Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread Cookies

5 from 1 vote

Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread Cookies

Buttery chocolate-dipped shortbread cookies with crisp edges and a smooth chocolate coating. Simple to make, perfectly tender, and ideal for gifting or festive baking.

Prep Time20

Cook Time13

Chill Time1 15

Servings: cookies

Author: Bea & Marco

Ingredients

Dry ingredients

2¼ cup (300 g) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (30 g) cornstarch

Wet ingredients

1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter
¾ cup (100 g) powdered sugar
¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate dipping

8 oz (226 g) semi-sweet baking chocolate 55%
1 teaspoon neutral oil

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Instructions

Dry ingredients

In a bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour and cornstarch. Set aside.
2¼ cup all-purpose flour, ¼ cup cornstarch

Wet ingredients

In a large bowl, beat together butter, powdered sugar, granulated sugar, salt, and vanilla extract using a hand or stand mixer.
👉 Cue: The mixture should turn pale, creamy, and slightly fluffy, like soft frosting, about 2 minutes on medium speed.
1 cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup powdered sugar, ¼ cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon salt
Add dry ingredient mixture to the butter mixture in two additions on low speed. Stop mixing once no dry patches remain.
👉 Cue: The dough should look soft, crumbly, and slightly sandy. When you pinch some between your fingers, it should press together easily and feel buttery, not dry. It will not form a clean ball in the mixer, that’s exactly how it should be.

Form and chill

Use your hands to gently press and gather the dough together, squeeze and pat it into a rough disk. Do not knead. The warmth from your hands will bring the dough together.
Press into a disc of 1 inch thick. Wrap it with plastic wrap and chill for 30-60 minutes
👉 Cue: The dough should feel firm like cold play-dough, not sticky or greasy.

Roll and cut

Lightly flour your work surface. Roll the dough to about ¼ inch thick.
👉 Cue: It should roll smoothly without cracking. If cracks appear, let it rest a few minutes to soften slightly.
Cut into rounds with a cookie cutter, gathering and re-rolling scraps if needed.
👉 Cue: Edges should be sharp and clean, not smudged. If they start to blur, re-chill the dough briefly.

Bake

Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
Place cookies on a tray, spacing them slightly apart. Chill the tray for about 15 minutes before baking to help them hold shape.
Bake until the edges are just turning pale golden, about 13–15 minutes.
👉 Cue: Centers should look matte and set, not shiny or wet. Edge color: Pale with the slightest hint of gold, not brown.

Cool

Let cookies cool on the tray for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack.

Chocolate dip

Melt chocolate and neutral oil together in short microwave bursts or over a double boiler, stirring until smooth and glossy.
8 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate 55%, 1 teaspoon neutral oil
Dip half of each cooled cookie into the melted chocolate, letting excess drip off. Sprinkle immediately with flaky sea salt before the chocolate sets.
Once the chocolate is not enough for dipping, use a spoon and drizzle it on the cookies. Let the cookies sit at room temperature until the chocolate is firm, about 20–30 minutes, or refrigerate briefly to speed it up.

Notes

Dough texture: The dough will look crumbly after mixing. That’s correct. It should hold together when pressed or pinched, even if it doesn’t form a smooth ball in the bowl.
Chilling matters: Chilling the dough firms up the butter and hydrates the flour, making it much easier to roll and cut cleanly. Don’t skip this step.
Rolling thickness: Roll the dough slightly thicker than usual (about ¼ inch / 6 mm). This keeps the shortbread tender after baking instead of dry.
Cutter sticking: If the cookie cutter sticks, lightly dip the cutter in flour rather than adding more flour to the dough.
Chocolate texture: Melting the chocolate with a little oil prevents it from setting rock hard, so the cookies are easy to bite and stack once set.
Setting the chocolate: Let the dipped cookies set at room temperature until the chocolate is firm to the touch. In warm kitchens, this can take up to an hour.

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