Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
Buttery, chocolatey shortbread fingers dusted with a special sugar-coffee-cacao-nib topping. If you like your cookies simple, sandy, and quick to throw together, these are for you.
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Buttery, chocolatey shortbread fingers dusted with a special sugar-coffee-cacao-nib topping. If you like your cookies simple, sandy, and quick to throw together, these are for you.
10 ounces unsalted butter, very soft
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon coffee extract (optional)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder or cacao powder
1/2 cup cornstarch or brown rice flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground coffee
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cacao nibs
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter an 8x8 inch square pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment if desired, for easier unmolding.
2. Cream the butter with the salt until fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Add vanilla and coffee extracts, mix until blended.
3. Sift together flour, cocoa, cornstarch/brown rice flour, and powdered sugar. Add to butter mixture and mix just until blended.
4. Pat dough evenly into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until starting to brown at the edges; middle should still be light, about 22-28 minutes. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes.
5. Place ground coffee, sugar, and cacao nibs into a spice grinder and pulse a few times, until mixture is fine. Pour sugar mixture over the top of the slightly cooled shortbread, tilting pan to coat evenly or spreading with your fingers.
6. Use a thin knife to slice cookies into desired size. I cut mine to about 1 1/3 inch x 4 inches, which is six cookies by two cookies, for a total of 12. Allow to cool completely before eating.
