I’ve been reading a lot of novels set in Scotland lately, and Scotland makes me think of two of my favorite treats: shortbread and scones. I’ve made chocolate chip scones before, so when I found this chocolate chip shortbread recipe on Pinterest, I thought I’d give it a try.
The dough is very easy to make and the end results are delicious, but there’s just a bit of a flaw in preparation that I’m not sure how to remedy. As I sliced through the chilled dough my knife got caught on the chocolate chips, causing it to break and crumble. This isn’t an insurmountable flaw, of course; I simply rounded up all of the broken scraps, formed another small log, and cut it into finger-like rectangles instead of squares. If anyone has any suggestions about how to prevent such an occurrence, though, I’d love to hear them.
Regardless of the preparation challenges, these treats are delicious; just salty enough, just crumbly enough, and definitely a good complement to a cup of tea…just as all good shortbread should be.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or sea salt)
- 2 1/3 cups flour
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
Preparation
In a mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, powdered sugar, and salt until very well-combined, scraping the sides of the bowl frequently.
Add flour slowly, about 1/2 cup at a time, mixing until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips; you may need to knead the dough slightly to get them well-distributed.
Roll the dough into an 8-inch square log and wrap tightly in plastic or waxed paper, then chill for 1 hour (or freeze for 30 minutes), until the log is firm.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Slice cookies to about 1/4 inch thickness and place on prepared baking sheets; you can slice each square in half a second time to create smaller finger-like, rectangle-shaped cookies if you like.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown.
Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
amy bakes in the 'burgh 
These look delicious! What have you been reading? Outlander???
No – but I should be! I need to request the first one from the library and see whether I like it or not. I’ve been reading a lot of mystery/crime novels set in Scotland, among them a couple by a British author that I love named S.J. Bolton. Her novels scare the daylights out of me, but I cannot put them down!