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Friday, December 21, 2012

Chocolate Chip Shortbread Bars

Next stop on the holiday baking train: Chocolate. Chip. Shortbread.
 No nuts, no eggs, extra chocolate drizzled on top, this is Roo's kind of cookie. His mother's too.
You'll need a steady hand to cut the shortbread so it doesn't crumble, but once that part's done, you can enlist a slew of young chocolatiers to drizzle and dollop melted chocolate over the top.
Chocolate Chip Shortbread
adapted from Food Network Magazine, December 2012

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1 & 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x9-inch baking pan with foil. Leave a bit of an overhang on all sides. 
2. Use a mixer on medium speed to cream the butter, vanilla, and salt. Turn the mixer to low speed and beat in the confectioners' sugar until just incorporated. Add the flour in two parts, beating until smooth between and after each addition. Stir in half (3/4 cup) of the chocolate chips with a sturdy spoon. 
3. Using your hands, press the dough into the prepared pan. If necessary, you can dust your hands lightly with flour so the dough doesn't stick to them. Score the top of the dough with a knife to make 9 strips. Then score the strips into thirds to make 27 pieces. Bake about 40-45 minutes or until the edges are firm and the dough appears dry. 
4. Remove from oven and score over your knife marks once again. Cool 20 minutes in the pan. Gently lift the shortbread out of the pan using the edges of the foil to pull it out and cool completely on a wire rack. 
5. When completely cool, cut the shortbread into pieces using your score marks as a guide. Put the remaining 3/4 cups of chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and warm in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until melted. Use a spoon to drizzle melted chocolate over the top of the shortbread cookies and let stand until the chocolate is set, about 1 hour. 
Make sure to save some for Santa!

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