Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus extra for rolling
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 tablespoons cold cream, milk or ice water
assorted toppings: dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, pecans, almonds, toffee bits, coarse sea salt, mini chocolate chips, crushed peppermint candy...
In a food processor (or using a bowl and pastry cutter) combine the cocoa powder, flour, sugar and salt. Drop in the butter, a couple tablespoons at a time, pulsing just to incorporate the butter. Drop in the egg yolks, vanilla and cream, and pulse just until the dough starts to hold together. Dump out on a work surface, dusted with cocoa powder. Divide the dough into two parts and work with half at a time.
Roll the dough out, dusting with cocoa powder as needed to keep it from sticking, to 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick. (Cook's Note: I rolled mine out to 1/8 inch thick, simply to get more cookies out of the batch, but they are very delicate when rolled that thin, and break easily while warm if you don't handle them gently. Roll them only to 1/4 inch thickness for easier handling.)
Using cookie cutters, a pastry cutter or pizza cutter, cut as many cookies as you can, then gather up the scraps and repeat until all the dough is used. Place the cookies 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with silpat baking mats or parchment paper. (Cook's Note: I cut only two shapes, using a pizza cutter - approximately 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" square cookies and 1 1/2" x 3" rectangular cookies.)
Place the baking sheets in the freezer and freeze for 30-40 minutes - this will keep them from spreading out when they bake.
Preheat the oven to 350. Bake the cookies - straight from the freezer - for 10 minutes for 1/8 inch thickness and 10-12 minutes for 1/4 inch thickness. Cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes then use a spatula to gently transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.
To decorate, dip/drizzle the cooled cookies in melted chocolate, and sprinkle with toppings. Set on parchment paper until the chocolate has set, then store in an airtight container (if using peppermint, store those separately or the entire container will smell/taste like peppermint). Decorated cookies can be stored in the freezer for several months; just take them out a half hour before serving.
Yield - depends on the thickness and size of the cookies
Recipe from Curly Girl Kitchen