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30-Minute Chocolate Shortbread Recipe

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4.3 from 11 reviews

A delightful 30-minute chocolate shortbread recipe yielding tender, buttery cookies with a rich cocoa flavor. This recipe offers versatile shaping options including baking in a tray, forming logs, or using cookie cutters. Optional dark chocolate coating adds an elegant finish, perfect for gifting or enjoying with tea.

Ingredients

Shortbread Dough

  • 200 g unsalted butter (softened)
  • 110 g powdered sugar (icing sugar)
  • 3 g fine salt
  • 14 g vanilla extract
  • 1 orange (zested, optional)
  • 290 g all-purpose flour (plain flour)
  • 40 g Dutch processed cocoa powder (sifted)

Chocolate Coating (optional)

  • 300 g dark cooking chocolate
  • 20 g vegetable oil

Instructions

  1. Whip butter and sugar: Add softened butter, powdered sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and optional orange zest into a medium mixing bowl. Using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the ingredients together until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
  2. Add dry ingredients: Gradually add half of the sifted flour and cocoa powder, folding with a spatula to form a dough without dry patches. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients until dough is soft, smooth, and cohesive. If dough is too soft, refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up.
  3. Prepare baking dish: Spray a 22cm x 31cm (9 x 13-inch) baking tin with oil spray and line it with baking paper, allowing some overhang to remove shortbread easily after baking.
  4. Form biscuits in baking dish: Press the dough evenly into the prepared baking tin using hands or the bottom of a flat cup to achieve a uniform thickness. Avoid pressing too hard to prevent dense cookies.
  5. Bake the shortbread: Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F) with fan off or 130°C (265°F) with fan on. Bake the shortbread for 20 minutes. Carefully remove from oven, cut into 8 by 3 bars with a large knife while still warm, and dock each bar 3 times with a fork.
  6. Continue baking: Return the shortbread to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes until the edges are lightly golden.
  7. Cool and separate: Let the shortbread cool completely in the tin. Once cooled, run a knife along the scored lines to separate the bars before serving.
  8. Forming cookies into rectangles (alternative): Line two half-sheet baking trays with baking paper. Shape dough into a rough log roughly 20cm long, 6cm high, and 3-4cm wide. Wrap in plastic and chill for 1-2 hours.
  9. Slice log: Preheat oven as above. Remove dough log from fridge, unwrap, and rest for 5 minutes to soften slightly. Cut into 1cm wide biscuits with a sharp knife and place on baking trays spaced 2cm apart. Optionally, use skewer to indent for decoration.
  10. Bake rectangular cookies: Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool completely on trays.
  11. Using cookie cutters (optional shaping): Divide dough into two discs and flatten into ovals. Place one disc between two sheets of baking paper and roll to 1/2 cm thickness. Repeat with other disc and chill rolled dough for 1 hour.
  12. Cut and bake cookies: Preheat oven as above. Use cookie cutters to cut shapes, place on baking trays spaced 2cm apart, and bake for 20 minutes. Cookies will be soft out of the oven and firm as they cool.
  13. Chocolate coating preparation (optional): Combine dark cooking chocolate and vegetable oil in a heatproof bowl. Melt in 30-second microwave bursts, stirring between, or melt over simmering water without the bowl touching water. Let cool slightly.
  14. Coat shortbread in chocolate: Dip cooled shortbread pieces halfway into melted chocolate, allowing excess to drip off. Place coated biscuits on baking tray to set before serving.

Notes

  • Ensure butter is softened for easy creaming; if too hard, microwave briefly in short bursts.
  • Sifting cocoa powder prevents lumps in the dough for a smooth texture.
  • Use Dutch processed cocoa for a rich, mellow chocolate flavor.
  • Chilling the dough is recommended if the kitchen is warm to make handling easier.
  • Docking the shortbread with a fork allows even baking and prevents puffing.
  • Adjust sweetness or decoration to personal preference, such as adding orange zest or chocolate coating.
  • Store shortbread in an airtight container to maintain freshness.

Find it online: https://bitezly.com/30-minute-chocolate-shortbread-recipe/