Peppermint-Chocolate Chip Shortbread

Who doesn't love shortbread? It's just butter and sugar held together with some flour, how can you go wrong? Any excuse to eat butter is okay with me! I was at my favorite bakery a few weeks ago and they had bags of peppermint shortbread for sale. The cookies were calling to me, but I knew I could make the same thing at home so I resisted and went home to search the internet for a recipe. I found the perfect recipe in multiple places online. It originally called for espresso powder, so I just replaced that with some peppermint extract and my peppermint shortbread craving was satisfied. Combining the buttery goodness of shortbread with some chocolate, and then throwing in a little peppermint extract results in the perfect cookie. 

One of my favorite parts of this recipe was the method for rolling out the shortbread. When you first make the dough you throw it into a gallon size plastic bag and then roll it out to an even thickness right inside the bag. After a couple hours in the fridge all you have to do is cut the dough out of the bag and cut the cookies into whatever size and shape you want. Transfer to cookie sheet and bake. Super easy!

Peppermint-Chocolate Chip Shortbread

Adapted From 

Use Real Butter

Ingredients

• 2 sticks (8 ounces) butter, at room temperature

• 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)

Directions

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth. Beat in the vanilla and peppermint extracts, then reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until it disappears into the dough. Don’t work the dough much once the flour is incorporated. Fold in the chopped chocolate with a sturdy rubber spatula.

Using the spatula, transfer the soft, sticky dough to a gallon-size zipper-lock plastic bag. Put the bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and roll the dough into a 9 x 10 1/2 inch rectangle that’s 1/4 inch thick. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so it doesn’t cause creases. When you get the right size and thickness, seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or for up to 2 days.

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the firm dough out onto the board (discard the bag) and, using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife, cut the dough into little squares or rectangles. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets and carefully prick each one twice with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The shortbreads will be very pale–they shouldn’t take on much color. Transfer the cookies to a rack.

If you’d like, dust the cookies with confectioners’ sugar while they are still hot. Cool the cookies to room temperature before serving.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

Well, I've been busy at med school for about a month and I am loving it. It is a ton of work, but it's work I want to be doing so I don't mind it at all. You may have noticed however that I haven't been quite as busy on the blog. To be honest, I haven't had that much time to bake or cook. Hopefully now that I've gotten settled in to the routine of school I'll have a little more time to spend in the kitchen, but we'll see. Regardless, I'm still here and will put up some posts whenever I can.

I pulled this recipe from the archives of the summer. I never got around to posting it then, so here it is. If you like shortbread, chocolate and peanut butter you will love these. They may look like a regular chocolate chip cookie, but they have that wonderful, sandy shortbread texture, a texture I love!

The only trouble I had with this recipe involved cutting the cookies up. The chocolate chips kept getting in the way so it was hard to cut an even cookie. Because of this, the cookies weren't really very uniform in shape or thickness. This didn't seem to affect the taste at all however, they were still wonderfully delicious!

The dough, ready to chill

Rolled into a nice log and chilled, ready to cut

Onto the baking sheet

A delicious stack 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookiesa
From: The View From the Great Island
Ingredients

• 1 stick, (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temp 
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour 
• 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
• scant 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions
Cream the butter and the peanut butter together in a stand mixer, with a hand mixer, or a wooden spoon. Beat in the vanilla.

Whisk the dry ingredients together and add to the butter mixture. Mix until the dough comes together.

Stir in the chips, and turn the dough out onto a piece of waxed paper. Gently pull the dough together and form it into a log. If it is still crumbly, work it with your hands until it holds together smoothly. Roll it up in the paper, smoothing the shape as you go. Twist the ends securely and refrigerate for at least a couple of hours.

Slice the log into slices with a sharp knife. Not too thick, not too thin, about 1/3 inch. If a slice crumbles a bit, just smoosh the dough back together. These don't have to be perfect disks.

Bake on a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet at 325 for about 12-14 minutes. The cookies will not be browned, and they may look undone, but don't over bake. One of the joys of shortbread cookies is that they fall apart and melt in your mouth. 

Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack.