A good shortbread recipe is one of those simple bakes that’s worth keeping close at hand. With just a handful of basic ingredients, you can make beautifully buttery biscuits that are lovely on their own but dipping them in chocolate makes them feel that little bit more special.

These Chocolate Dipped Shortbread biscuits are particularly nice around Christmas. They look lovely arranged on a platter, package up well for homemade gifts, and can be made ahead when you have a spare afternoon. I like mine reasonably thick, which gives them that lovely crumbly, buttery texture rather than a thin, crisp biscuit.

There’s no need for a special shortbread cutter either. I originally used a pasta roller cutter to make the finger shapes, but a knife works perfectly well. Cut them into fingers, squares or whatever shape suits you, then dip them in your favourite chocolate once they’ve cooled.

Other Recipes You May Like

If you’re doing a little Christmas baking, you may also enjoy:

• Triple Chocolate Biscuits
• Milk Chocolate Rocky Road
• My Best Pavlova Recipe
• Chocolate and Cherry Trifle
• My Favourite Easy Trifle

From The Sweet Season

Chocolate Dipped Shortbread is another recipe from The Sweet Season – Volume One, my collection of simple festive desserts and sweet treats.

This is exactly the sort of recipe I wanted in the collection: familiar, uncomplicated and easy to dress up for Christmas without making things unnecessarily difficult.

You can find the complete collection here: The Sweet Season – Volume One

Recipe Card

Chocolate Dipped Shortbread

Makes: Approximately 20 biscuits
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Chill Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30–40 minutes
Total Time: Approximately 55 minutes–1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 1¼ cups plain flour
• ½ cup corn flour (corn starch)
• ½ cup icing sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 200g butter, softened
• Chocolate chips or chocolate melts, for dipping

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C fan and line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine the plain flour, corn flour, icing sugar and salt.
3. Add the softened butter and mix until a soft dough forms.
4. Turn the dough onto a silicone mat or lightly floured surface. Roll it out to approximately 1.5cm thick. Cut into fingers using a large knife, pastry cutter or pasta roller cutter.
5. Leave the cut shortbread on the mat or board and refrigerate for approximately 10 minutes. Chilling the dough makes the pieces easier to transfer without losing their shape.
6. Transfer the shortbread to the prepared baking tray, leaving a little space between each piece.
7. Bake for approximately 30–40 minutes, or until pale golden around the edges.
8. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
9. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 15-second bursts, stirring between each, or melt gently using the bain-marie method.
10. Dip approximately half of each shortbread biscuit into the melted chocolate. Place onto baking paper and leave until the chocolate has completely set.

What to Serve With

Chocolate Dipped Shortbread is lovely served with:

• Tea or coffee
• Hot chocolate
• Fresh berries
• Vanilla ice cream
• A Christmas dessert platter
• Rocky road and other homemade sweet treats

They’re also ideal tucked into a Christmas gift box or wrapped in a little cellophane bag for friends, neighbours or teachers.

Stacey’s Kitchen Tips

• Use properly softened butter so it combines easily with the dry ingredients.
• Don’t roll the shortbread too thin. I prefer mine around 1.5cm thick for a lovely buttery, crumbly texture.
• Chilling the cut dough for 10 minutes makes it much easier to transfer to your baking tray.
• Shortbread should remain fairly pale. Look for just a little colour around the edges rather than waiting for the entire biscuit to turn golden.
• Make sure the biscuits are completely cool before dipping them into the chocolate.
• When microwaving chocolate, use short bursts to avoid overheating it.

Variations & Substitutions

• Dip the shortbread in milk, dark or white chocolate.
• Drizzle chocolate over the biscuits rather than dipping them for a lighter finish.
• Sprinkle chopped nuts over the chocolate before it sets.
• Add festive sprinkles while the chocolate is still wet.
• Cut the dough into squares, fingers or simple shapes.
• Add a little finely grated orange zest to the dough for a chocolate-orange version.

Storage, Freezer & Make-Ahead Notes

Store the completely cooled shortbread in an airtight container for up to one week.

During warmer weather, I prefer to keep the chocolate-dipped shortbread in the refrigerator so the chocolate stays firm. Allow it to sit at room temperature briefly before serving if you prefer a softer texture.

The undipped shortbread can also be made ahead and frozen. Once completely cooled, place it in a freezer-safe container with baking paper between the layers. Thaw at room temperature and dip in fresh chocolate before serving.

Final Thoughts

Shortbread is proof that Christmas baking doesn’t have to involve a long ingredient list or complicated decorating. The biscuits themselves are simple and buttery, while that layer of chocolate is enough to turn them into something that looks lovely on a Christmas table.

I also like how flexible this recipe is. You can keep the biscuits completely plain, dip them in whichever chocolate you have, add a few festive sprinkles or package them up for gifts.

And while I’ve included them in The Sweet Season – Volume One as a Christmas recipe, there’s really no reason to save them for December. Leave off the festive decorations and they’re a lovely homemade biscuit at any time of year.

Stacey

Chocolate Dipped Shortbread

Buttery homemade shortbread biscuits dipped halfway in melted chocolate. Simple to make, lovely for Christmas platters and perfect for homemade gifting.

Print Recipe

Prep Time:15 minutes mins

Cook Time:30 minutes mins

Chill time:10 minutes mins

Total Time:55 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 1¼ cups plain flour
• ½ cup corn flour (corn starch)
• ½ cup icing sugar
• pinch of salt
• 200 g butter softened
• chocolate chips or chocolate melts for dipping

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 150°C fan and line a baking tray with baking paper.
• In a large bowl, combine the plain flour, corn flour, icing sugar and salt.
• Add the softened butter and mix until a soft dough forms.
• Turn the dough onto a silicone mat or lightly floured surface. Roll it out to approximately 1.5cm thick. Cut into fingers using a large knife, pastry cutter or pasta roller cutter.
• Leave the cut shortbread on the mat or board and refrigerate for approximately 10 minutes. Chilling the dough makes the pieces easier to transfer without losing their shape.
• Transfer the shortbread to the prepared baking tray, leaving a little space between each piece.
• Bake for approximately 30–40 minutes, or until pale golden around the edges.
• Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
• Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 15-second bursts, stirring between each, or melt gently using the bain-marie method.
• Dip approximately half of each shortbread biscuit into the melted chocolate. Place onto baking paper and leave until the chocolate has completely set.

Notes

Notes

• Roll the dough to approximately 1.5cm thick for a thicker shortbread.
• Cool completely before dipping in chocolate.
• Shortbread should be pale with lightly golden edges.

 

Variations

• Use milk, dark or white chocolate.
• Drizzle rather than dip the biscuits in chocolate.
• Add festive sprinkles, chopped nuts or orange zest.

 

Storage

• Store in an airtight container for up to one week.
• Keep refrigerated during warmer weather if needed.
• Undipped shortbread can be frozen and decorated after thawing.

Servings: 20 Biscuits

Author: Farmers Wife Homestead