This holiday season embrace my Perfectly Imperfect Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies. Easy to make with simple pantry ingredients, these melt-in-your-mouth cookies have irresistible flavor, old fashioned charm and are sure to become a favorite at your house too.
I’m joining five friends for a virtual cookie exchanges. You’ll find their recipes linked at the end of this post.
Perfectly Imperfect Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies
Before we get to the recipe, a few notes …
You can mix the shortbread dough by hand, but I prefer using my KitchenAid mixer with the paddle attachment.
I rolled the dough into a round tube, wrapped and refrigerated it for at least an hour, then cut it into even cookie slices that are about 1 cm thick. I use a tape measure but you can eyeball it.
You can also roll the dough flat and use cookie cutters. Be sure to chill it first.
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If you roll the dough, it should be about 12″ in length and 2″ diameter. Mine are perfectly imperfect and not quite round.
When ready to bake, measure and mark the dough before cutting. About 1 cm.
Place the rounds on parchment lined baking sheets. I love precut parchment baking sheets, they fit perfectly and you won’t have to wrestle with a roll of parchment paper … which rarely ends well for me.
This recipe makes just over 2 dozen cookies.
You can fit about 18 cookies on a cookie sheet.
When the cookies are completely cooled, it’s time to melt the dipping chocolate. You can melt it in the microwave (at 50% power, in 30 second intervals, stirring in between), but I prefer melting it over a double boiler at a very low simmer while stirring continuously.
Use the best melting chocolate you can find … it makes a difference. I used Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Dip each cookie into the chocolate about halfway and return to parchment lined baking sheets.
Immediately sprinkle with the topping of your choice. I used sea salt, toffee pieces, and chopped pecans, hazelnuts and pistachios.
Crushed candy canes would be very festive and Christmasy.
Let’s get on to the recipe.
Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- In a stand mixer, beat butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until combined. Add flour and continue mixing until it forms a dough. If dough is crumbly, mix in another 1-2 Tbsp of butter.
- Form dough into a ball. Place on floured surface and roll into a tube approximately 2" in diameter and 12" long. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour, or overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat over to 350, at least 30 minutes prior to baking.
- Unwrap dough and using a tape measure mark dough every centimeter. Cut at marking into discs and place on parchment lined cookie sheets.
- Bake approximately 15 minutes. Start checking the oven at 12 minutes until dough sets and bottom on cookies is light golden brown. Tops should not brown.
- Remove from oven onto cooling racks until completely cooled. At least 30 minutes.
- Using double boiler, bring water to light simmer. Add chocolate chips to top pan and stir continuously until chocolate is melted and smooth.
- Pour chocolate into warmed (warm with hot water and then wipe until dry) small bowl or glass measuring cup.
- Dip each cookie halfway into chocolate, let excess drip off and set back onto parchment lined cookie sheet.
- Immediately sprinkle desired topping over chocolate and let cookies completely set.
These cookies are so good I could eat the entire batch myself. Don’t worry, I didn’t.
As soon as they were fully set, I did my quality control and then packaged them in old fashioned cookie tins for easy gifting and transport.
These tins are cute. I noticed our local Safeway lots of cute tins at the front of the store. Finding old tins is fun too.
I also packaged the cookies on little holiday themed plates wrapped with cellophane. This year I used these stoneware appetizer plates.
Let’s visit my friends and see what they’re bringing to the cookie exchange ~
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I am not much for baking cookies although I love to bake. And do enjoy a good shortbread! So I am going to try your recipe! Thanks for sharing. They look delicious.
Shortbread are the best … and so easy. Enjoy! xo
Oh I do LOVE a Christmas Cookie Exchange! And making Holiday Shortbread Cookies to gift and share is always a delicious choice. Yum!
You’re right, Barbara. And always good to get them quickly to someone else’s house!!! xo
These look great and will be perfect for my son with an egg allergy! Is it possible to use I can’t Believe It’s Not Butter sticks to accommodate for a dairy allergy?
Wow….looks amazing! Love that we are both gifting cookies…I’ve eaten too many at home!
Juliet, your cookies look beautiful and delicious! I cannot wait to make these. I love old cook books and the memories of baking with my mom and my grandmother. You mentioned a few of my favorites, I will have to pull them out and see what I can add to my tray.
Thank you for joining the cookie exchange.
I think these look perfect and sound delicious, Juliet! Love the different toppings, and your little gift bags are so cute! So fun joining you all for this cookie exchange!
I use to bake for a week before Christmas, now I can finish in 3 days. I make a lot less.
Oh Linda, I love and miss your Christmas baking. Those were good days at St. Francis when I could enjoy your wonderful baking. xo
These are beautiful and they look delicious!! Target BTW has cute cookie tins for $5.00.
Sarah, they sure do, and I linked a couple of those $5.00 tins. Love them! xo
Hi Juliet,
Your shortbread cookies look beautiful. Now go to bed, you were up all night. You are something else again. By the way they look perfect, and I bet very tasty. Will make a very thoughtful gift.
Thanks, Katherine … I’m rested and ready to bake again! xo
These look and sound delicious. Especially glad to hear that “Quality Control” approved. I’m definitely going to bake these. Forget the hassle of cookie cutters! Love the little story of your grandma and her baking, and sending grandpa to fetch more tins from the basement. Holidays and memories of loved ones are the best.
Deanna, rest assured I run a rigorous quality control program over here! I agree, memories of holidays past are so precious. xo
Juliet those look so good and yes perfect to me! Love the idea that you can put your favorite nuts on it. I would try pistachio. Also so pretty the way you wrapped them with the gorgeous ribbon to gift! I agree the old cookbooks are so good and I treasure my mom’s Betty Crocker ‘Cooky Book’ and some of my grandma’s cookie collections from KGO and the church. I was just reading through some of those recipes and they call for mayo and potato buds in cookies! We were cracking up.
Well this generation has upped the game, and your cookies are no exception. Saving these to my xmas collection. xo
Oh these look absolutely delish, and I think they look “perfect” as a rolled and slice cookie. Shortbread is one of my faves at Christmas. Hey Juliet, I would love to see your hot cocoa recipe! . Happy Holidays!
Hi Karen, and thank you so much. Shortbread are the best … and so easy. My morning cocoa is made with 8 oz of 2% milk and about 1-3/4 Tbsp Starbuck’s cocoa powder. I buy it on Amazon. And, of course, I make it in A Breville milk brother. My model is old and no longer available, but they have a newer, fancier version. xo
Lovely shortbread cookies, Juliet — the dipped end and various sprinkles are very elegant! I, too, have a reverence for older, classic cookbooks from “our youth” ( or even the 50’s)! I will definitely give this a try. Our local “do it all” restaurant, The Cafe (high quality B,L,D and bakery) serves a chocolate pots de creme with a tiny quarter-sized round shortbread cookie and I bought some the last time we had a dinner party to go with lemon posset (fabulous easy do-ahead dessert), but this recipe would be great to have in the freezer instead.
Joan, I love the idea of a shortbread topping a pot de creme. I have a super simple pot de creme recipe … and shortbread is easy too. I’m going to try it for a fun, easy holiday dessert! xo
Hi, I’ve never made shortbread so I’ve been searching for a recipe. I think i found it Do they freeze well? Thank you!
Hi Ramona … this is a wonderful recipe and I’m getting ready to start backing it again this year. I haven’t tried freezing them, if you do let me know. And I’ll experiment myself. Good luck and happy holidays! xo