Four chocolate shortbread cookies on an orange plate

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I admire shortbread cookies for their creative potential. This is something I came up with yesterday. They are easy to make and satisfy the sweet tooth nicely. This recipe is very similar to my earlier post on shortbread cookies with raspberry preserves; YUMM!

Ingredients for Chocolate Shortbread Cookies:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour *measured correctly
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 sticks (12 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

How to Make Shortbread Cookies with Raspberry Preserves:

Preheat Oven to 350˚ F.

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until they are combined. Scrape down the bowl as necessary. Add the vanilla.
(You can use a hand mixer or a wooden spoon for this).

2. In a separate bowl, mix together flour and salt and add it to the sugar/butter mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together.

(If using a hand mixer, you will have to mix in the flour and salt by hand or using a wooden spoon).

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3. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate about 30 minutes.

4. Use 1/2 of the dough at a time, keeping the second half refrigerated. On a floured surface, roll the dough out about 1/8” thick.

5. Use cookie cutters to stamp out your cookies. Have a sharp spatula or food scraper on hand to pick up the cookies easier.

6. Place all cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown.

7. Let cookies cool to room temperature, or you can refrigerate them.

8. Melt 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave or stovetop according to package instructions.

9. Use a butter knife to cover half of each cookie top with chocolate. Refrigerate them at least 30 minutes, or until the chocolate hardens. Once the chocolate hardens, you can stack them in tupperware and refrigerate for a few days.

Notes: You can add some ground nuts to the batter and have what are called “linzer” cookies.

Natasha's Kitchen Cookbook

Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

4.86 from 14 votes
Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com
Four chocolate shortbread cookies on an orange plate
I admire shortbread cookies for their creative potential. This is something I came up with yesterday. They are easy to make and satisfy the sweet tooth nicely. This recipe is very similar to my earlier post on shortbread cookies with raspberry preserves ; YUMM! Cost to Make: $2 to $3 Servings: Makes about 35 individual cookies
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 35 cookies

Instructions

Preheat Oven to 350°F.

  • In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until they are combined. Scrape down the bowl as necessary. Add the vanilla.
  • In a separate bowl, mix together flour and salt and add it to the sugar/butter mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together.
  • Place dough on a lightly floured surface and shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate about 30 minutes.
  • Use 1/2 of the dough at a time, keeping the second half refrigerated. On a floured surface, roll the dough out about 1/8” thick.
  • Use cookie cutters to stamp out your cookies. Have a sharp spatula or food scraper on hand to pick up the cookies easier.
  • Place all cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown.
  • Let cookies cool to room temperature, or you can refrigerate them.
  • Melt 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave or stove top according to package instructions.
  • Use a butter knife to cover half of each cookie top with chocolate. Refrigerate them at least 30 minutes, or until the chocolate hardens. Once the chocolate hardens, you can stack them in Tupperware and refrigerate for a few days.

Notes

You can add some ground nuts to the batter and have what are called “linzer” cookies.
Course: Cookies, Dessert
Cuisine: British, Scottish
Keyword: chocolate shortbread cookies
Skill Level: Easy
Cost to Make: $

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Natasha Kravchuk

Welcome to my kitchen! I am Natasha, the blogger behind Natasha's Kitchen (since 2009). My husband and I run this blog together and share only our best, family approved and tested recipes with YOU. Thanks for stopping by! We are so happy you're here.

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Comments

  • Zhenya
    March 10, 2024

    Hi Natasha,do you think i can substitute some of the flour for Kakao to get the chocolate version of these? If yes, how many grams should i take out? Thank you!

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      March 10, 2024

      I haven’t tested that to advise. If you do that as an expeirment, we’d love to know how it turns out!

      Reply

  • Ellie
    January 12, 2024

    I love them but how can I make them thicker and softer? I made the lemon bars, and after I tasted the crust, I was inspired to see if you had a recipe for shortbread cookies with the same ingredients.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      January 12, 2024

      HI Ellie, typically if you roll the dough thicker they will be thicker and softer after they are baked. Also, make sure not to over-bake which can dry out cookies.

      Reply

  • Despoina
    March 11, 2021

    Pretty nice. I made them a little bit thicker so they will be softer. Sprinkled sugar on top would be interesting as well.

    Reply

  • Len Y.
    December 2, 2020

    Hi Natasha! I noticed there is no egg on your list of ingredients. Do you not to use eggs in making shortbread cookies? Thanks!

    Reply

    • Natasha's Kitchen
      December 2, 2020

      Hi Len, that is right. No eggs needed for this recipe to work. I hope you love these cookies!

      Reply

  • Mona Abbas
    May 4, 2020

    I did these Saturday afternoon, did not get the chance to decorate them with any chocolate as my husband and kids ate them before they had a chance to completely cool down, did another batch yesterday afternoon, caught my son with a mouthful before breakfast, now it’s 11 am Monday morning and I only have 6 left! I think that says enough about how good these are !!! I wonder what will happen if I add the chocolate to them

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      May 4, 2020

      That is the best when kids love what we moms make. That’s so great!

      Reply

  • Elena
    November 7, 2018

    Dear Natasha, I love this recipe and how the cookies turned out. The only thing I encountered – the dough, when I was working with it, still unbaked, was crumbly and difficult to work with, I sometimes was not able to transfer cookies to the sheet they were breaking. I know something is wrong on my side, not with the recipe for sure! What can you think of I potentially did wrong? Too little flour? The best part of it is that the actual cookies came out heavenly and not crumbly at all)) looking forward to making these for Christmas!

