Double Dark Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies ~ they melt in your mouth with an explosion of deep rich chocolate that’ll make your eyelids flutter… to call it a cookie is to completely miss the point.
these ultra dark chocolate chip shortbread cookies are not your everyday cookies
There really is nothing else like these cookies ~ if you have not yet made this recipe then I can safely say you haven’t tasted anything like this before…it combines the buttery mouthfeel of shortbread with deep rich chocolate flavor…I used extra dark cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips, so this is about the richest chocolate you can bite into short of a truffle. Seriously.
the flavor of these super dark shortbread cookies is bittersweet
It’s a very different, more intense, more sophisticated chocolate experience, and if you’re not expecting it you might be thrown for a loop. The mouthfeel of the shortbread is different, too, it’s crumbly but not at all dry, and sticks to the roof of your mouth. Are you up for this? –– then proceed, if not, turn back now!
Dutch processed cocoa powder
Yes, the inside of that cookie is so dark it’s basically black. In fact the cookie is so dark that it makes my bittersweet chocolate chips look like milk chocolate in comparison. That’s because I used Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder. It’s a specially formulated Dutch processed cocoa which, among other things, has a richer color and smoother flavor compared to regular cocoa powder. It’s what gives Oreo cookies their deep color.
Because of all that Dutch process cocoa, I warn you making these cookies is messy ~ messy like making mud pies messy…
The double dark chocolate chip shortbread dough stains your hands and the cocoa powder flies everywhere. But it’s a small price to pay for transcendent chocolate cookies.
this dough can be rolled out or sliced and baked
You can form this dough into a log and slice and bake it, or roll it out and cut out your cookies, both ways work, but either way it needs to be chilled for several hours before slicing and baking since it’s a butter rich dough.
for dark chocolate lovers only…
The deep dark rich flavor of chocolate is a joy ~ be sure you experience some of my other ultra chocolatey recipes:
- Double Chocolate Muffins
- Dark Chocolate Truffle Tart
- Double Chocolate Banana Bread
- Dark Chocolate Mendiants
- The Ultimate Drinking Chocolate
variation suggestions
- You might add walnuts or pecans.
- Use regular cocoa powder for a less intense cookie.
- Any type of chocolate chip will work, including white!
Double Dark Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (this is important)
- 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
- 1/2 cup dark cocoa powder, sifted, (I use Hershey's Special Dark)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Cream the butter, cocoa powder and sugar together until completely combined and smooth. Add in the vanilla. if using a stand mixer, be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl often.
- Mix in the flour, making sure to get it thoroughly blended.
- Fold in the chocolate chips and turn the dough out onto a board dusted with cocoa powder. The dough will be sticky.
- For roll and cut cookiesform into an 8 inch disk (like you would do for pie dough.) Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or until firm enough to roll out. You can also freeze the dough for later use.
- Preheat oven to 325F
- Roll the disk out to 1/3 inch thickness and cut cookies with a 2 1/2 inch round cookie cutter. Use cocoa powder liberally to prevent sticking to the surface and to your rolling pin. Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes. The cookies will still be soft, but will firm up as they cool. Cool them on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer them to a cooling rack.
- For slice and bake cookiesform a 10" log. Wrap in plastic wrap, smoothing the dough as you wrap it, and twist the ends to secure. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours until firm enough to slice. You can also freeze the dough for later use.
- Slice the log into 1/3″ slices with a sharp knife. If some of the chips fall out of place, or the dough crumbles as you slice, reform it with your hands. Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes. The cookies will still be soft, but will firm up as they cool. Cool them on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer them to a cooling rack.
- Note: Because of the chocolate chips these cookies will not be perfectly uniform or smooth.
Nutrition
I made these yesterday. I added a 1/4 tsp coarse salt and I’m not sure it needed it. I couldn’t imagine a cookie without salt. But these seem like they’d be good without it.
I loved them and crumbled one on top of vanilla icecream.
