5-Ingredient Shortbread Cookies with Chocolate
- Prep Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 0 hours
- Total Time: 0 hours
Ingredients
Scale
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into small pieces
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 rounded teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla, or the scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean
- 2–6 ounces dark to bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- Optional: Colored decorating icing
Instructions
Cookies
- Set one oven rack to a central position and preheat to 350F.
- In a bowl, stand mixer, or food processor, mix butter and sugar until completely combined. Add in salt and vanilla.
- Mix in flour until a solid ball forms.
- Place dough between two cookie sheet-sized pieces of parchment paper. Roll out to about 1/4 inch thickness (you can go as thick as 1/2 inch or as thin as 1/8).
- Place on a cookie sheet and stick in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from freezer. Unstick the top sheet of parchment paper, then flip it. Unpeel the other piece; use it to line a cookie sheet.
- Cut out your desired shapes. If the dough becomes sticky, return it to the freezer for a few minutes.
- Bake 12 to a cookie sheet for 15-17 minutes, or until the edges just begin to brown.
- Move cookies to a wire cooling rack. Allow to cool completely.
Decoration
- Microwave chocolate on 50 percent power in 30-second intervals, stirring well between. Remove before all the chocolate is melted and stir until the last bits melt. Allow to cool, stirring often, until chocolate is cool (stirring makes it glossier!)
- Decorate cooled cookies by dipping, coating the tops with chocolate, drizzling, adding frosting, or all of the above!