shortbread | EASYBAKED

Caramel Shortbread Bars

Posted on February 25, 2017 by Ruthanne

I was introduced to the buttery flaky happiness of shortbread cookies last fall, and I promised myself that I would return to them in a new recipe. Instead of baking them in cookie form, I baked these in a pan and then covered them with dulce de leche caramel and a chocolate glaze. They are AMAZINGLY good. Really. That good. Look at the pictures…. they are THAT GOOD.

You can make your own dulce de leche using a can of sweetened condensed milk (here’s my recipe for that)- or you can just buy a couple cans of it. I always find it in the Hispanic food section of my local grocery (they have it at WalMart there too). I bought cans for this creation- easy and sooooooo yummy.

Here’s how we made these! (printable recipe here)

INGREDIENTS:

Cookie base:

1 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoons baking powder

Toppings:

2 cans (13.4 oz. each) of dulce de leche I used La Lechera by Nestle
1 cup of dark chocolate chips
6 Tablespoons of butter

DIRECTIONS:

Place 1 cup of unsalted butter and powdered sugar into a mixing bowl and using a mixer, beat until light and fluffy (think buttercream frosting…!)
Add vanilla and mix until well combined.
Add flour and baking powder to butter/sugar mixture and beat on low speed until incorporated well (don’t over-beat this).
Press into a standard 9×13″ cake pan that’s been lightly sprayed with cooking spray.
Bake at 350F degrees for 12-15 minutes until slightly browned on top and firm at center.
Cool completely.
Pour cans of caramel over the top and smooth.
Melt chocolate chips with 6 Tablespoons of butter. Stir to mix well and pour over top of caramel layer. Smooth top.
Before top hardens, if desired, drizzle with white chocolate and pull lines back and forth with a toothpick to make design shown.
Chill for at least an hour before cutting.
Enjoy!!

My thoughts: YUM!!! I love shortbread, I love caramel, and I love chocolate! These are fabulous cookie bars! 🙂 Be sure to use dark chocolate chips to keep the “sweet” factor down. If you want just a touch of caramel, use one can of La Lechera instead of two. I wanted a big layer of caramel in my cookies- but you might want more cookie and less topping. I hope you get a chance to try these!!! ~Enjoy!!!

Other caramel deliciousness here: (click on a photo to see the recipe)

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Shortbread Christmas Cookies

Posted on December 2, 2016 by Ruthanne

These pretty shortbread cookies are delicious all on their own- but topped with a piece of gold-dusted chocolate? Then they are perfect.

I’d never made shortbread before. Crazy, I know. The inspiration was those AMAZING Starbucks snowmen cookies. You know.. the ones that are soooo cute and topped in chocolate rather than icing?

I was telling a friend about my love for those little Starbucks cookies and she said, “I know! Shortbread cookies are the best!” and I thought to myself…. “Shortbread? What exactly is a shortbread cookie?” So I investigated and tried a few recipes and FELL IN LOVE with these cookies!!! Buttery and flakey happiness with every bite!

I wanted to add chocolate on top, and found these ADORABLE silicone molds by Silikomart. (and then I got sucked into the world of Silikomart and all the beautiful things they make that are mostly available only in Italy….) I found these on Amazon though. I dusted them with a little bit of edible gold dust to give them an especially elegant feel.

So. Much. Christmas. Fun.

Here’s the recipe: (printable version here)

INGREDIENTS: (makes 24-30 cookies)

1 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
About 16 oz of dark chocolate wafers. You can use Wiltons candy melts, but for these cookies I used Ghirardelli Melting Wafers. They cost more- but they are SO good!
Edible gold dusting powder (I used this brand)

DIRECTIONS:

Place butter and sugar into a mixing bowl and using a mixer, beat until light and fluffy (think buttercream frosting…!)
Add vanilla and mix until well combined.
Add flour and baking powder to butter/sugar mixture and beat on low speed until incorporated well (don’t over-beat this).
Use clean hands to form this mixture into a ball. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

While dough is chilling, make chocolate toppers.

Melt chocolate wafers in the microwave in 30 second increments, mixing in between until melted and smooth.
Spoon into a large zip-top bag and seal it well.
Place mold on a cookie sheet to keep it flat and easy to move.
Carefully pipe chocolate into molds, filling them up to the top and then tap entire cookie sheet on counter to remove bubbles.
Freeze for 5-8 minutes until they can be peeled out of the molds. Repeat until you have about 24-30 toppers.
Squeeze extra chocolate back into a small bowl and set aside.

Set toppers aside, and cut/bake cookies.

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
Remove dough from refrigerator and roll out on a floured countertop. Cut into rectangles. I used this cookie cutter set and I needed 2 different sizes because the molds are different in size. Place on a cookie sheet that has parchment paper laid on top.
Bake at 350F degrees for 10-12 minutes.
Slide parchment paper (with cookies on top) off baking sheet and onto a clean counter. Cool completely.

Assemble cookies.

Re-heat the extra chocolate you set aside from earlier, using instructions given earlier for melting.
Use a knife to spread melted chocolate onto the back of a chocolate topper, and gently place it on top of a cooled cookie. (I used gloves to handle the chocolate so I wouldn’t leave fingerprints on it!)
Allow topper to harden- sticking it firmly to the top of the cookie.
Use a food-grade brush to gently brush gold dusting powder over each chocolate piece. You can skip this step– but the wow factor increases A LOT with this touch of gold glitter!!!
Enjoy!!!!

My thoughts: These are SO (soooooooooooo!) yummy! I keep kicking myself for never making shortbread before this! These are a fragile cut-out cookie. The chocolate on top adds much-needed stability, but be gentle with them before that chocolate is added. They are fragile because they are a light, flaky, buttery piece of heaven- but they are fragile nonetheless. I made these in early November- working ahead for Christmas blogging- but I am definitely making these as one of my Christmas cookies this year- this is a do-not-miss recipe! Hope you and your family enjoy them as much as I did!!! ~r