Special Chocolate Shortbread

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

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This recipe makes 56 pieces servings

Nutritional Info
Per Cookie: about	-
cal	5757 cal
pro	1 g1g pro
total fat	4 g4g total fat
sat. fat	2 g2g sat. fat
carb	6 g6g carb
fibre	00 fibre
chol	9 mg9mg chol
sodium	34 mg34mg sodium
% RDI:	-
iron	11 iron
vit A	33 vit A
folate	22 folate

Melted chocolate helps kick in superb chocolate flavour. Try the chocolate dough in the classic way below; or try it with added toasted pecans, crystallized ginger or white chocolate chips; or, best of all, mound it into rounds and top each with a chunk of chocolate nougat.

Ingredients

2 oz bittersweet chocolate , chopped2 2oz ozbittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup butter , softened1 1cup cupbutter, softened
1/2 cup instant dissolving (fruit/berry) sugar 1/2 1/2cup cupinstant dissolving (fruit/berry) sugar
1 tsp vanilla 1 1tsp tspvanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour 2 2cups cupsall-purpose flour
1 pinch salt 1 1pinch pinchsalt

Preparation

In heatproof bowl over saucepan of hot (not boiling) water, melt chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool.

Meanwhile, in bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy. Stir in chocolate and vanilla. Add flour and salt ; stir until blended. Turn out onto lightly floured work surface; form into 4 bricks, each about 1 inch (2.5 cm) high and 1-1/2 inches (4 cm) wide. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 12 hours.)

Line rimless baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cut dough into 1/4-inch (5 mm) thick slices; place on prepared pans. Prick each twice with fork. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until chilled. (Make-ahead: Freeze on baking sheets until firm; layer between waxed paper in airtight container and freeze for up to 1 month. Bake from frozen, adding 5 minutes to baking time.)

Bake in centre of 300°F (150°C) oven for about 30 minutes or until firm to the touch. Let cool on pans on racks for 2 minutes. Transfer to racks; let cool completely.

Additional information :

Variations
Chocolate Drizzle Shortbread:
Melt 2 oz (60 g) white or bittersweet chocolate. Let cool slightly. Scrape into resealable plastic bag; snip off corner and drizzle over cooled shortbread cookies. Let cool until chocolate is set.

Chocolate Ginger Shortbread:
Add 1 cup (250 mL) chopped crystallized ginger to dough before shaping.

Chocolate Nut Shortbread:
Add 1 cup (250 mL) chopped toasted pecans or hazelnuts to dough before shaping.

Double Chocolate Shortbread:
Add 1 cup (250 mL) white or semisweet chocolate chips to dough before shaping.

Dark Mountain Shortbread Mounds: Add 1 cup (250 mL) finely chopped chocolate nougat bar (Toblerone) to dough. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls (15 mL) onto pans; form into mounds