Description
Buttery shortbread cookies filled with chocolate chunks, rolled in Demerara sugar for a crunchy exterior and sprinkled with sea salt for that perfect salty-sweet balance!
Ingredients
- 3 sticks (340 grams) salted butter (preferably Plugra or other European style), at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (99 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (99 grams) lightly packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3–1/2 cups (420 grams) all-purpose flour
- 6 ounces (170 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small chunks
- 1 egg, thoroughly beaten until homogenous
- Demerara sugar, for rolling
- Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together on medium-high until very light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, add the vanilla extract and beat just until combined. Add the flour all at once; on low speed, stir just until combined. Add the chocolate chunks and beat again just to combine.
- Place the demerara sugar in a large shallow bowl. Divide the dough in half, placing each half on a sheet of wax paper or plastic wrap. Bring the dough together with your hands, using the wax paper to form the dough into a log shape about 2 to 2-1/2 inches in diameter. Roll the dough in the demerara sugar, pressing as much as you can. Return the logs to the wax paper and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Brush the outside of each log with the beaten egg, and roll again in the demerara sugar (sprinkle it on if you need to). Slice each log into 1/2-inch-thick rounds and place them on the prepared baking sheets. The cookies won’t spread much, so you can place them close together. Sprinkle the tops with flaky sea salt. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, until just set and the edges are beginning to brown. Remove from the oven and cook for 5 minutes on the baking sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
Notes
Inspiration: Shortbread Cookies on foodnetwork.com & Salted Butter and Chocolate Chunk Shortbread, Dining In by Allison Roman
As with any baking recipe that provides weights, you should always weigh your ingredients. It is much more accurate and I promise it will improve the quality of your baked goods. You can purchase a relatively inexpensive digital scale and once you get used to it, you will use it for everything. I do!
Use a high-quality chocolate (that you chop yourself) and European-style salted butter, like Plugra or Lurpak. Trader Joe’s has an excellent French cultured butter at a reasonable price!
Make sure to cream your butter and sugar together as described in the recipe-until very light and fluffy. This will help the flour to absorb better, producing a more workable dough.
Use a serrated knife to cut the dough to ensure they hold they’re shape.
- Category: Cookies, Chocolate