{soft batch} Chocolate Chip Shortbread

Updated 3.18.2020.

I found a recipe for chocolate chip shortbread in this month’s Food Network Magazine. A few years ago my sister accidentally made a great chocolate chip shortbread recipe that I’ve been hoping to recreate. The problem is, she doesn’t remember what she did to make it so great. She *thinks* she may have accidentally added an egg or two. So when I saw this recipe, I had to try it (with the addition of egg, of course).

The first time I made these they were definitely good but not close to the fantastic ones my sister made a few years earlier. In updating my blog pictures, I decided to play with the recipe a little a bit in another effort to recreate the fantastic cookie.

Admittedly, Sis and I have no clue what the shortbread of prior to 2012 tasted like. But we deemed the updated recipe totally delicious. I changed the recipe a bit by adding an extra egg, a bit more sugar and some almond extract. The result is a thick, sorta soft, cross between a biscotti and shortbread. Sis said I should come up with a new name for the recipe but scoffed at my suggestion of Biscortbread. Hmpff!

ingredients.

2 sticks butter, at room temperature
½ tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. almond extract
2 large eggs
½ tsp. salt
1 c. powdered sugar
2 c. four, plus more for dusting
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips

directions.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 sides.
Beat the butter, vanilla, egg and salt in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed, the dough will not come together. Reduce the mixer speed to low; add the powdered sugar and beat until just incorporated. Add the flour in 2 batches and beat until smooth. Stir in ½ cup of the chocolate chips with a wooden spoon.
Lightly dust your hands with flour and press the dough into the prepared pan. Score the top with a knife to make 9 strips, then score the strips in half to make 18 pieces.
Bake until the edges are firm and the top is dry 40 to 45 minutes. Immediately re-score the cookies, then let cool 20 minutes in the pan. Lift the foil to remove the shortbread from the pan and transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Cut the shortbread into pieces along the scored lines. Put the remaining ½ cup chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring until melted. Drizzle over the shortbread and let stand until set, about 1 hour.