Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies are sophisticated chocolate chip cookie bars made with buttery shortbread and nuggets of pure chocolate!
chocolate chunk shortbread is a classic bar cookie
With 60+ shortbread recipes on the blog (at the time of this posting) I know a thing or two about the subject. I have a lot of shortbread recipes on the blog, ranging from the classic, to the unique and I love them all. This one is on team classic, but the chocolate chunks and a hint of salt bump it up to classic 2.0.  It’s the perfect chunky chocolate chip cookie.
What you’ll need:
Shortbread is the most elemental cookie you can make, based on the holy trinity of baking: butter, sugar, and flour.
butter ~ use good quality, you’ll actually taste it in shortbread. I use unsalted butter, but you can use salted, just leave out the extra salt in the recipe.
sugar ~ granulated
flour ~ all purpose
cornstarch ~ cornstarch tenderizes shortbread because it reduces the gluten level of the dough. Cornstarch gives shortbread its ‘melt in your mouth’ texture.
chocolate ~ use what you like, I love it deep and dark. You can buy ready-chunked or chop it yourself. If you chop it yourself you’ve got a world of choices and you can customize a gourmet cookie.
salt ~ salt is not only a savory flavor enhancer, it makes sweet things taste sweeter, so don’t leave it out.
vanilla extract ~ vanilla is the sweet version of salt, it enhances all the flavors in this cookie.
an alternative (and easy) way to make shortbread with melted butter
Shortbread dough is usually made by combining room temperature butter, sugar, and flour. Sometimes I use my food processor to combine them quickly and efficiently, and sometimes I simply use my fingertips to mix everything together.
But there’s another way to do it ~ you can melt the butter first, and this makes shortbread dough even easier to whip up.
What kind of chocolate can you use in this recipe?
Well, the short answer is, just about any kind you like. I used semi-sweet bar chocolate, cut into chunks, because I like the variety of texture it gives to the finished cookie. The beauty is that you can use any type of bar chocolate. But you can absolutely use chips, if you prefer.
How to make shortbread into round cookies ~
- Roll out the dough and use a cookie cutter to make round cookies.
- Or roll the dough into a log for slice and bake. Take note, though, that if you slice and bake, you may want to use smaller chocolate chunks, because larger chunks will make it difficult to slice neatly.
Riffing on the chocolate chip cookie ~
- Chipless Chocolate Chip Cookies
- DoubleTree Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream
- Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- The Perfect Cookie For One
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies
Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 5 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup heaped, dark chocolate, chopped into chunks.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and lightly butter an 11×7 brownie pan. You can also use a 9×9 baking pan, but the baking time may vary slightly.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cornstarch and salt.
- Add the melted butter and the vanilla extract, and mix together until a soft dough is formed. If your dough is still warm to the touch, allow it to cool to room temperature before adding the chocolate chunks, so they don't melt.
- Fold in the chocolate, either with a spoon or with your hands, until evenly distributed.
- Crumble the dough evenly into the prepared pan.
- Press the dough down with floured fingertips, or the bottom of a metal measuring cup. Smooth out the surface with an offset spatula.
- Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until just starting to turn light golden brown around the edges. Allow the cookies to cool partially before slicing.
Nutrition
Oh. My. Goodness. I made these for neighbors for Christmas and i had a few extra to snack on (the chef needs a little something, too, right? :p) and they were AMAZING. I am definitely making these again. Thanks, Sue!
And i forgot to rate it :p
Also, i used various pans that i had and just cut them into squares.
Darn – got an error for this link to other shortbread recipes: https://theviewfromgreatisland.com/category/shortbread/
I’ll fix that Jan, here’s the correct link.
I doubled the recipe and made it in a 9×13 inch pan. The cookies were wonderful.
Sue,
Great recipe. Thank you.
The recipe mentions a “brownie pan”. What is that? I usually make brownies in an 8×8 pan or a double recipe in an 8X13 pan. In the body of the recipe, there is mention of a tart pan. I am confused. Also, what size pan to double the recipe nd how long to cook if cooked as round cookies ?
Thanks. I love your recipes. Made the Mediterranean Salad tonight and added tuna Divine!
I used an 11×7 pan, but this is a forgiving recipe, you can adjust the pan size slightly. I used one with a remove-able bottom, so it’s a kind of tart pan. If you make round cookies it will depend on how thick you make them, most of my shortbread cookies bake for 10-15 minutes. It also depends on whether you like your shortbread soft like I do, or more crisp.
Thanks Sue.
Hi Sue, since you are using melted butter, could you brown the butter for extra flavour?
Yes absolutely!