Thursday 2 September 2010

MM2 - Chocolate Shortbread

Who doesn't like shortbread? Crumbly, buttery and utterly delicious it's a fine treat in its original state. Add chocolate, both cocoa powder and chunks and you'll get something even better!


This recipe is one from a fairly recently acquired book; Easy Baking by Linda Collister. There are so many amazing looking recipes in this book that it's already bristling with post it notes marking the pages of the recipes I want to make. But you have to start somewhere and here seemed as good a place as any. The recipe has also been published online in the Independent (in 1998!!!! years before I started baking with any degree of seriousness!) and is about halfway down the page, here. Ignore the ounce measurements, they've forgotten some vital spaces and / signs!!! I decided to add more chocolate to my version and some semolina for a little added crunch, and I resized it for a smaller tin. My version is given below.

Chocolate shortbread
Ingredients
150g softened butter
75g golden caster sugar
15g cocoa powder
15g fine semolina
195g plain flour
45g dark chocolate (72% cocoa solids is my preference), chopped

Method
- Preheat the oven to gas 4/180C. Grease and base line an 8"/20cm round tin.
- Beat butter in a bowl until very soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat again until well combined.
- Add cocoa powder, semolina and flour and mix well until no flour remains visible.
- Mix in the chocolate then tip into the tin and press until smooth.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. Do not allow to brown or it will be bitter.
- Remove from the oven, sprinkle with more caster sugar, mark into 12 and allow to cool completely in the tin.


This was lovely, but I wasn't sure that the middle was cooked properly even though I probably left it in for nearer to 30 minutes. Lovely and buttery and crumbly though, and the added chocolate chunks had a delicious bitter contrast to the main sweet body of the biscuit. One to be repeated but just cooked a little longer I think.

5 comments:

Chele said...

Chocolate Shortbread - what a great concept! Previously I've only ever thought of chocolate chip shortbread. Thanks for sharing.

José Manuel said...

Realmente increibles. Que buenas galletas. saludos

Maria♥ said...

I love buttery shortbread but have never had the chocolate version. Yours looks yummy!

Maria
x

Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial said...

Chocolate shortbread, C! Looks fabulous, could you please bring some to our virtual tea party? :)

cocoa and coconut said...

I have yet to encounter "chocolate shortbread" before in my recipe books or blogging. It sounds and looks fantastic!

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