Chocolate & Toffee Dipped Shortbread
When Christmas rolls around, I can't wait to haul out my trusty rolling pin and my Mom's cookie cutters to make these decadent shortbread treats. Rich, buttery, melt in your mouth cookies, dipped in milk chocolate then sprinkled with crunchy toffee bits, really fits the sweet craving bill...not to mention jacks up your blood sugar...but it's Christmas, I think our bodies expect it!
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees, then you will need 3 cups of all purpose flour, 1 cup of rice flour, 1lb of softened, salted butter, 1 cup of superfine sugar (not icing sugar), milk chocolate chips and "Skor" toffee bits.
First, cream the butter until light...
...add in 1 cup of super fine sugar (if you can't find super fine sugar, put regular, granulated sugar into a blender and grind until fine)...on a side note, I don't think I will be auditioning for any hand modelling gigs anytime soon...I'm in dire need of hand cream!
...and beat until light and fluffy.
Next, combine 1 cup of rice flour with 3 cups of all purpose flour...pour into the butter mixture and stir until a ball of dough forms...you may need to work the flour in with your hands a bit to form the
dough ball.
Usually with shortbread, recipes call for the dough to be chilled in the fridge for a period of time before rolling out, but I am a renegade...a "bad ass" in the baking world, if you will and I roll it out unchilled...I am impatient that way but my shortbread seems to turn out just fine regardless of my rebellious ways.
On a lightly floured surface, roll portions of the dough out to a thickness that you prefer for your cookies...I usually roll it out about 1/4 inch thick...
Using cookie cutters, cut out shapes, rerolling the scraps once...you don't want your cookies to turn out tough from overworking the dough.
Put shapes on to parchment lined baking sheets...
...and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven,
...for about 10-12 minutes or until the edges are slightly golden.
Let sit on baking sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring cookies to wire cooling racks...cool completely.
In the microwave in a medium sized bowl or in a double boiler on the stove (over medium heat), melt 2 cups of milk chocolate chips with 1 tbsp. of shortening (such as "Crisco"), stir until smooth...remove from heat and dip cooled shortbread into the melted chocolate...
...covering half of the cookie, letting the excess chocolate drip off.
Place dipped cookies on to a wax paper lined baking sheet and sprinkle the chocolate dipped side with toffee bits...
...such as "Skor" bits, made by "Chipits"
I work dipping the cookies and sprinkling tops with the toffee bits in batches...the chocolate can start to set up and you want the bits to stick well to the chocolate...
Continue this process until all cookies have been dipped and sprinkled with toffee bits...let sit until the chocolate has set up completely before transferring cookies to airtight containers.
These cookies are pretty enough to set out for holiday guests or to pack into festive tins as nice little gifts for teachers, coworkers, bosses etc...except, apparently my boss doesn't like shortbread...I can't win!!
Chocolate & Toffee Dipped Shortbread
1 lb of salted, softened butter
1 cup of superfine sugar
1 cup of rice flour
3 cups of all purpose flour
2 cups of milk chocolate chips
1 tbsp. of shortening
1 pkg. of "Skor" toffee bits
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, then in the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl using electric beaters), cream the butter until light then add the sugar...beat until light and fluffy. Combine the rice flour and all purpose flour and add to the butter mixture...mix until a ball of dough starts to form (you may need to work it a bit with your hands to form the ball of dough). Roll out portions of the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut out shapes using cookie cutters...place shapes on parchment lined baking sheets and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are slighlty golden. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks. Melt 2 cups of milk chocolate chips and 1 tbsp. of shortening in a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring until smooth. Dip each cookie halfway into the melted chocolate and sprinkle tops with toffee bits...let cookies sit until chocolate has set up before transferring to airtight containers...Enjoy!
Makes about 5 dozen cookies