Checkerboard Shortbread

If you’re baking cookies to send as holiday gifts, it’s important to make sure they’re sturdy enough to survive the rigors of shipping. Shortbread cookies package well. These buttery chocolate and vanilla checkered shortbread cookies are sure to please!

Yield: ~24 cookies

Below are instructions to make the two types of Shortbread separately if you prefer. Follow the last set of prep/baking instructions to make the combined checkerboard shortbread. Note that the combined cookies will be larger but with a lower overall yield.

Vanilla- Brown Sugar Shortbread

Yield: 2 dozen

Ingredients

5.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/4 cups)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1 vanilla bean, see optional step below)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
7 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons ice water
Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, cornstarch, and salt in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.

2. Place brown sugar and butter in a medium bowl; mix with hands until combined. Add flour mixture, and mix with hands until combined. Sprinkle dough with 1 1/2 teaspoons ice water; knead dough lightly 4 times or just until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 325°.

4. Place dough on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; press dough into an 8 x 5–inch rectangle about 3/8-inch thick. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork. Bake at 325° for 25 minutes or just until set and edges are golden. Cut shortbread into 24 pieces. Cool completely.

Optional

To make real vanilla sugar, slice vanilla bean down side with back of knife and scrape seeds into airtight container with the sugar. Bury bean in sugar and seal tightly with lid. Let sit for 1 to 2 weeks. This can really enhance the vanilla aroma and taste.

Chocolate Shortbread

Yield: 2 dozen

Ingredients

4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
3 tablespoons unsweetened premium dark cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup powdered sugar
5 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup canola oil
Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, cocoa, and salt in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.

2. Place sugar, butter, and oil in a medium bowl; mix with hands until combined. Add flour mixture, and mix with hands until combined; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 325°.

4. Place dough on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; press dough into an 8 x 5–inch rectangle about 3/8-inch thick. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork. Bake at 325° for 30 minutes or just until set. Cut shortbread into 24 pieces. Cool completely.

Checkerboard Shortbread

To make the checkerboard shortbread requires a bit of stacking and slicing. So to begin, take the two doughs from the above recipes…

Preparation

1. Get out a piece of plastic wrap and place it on a cool work surface (marble or granite cutting board or countertop is ideal). Divide each dough in half so you have 2 lumps of chocolate dough and 2 lumps of vanilla dough. Pat each lump of dough into an (approximate) 8 inch x 2 inch rectangle (~1/2 inch thick) then stack them lengthwise, alternating chocolate, vanilla, chocolate, vanilla. Wrap the plastic around the rectangle log and chill the dough at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.

2. Remove dough log from refrigerator and slice lengthwise into 4 long strips (~1/2 inch thick). Turn the strip-slabs on their sides and stack them, alternating the edge colors (chocolate, vanilla, chocolate, vanilla) so you have a checkerboard pattern when you look at the end of the log.

You can use an egg-wash on each strip before combining, if desired.

3. Re-wrap the dough log in the plastic and press together to get all the slabs to stick together. Chill the dough again for at least 15 minutes before slicing and baking the cookies.

4. Preheat oven to 325°.

5. Line 2 cookie sheet pans each with a Silpat or piece of baking parchment. Slice dough log into 1/3 inch cookies, place them on the lined pans and bake 15 minutes or just until set. Cool completely.

Posted by Andrew
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