    Reply

    • Natashas Kitchen
      November 7, 2018

      Hi Elena! I would recommend check out post on measuring tips. Sounds like it may have been to much of the draw ingredients. Was anything adjusted in the recipe?

      Reply

      • Elena
        November 12, 2018

        I tried to follow precisely, but it is true that I probably did not measure flour correctly. Thank you so much for your link to measuring tips!!!

        Reply

        • Natashas Kitchen
          November 12, 2018

          You’re welcome!

          Reply

  • Julie S
    December 23, 2016

    These look very good, Natasha! I wanna make them for Christmas, for tomorrow. Can I make them and have different shapes like a christmas tree, etc, and put icing on them?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      December 23, 2016

      Julie, these cookies will work great with different shapes. Merry Christmas to you and your family! 😬

      Reply

  • Patrícia
    January 3, 2015

    Soooooo GOOOD *¬* I made some with cashew nuts!!
    Where I live, butter is really expensive and looks like the texture and taste are also different, so I use margarine ^^

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      January 3, 2015

      Thank you for a great review Patricia, I’m glad that you made them work with what you had available :).

      Reply

  • Minty
    December 7, 2013

    Can i just make these cookies without the chocolate? Will it still taste good or plain?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      December 7, 2013

      Yes you totally can! I’ve also made them with raspberry preserves sandwiched between two cookies and dusted the top with powdered sugar. https://natashaskitchen.com/2009/12/29/shortbread-cookies-with-raspberry-preserves/

      Reply

      • Minty
        December 7, 2013

        Thanks:)

        Reply

      • Raquel
        December 9, 2020

        Hi,
        Can I use dark chocolate instead of semi sweet chocolate chips?

        Reply

        • Natasha's Kitchen
          December 9, 2020

          Hi Racquel, I haven’t tried using dark chocolate yet to advise, you might need to do an experiment on that one. If you try it, please share with us how it goes!

          Reply

          • Keisha
            December 21, 2022

            Love the cookies. I did try the dark chocolate chips instead of semi sweet. They taste amazing but look awful. It started melting very nicely them quickly got chunky and weird. I used it anyway but if it was for anything other than close family I would just use semi sweet.

  • alana
    April 19, 2013

    Making these today with my kiddos:) Yup:)

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      April 19, 2013

      Let me know what you think of the cookies! 🙂

      Reply

    • Yonca
      November 3, 2019

      Hi Natasha!! I tried for many years making the perfect shortbread cookies and I failed many times until I followed your recipe and they came out soooo good! The cookies are so delicious, just the way I like them, crispy and chewy at the same time, buttery but not too much and the chocolate is just the perfect addiction to make them even better! Mmmm! Thanks for the recipe I’ll defenitely bake these again!

      Reply

      • Natashas Kitchen
        November 4, 2019

        I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!

        Reply

  • Paramitha Nasimova
    April 18, 2012

    Hi Natasha! Long time I didn’t bake any, but I turned out make this cookie again today and make lil different by adding up 2tbsp of cocoa powder + pinch of cinnamon to the recipe. I don’t use chocolate to cover them, but icing sugar 🙂 Hope you like to what I’ve done to ur recipe :p

    Reply

  • Paramitha Nasimova
    January 14, 2012

    I’ve made this cookie today, was dedicated to my son and he really loves it! Thanks for the recipe. I really like ur food blog, will try your recipes one by one 🙂

    Reply

  • Anna
    July 12, 2011

    Hey I have a question, I made these and although my family loved them I found them way too crunchy and thin. Are they supposed to be crunchy?
    Also, I made them as thick as they are supposed to be but they turned out way too thin. Is there anything I’m doing wrong or is this how they’re supposed to be? Thanks! These were REALLY good though!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      July 12, 2011

      You can roll them out thicker – they aren’t supposed to be a soft cookie, but I wouldn’t really say its supposed to be crunch either. All ovens are a little different. If your cookies turned out too crunch, just reduce the cooking time by a few minutes and see how they work out that way. Your oven may just bake them faster. Glad you liked them anyway 🙂

      Reply

  • anna
    June 19, 2011

    sooo gonna make these soon! they look delicious and I have 5 siblings so they will most likely gobble them up before the chocolate finishes drying!

    Reply

  • Kya Ora
    November 15, 2010

    Yum, I plan on making these soon, I’ve even got the star-shaped cutters for the job.
    Thank you Natasha.

    Reply

  • Clar
    November 11, 2010

    This is a variation of my favorite sugar drop cookies that I make every time my grandson comes over. We have dinosaur, Easter and Christmas shapes and we just love cutting out cookies and even making our own shapes. The chocolate and peppermint are excellent ideas for Christmas and I will add it to my list to bake.

    Reply

  • janemaynard
    November 11, 2010

    hi there! just wanted to let you know we featured this post on the FoodPress.com homepage today under “Today’s Specials” – chocolate AND shortbread together? heaven! thanks, have a great day! jane

    Reply

  • Margo
    November 11, 2010

    These do look like Christmas )) I can see them dipped in chocolate, and then dipped in finely crushed peppermint sticks… I think I am in the mood to bake cookies now!

    Reply

  • Natalia K
    October 12, 2010

    These look yummy–they’d be a good addition to a Christmas cookie platter (I’ve already got Christmas on the mind :).

    Reply

    • Natasha
      October 12, 2010

      Everything is centered around Christmas for me. I’m always saying, “I can’t believe there’s only 3 months till Christmas…” Its my favorite holiday!

      Reply

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