Salted Butter Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies

Perhaps these famous salted butter chocolate chunk shortbread cookies are already on your radar. Maybe they are even in your repertoire of cookies that you bake all the time. I found out about this recipe from my daughter, Madeline. 

Madeline has been making these cookies for a couple of years and used this recipe for her cookie exchange this year. It’s a winner. And wouldn’t you know it’s from Alison Roman? The recipe is on NYT Cooking, Bon Appetit…and many other places, and now here. It’s just so good and so simple. It’s in Alison Roman’s cookbook called Dining In.

Whenever I visit Madeline in Brooklyn, she has a few baked ready for me when I walk into her apartment. Then, when I’m ready to leave, she has a little parchment paper bag ready for me to take a few home! 

I needed simple. We all do, but especially since my oven is not working (part is on order), I needed to go to my friend Diane Karmen’s beautiful kitchen to bake. My original plan was to make gingerbread Madeleines. I never have trouble with Madeleines…ever. Well, until yesterday. So today, I promised Diane I would just pop over for 15 minutes to bake some shortbread…She doesn’t mind. And I must say, it was quite a treat to sit in her beautiful kitchen waiting for cookies to bake! 

What I love About these Salted Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies…

First, they combine two of my favorite cookies: chocolate chip cookies and shortbread. And most important is that they always turn out. I make them exactly as the recipe from Alison Roman calls for because why would I ever second guess Alison Roman?

You probably have everything you need on hand.

If you bake, you probably have the ingredients in your pantry. You only need an egg if you use it as an egg wash so that you can roll the cookie dough in sugar. (I did not do this step and don’t regret it).

You can make these cookies ahead.

I love cookie dough that you can make ahead. These are perfect to make ahead. When you make a batch, you divide the dough and roll it into two logs. I squared mine and made four. (More on why I square them later on). But these can then be wrapped in plastic, placed in an airtight container or a freezer bag, and you can freeze them for weeks. 

The Ingredients:

• Cold salted butter
• Sugar
• Light brown sugar
• All-purpose flour
• Bittersweet dark chocolate 
• Vanilla
• Flaky sea salt
• Large egg (for egg wash)
• Turbinado sugar (optional)

Special Equipment You Might Need:

• A stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer (I prefer an electric mixer because you must blend the butter for 3 to 5 minutes until it is fluffy).
• Prepared baking sheets 
• Cooling rack
• A large piece of plastic wrap
• Medium bowl
• Parchment paper
• Sharp knife to chop the chocolate into chunks
• Serrated knife to slice refrigerated cookies into 1/2″ thick rounds
• Silicone spatula
• Kitchen scale – I use this scale. It is handy when you have used part of a package and are unsure how much is left.

​Two Ways to Gift these Delicious Cookies

I love a pretty holiday plate you can make part of the gift. The recipient can use the plate or even re-gift it. Anthropologie always has beautiful festive plates similar to the ones I’m showing in the photo.

We have some pretty oval porcelain plates from France in the shop.

Or, form the dough into logs and tie them up with parchment and baker twine (or ribbon), and make sure to enclose a card with the baking directions.

I use clean cardboard for wrapping up things in my SHOP,  and I often cut it to fit certain objects. I never throw away the small pieces. Today, I used them for little gift tags with the baking instructions on the reverse. I use this pen.

Why do I make my logs square rather than round?

My friend Lorna used to make shortbread cookie dough, roll it into logs, and then square them by shaping them with her hands on the counter. I can still see her doing this in my kitchen. Lorna’s were always shaped beautifully. She would make them whenever she visited, and for months, I would have cookies in the freezer ready to be sliced and popped into the oven.

Baking is often about making memories in the kitchen. My kids love to bake. So many of our baking memories are with Lorna. She made the most amazing pinwheel cookies, too! We miss her every day, but especially during the holidays! 

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I hope you enjoy some holiday baking moments this season! 

Let’s see what my friends baked today!

Make Mine a Spritzer

Cindy Hattersley Design

Classic Casual Home

Pinecones & Acorns

Northern California Style

Molly in Maine

You may also enjoy this recipe that we love, that’s also from Alison Roman:

Have you made the amazing Alison Roman’s Caramelized Shallot Pasta?