“Mom, do we have more of that little bread?” asked Alec Sutton, age five. His mom, my dear friend and colleague Anne, had no idea what he meant until she saw him reach for the bag of shortbread I’d given her for Christmas last year. I love this story for many reasons; first, Alec is one of the most adorable and observant kids you’ll ever meet, and second, I love how children’s minds process information. Shortbread and little bread make perfect sense as synonyms when you think about it. Since hearing this story, my shortbread has been referred to as little bread in our circle of friends.

Anne and Alec moved from Pittsburgh to Altoona to be closer to their family, and I sincerely miss working with her. During my visits to the Steel Tower, I’d always sit at the table behind Anne’s cube, and we had many great conversations and funny times. I’m hoping this chocolate chip “little bread” will make a nice housewarming gift for Anne and Alec in their new place. This batch makes 24 wedges, so I sent some to Anne and Alec and some to my nephew Roman as his back-to-school gift. Shortbread ships very well, so it’s easy to send wherever it needs to go.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/3 cups flour
• 1 cup miniature chocolate chips

Preparation

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Lightly grease two 8-inch round cake pans. Reserve about 2 tablespoons chocolate chips to sprinkle over the top of your dough.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Add flour and beat to combine completely, then stir in chocolate chips.

Divide dough in half and press into the bottoms of the cake pans, using the palm of your hand to create an even surface. Prick all over with a fork, then sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top. You can skip this step if you like – the chocolate chips do flatten out a bit when you turn the shortbread out of the pans later on.

Bake for 32-35 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Remove from oven and gently loosen the sides, then allow to cool in the pans for 5 minutes. Gently flip onto a cutting board and slice each round into 12 wedges, then place wedges on a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to about 5 days; if shipping, pack between layers of waxed paper.