Salted chocolate shortbread cookies are a tasty treat that’s easier to make than you may think! With a chocolate shortbread topped with salt and baked, you get a flavorful cookie in every bite.
Making these salted chocolate cookies is super easy thanks to electric mixers doing all of the manual labor for you. The biggest issue is waiting for the dough logs to chill before baking. Patience is a virtue and one that is well rewarded if you can resist temptation. These cookies are fabulous.
What are salted chocolate shortbread cookies?
They are chocolate shortbread cookies topped with a sprinkling of salt. These shortbread cookies are out of this world good. The salty and rich chocolatey goodness all compiled into a soft sliced and baked cookie- fabulous.
Salted chocolate shortbread cookie ingredients
-Flour: Using all purpose flour we can create the cookie dough base needed.
-Cocoa powder: We want to use unsweetened cocoa powder to make these cookies get that chocolate flavor we are seeking.
-Baking soda: Helping these cookies to rise and puff up a little while baking, baking soda is an important leavening agent.
-Butter: 11 tablespoons of room temperature butter will give us the rich and savory buttery flavor that makes these cookies delicious.
-Brown sugar: Light brown sugar works best but you can use whatever variety you have on hand. This will give us a little chewy bite to the cookies.
-Granulated sugar: Sweet delicious cookies can’t exist without some type of sweetener, and this granulated sugar is going to help give us all of that awesomeness.
-Salt: We want ½ a teaspoon of salt for the dough plus more for sprinkling on top. This is going to give us the flavorful cookies we want because salt helps to bring out the other flavors and make them POP.
-Vanilla: Vanilla extract is used and considered vital in many baking recipes, this one is no different. It’s going to help round out the flavors and meld them together into a cohesive delicious bite.
How to make salted chocolate shortbread cookies
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, and baking soda and then set it aside.
In a stand mixer bowl or in a mixing bowl and using electric mixers, beat the butter on medium speed.
Add in the sugars, salt, and vanilla and then beat for an additional 2 minutes.
Add in the dry ingredients and pulse on low speed to incorporate the flour mixture. Mix until the flour disappears into the dough, it will look crumbly.
Turn the dough out onto a work surface and then divide it into two.
Shape the dough into 2 9inch logs, wrap the logs in plastic and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. This is important, the dough needs to be chilled or else they will become flat.
Center the rack in the oven and preheat it to 325F degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
Slice the logs into rounds that are ¾” thick and make sure that the rounds are “together” meaning not crumbling and falling apart.
Arrange the slices on the baking sheets.
Sprinkle the tops with salt and then bake one sheet at a time in the oven for 11-12 minutes. They will look still raw when baked, but they are done. Let finish cooling on the sheet.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 11 tbsp butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt, plus extra for sprinkling
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa, and soda in a small bowl; set aside.
- Beat the butter on medium until soft and creamy. Add sugars, salt, and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes.
- Add the dry ingredients, pulse on low speed to incorporate flour mixture. Mix until the flour disappears into the dough (the dough will look crumbly).
- Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide it in two. Shape into 2, 9-inch logs. Wrap logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Don't skip this step. It must be nice and chilled!
- Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
- Slice the logs into rounds that are 3/4" thick, make sure rounds are "together" (as in, not crumbling), and arrange on the baking sheets.
- Sprinkle salt on top of each cookie. Bake one sheet at a time for 11-12 minutes. *The cookies will look somewhat "raw" still, but they're done!
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Can I freeze chocolate cookie dough?
Yes you can. The best part is that you won’t have to thaw any dough before baking, simply slice and bake as normal, but add 1 minute to the bake time. Frozen dough can last up to 2 months.
How far in advance can I make the dough?
You can prepare and make the dough up to 3 days in advance and keep it in the fridge well wrapped. You can also freeze it for a longer storage solution.
What if I don’t have brown sugar?
If you don’t have any brown sugar on hand, you can simply make your own by mixing 1 cup of white sugar with 1 tablespoon of molasses. Mix them together and it’s brown sugar, just take the amount needed in the recipe and set the rest aside for future use.
What do I do if my dough is dry?
If your dough is dry and falling apart despite your best efforts, try adding in 2-3 teaspoons of milk (a little at a time) until the dough comes together into a log for chilling. If you make the dough too wet, add in more flour to get it back to consistency.
Can I use gluten free flour?
While I haven’t personally tried it I do know that someone has switched out the AP flour for GF flour and it turned out great for them (based on their reactions). Feel free to try it and let me know how it goes in the comments below!
More Chocolate Recipes to Try!
- Salted Caramel Stuffed Chocolate Cookies
- Death By Chocolate Cake
- Double Chocolate Banana Bread
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bars
- Cheesecake Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bread
- Easy Chocolate Fondue
- Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups
- Chocolate Nest Easter Cookies
- Chocolate Cherry Brownie Bites
- Caramel Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Pumpkin Chocolate Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Coconut Pie
- The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Brownies with Cheesecake Frosting
These Salted chocolate shortbread cookies are an easy to make tasty treat that everyone can enjoy. With bits of salt sprinkled on top of rich, soft and chewy chocolate shortbread cookies there’s flavor in every bite.
reo tech says
A true shortbread cookie recipe is the most basic of all cookie recipes. <br /><br />Butter, flour and sugar with maybe some salt. It has a crisp and yet crumbly texture and will absolutely melt in your mouth. <br /><br /><br /><a href="http://food.india2australia.com" rel="nofollow">Indian food in Australia</a>
Connie Morris says
Best new cookie of the year! This will become a regular in the Mallard home for years to come. Adding this recipe to my collection as a keeper! Thanks for sharing
Amanda Petersen says
Hooray! I'm so glad you enjoyed these as much as I did! Thanks for reading:)
aleesha banks says
WOW! that looks awesome. I love your blog!<br />Thanks<br />cookiecutter.com/miniaturehalloweenset.aspx<br />