what a big hit they were going to be. The next morning after our wonderful meal, I asked if I could take a photo of those last two surviving cookies before they were eaten and if he would share the recipe.

Salted Dark Chocolate Chunk Shortbread

After all, these shortbread cookies. with their sugar edges, salty tops and chunks of dark chocolate. definitely need to be shared with others and that is what I’m doing now. Just remember my warning to hide a few for yourself before setting them out for friends and family because they will vanish almost instantly.

Salted Dark Chocolate Chunk Shortbread

Recipe makes 24 cookies

• 2 1/4 sticks (1 c. plus 2 Tbsp.) or (9 ounces or 255 grams) cold salted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/2 c. (100 grams) sugar
• 1/4 c. (50 grams) packed light brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 l/4 c. (295 grams)  flour
• 6 oz.  (170 grams)  dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Demerara, turbinado, raw, or sanding sugar for rolling edges
• Fine flake sea salt, for sprinkling on top

Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Beat the butter, sugars and the vanilla on medium high until light and fluffy, about 3 – 5 minutes, scrapping down the sides with a spatula. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour, then add the chocolate and mix just to blend. Knead by hand to be sure the flour is totally incorporated and smooth with no pockets of flour.

Divide in half, cover with plastic wrap and form into 6 inch logs about 2 – 2 1/4 inch thick. Chill about 2 hours until totally firm or over night for even better results.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Brush logs with beaten egg and roll into Demerara sugar. Slice into 1/2 inch slices with a very sharp serrated  knife and place on baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Sprinkle each cookie with a few flakes of salt. Chill in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes before going into the oven. Bake until the edges are just beginning to brown, about 15 – 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before transferring the cookies to a wire rack to cool.

If using a hand mixer, you might want to let the butter soften slightly to make mixing easier and beat for 6-8 minutes. Be aware that if the butter is too soft it will melt before the cookies have a chance to cook enough to set.

Shortbread is supposed to be dense so don’t be afraid to make them compact.

Using Demerara sugar creates delicious, crisp edges. .

When slicing the cookies, 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

If you can not find Demerara sugar try Sugar in the Raw.

If you like nuts, you cab add about a quarter cup of finely chopped, toasted pecans or walnuts.

notes from the kitchen

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A big “thank you” to my son-in-law for letting me share this story and the cookie recipe with my readers. I know your friends are hoping you will be baking another batch of these salted chocolate chuck shortbread cookies again soon.