Probably one of the best cookies I’ve ever had and will make them again.
Oh wow, that’s a great vote of confidence, Nicole! I agree, the deep chocolate and the shortbread texture is a winning combo — love the idea of crumbling them on ice cream…
I’ve actually made these several times now. And they’re still really good. I’ve made them with generic brand cocoa and Rodelle and they’re good both ways. I’ve also tried with 2 TBSP granulated sugar added. I didn’t find it made much of a difference.
The only thing I tried that wasn’t perfect was mini-chocolate chips. They’re better with full size ones. Because they’re not sweet you want that little bit of sweet in the chocolate chips.
Our local coffee shop has these little disks of pure chocolate heaven. They place ONE in the saucer of a cafe’ latte’. I go there just for the cookie!
Now I found this recipe and have made them!!! THANKYOU so much for the recipe!! I left out the chocolate chips.
(Issues with dry batter may be the lack of executing the “sift and scoop” method thereby condensing too much flour in the measuring cup) Mine are perfect! I’m so very pleased and shall have to exercise much restraint!! ????
Thanks Shelly, you’ll never be a slave to your coffee shop again 🙂
I just made a double batch of these and they are very powdery. What did I do wrong?
May I know which dark chocolate chips you used? As I have issue cutting mine into slices. Thanks.
The smaller your chips the easier it will be to slice, Yukiko — I don’t remember what brand I used in this particular recipe, sorry.
Hello! I just made the dough. To give it more moisture, I added 2 tablespoons of cream cheese, softened. We’ll see if it works out for the cookies. Thanks for the new cookie idea! C.
Let us know how the cream cheese works out Carol!
The cream cheese worked out great. I think I’ll up the surgar to 1/2 a cup next time and see if it balances out the bitterness of the chocolat next time. All in all, the cookies came out good!
I am sorry to say that these were a complete fail for us. I had such high expectations for these cookies that I made a double recipe. I added some white chocolate chips to the chocolate chips. Sadly, the cookies were so bitter that my husband, who loves bitter chocolate, wouldn’t eat them. We ended up throwing them away. I was very careful with the recipe, so I guess these are very, very dark. Just a caveat; they may not be for every palate.
I’m so sorry they didn’t work for you Hilda, I know the frustration of having high expectations for a recipe that doesn’t work out. I would suggest playing with the amount of sugar versus cocoa powder if you do happen to give them another try, that should solve the problem for you.
Okay so these were pretty dry but otherwise very nice! They had great flavor! I tried making them again but this time i added maybe like 3-4 tablespoons of unsweetened apple sauce to try to add some moisture and they came out wonderful! I would recommend trying it with apple sauce! You don’t taste it all which is so nice! Yum!
I tried these tonight after roaring success from the peanut butter shortbread! However, these chocolate ones came out much drier and powdery than he peanut butter, which was aptly melt-in-your-mouth texture. Is there any way i can introduce more moisture to make it less dry?
Or how about replacing peanut butter with nutella in the peanut butter recipe, and changing 1/4 plain flour to cocoa powder? Do you think it’ll work?
PS: I tried the peanut butter shortbread using cookie butter too and it was awesome! The cookie butter was much sweeter than peanut butter which made the shortbread of perfect sweetness for me, as i found the peanut butter ones a tad too bland.
Thanks for this great recipe!
I love your sense of experimentation Yvonne! For the double dark cookies you could try playing with the amount of butter in this recipe, add a little more. And also maybe substitute regular sugar for the confectioner’s sugar. The cookie butter idea for the others sounds really interesting!
Can you use granulated sugar instead? for this recipe as well as for your espresso choc chip shortbread….thanks a lot 🙂
Sure, I use them interchangeably in my shortbread cookies!
Why 325 for these and 350 for the pb shortbread ones?
This was an earlier recipe, and that’s the temp I used to use. Either will work, but I now prefer 350F.