Chocolate Shortbread

After receiving some disappointing shortbread for Christmas, by request of my hubby, today I made chocolate shortbread.  These were super easy to make and would taste great with a coffee at morning tea!  The best part is you just use things you'd normally keep in the cupboard, without the need to buy rice flour like many recipes need.  

Chocolate Shortbread

110g plain flour

40g Bournville cocoa

50g sugar

100g soft butter

2 tsp vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.  Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Sift flour and cocoa together into a large mixing bowl to make sure there's no lumps. Add the butter, sugar and vanilla essence, and mix together thoroughly with a wooden spoon.  Everything should come together as a crumbly dough. Now here comes the fun part!  Get your clean hands into the bowl and work the dough with your fingers until combined and smooth and all sticking together. 

Add all your ingredients to a bowl (not pictured - vanilla essence).

The dough should look like this when it comes together.

Lay some cling wrap out on your work surface.  Tip your cookie dough out on to the clip wrap and shape into a big fat disc.  Wrap up.  Refrigerate for 20 minutes or so, until firm.  

Wrap in cling wrap, and rest in the fridge.

Sprinkle your work surface with sugar and take out half of your dough.  Sprinkle a little more sugar on top.  Take a rolling pin and roll out about 3/4 of a centimetre thick.  Using cookie cutters cut out whatever shape you desire.  Alternatively, you could just take pieces of dough and roll into a ball, then flatten into a smaller fat disc to make round cookies. 

The pre-cooked dough.

Arrange your cut out dough on the baking tray.  Use a fork to make a pattern if you so desire, and sprinkle with extra sugar.  Bake in oven for 15 minutes.  Allow to cool.  Serve and enjoy!  

Serve and enjoy with your favourite hot beverage.

*Note* To make plain, vanilla shortbread, omit the cocoa and add 40g plain flour back in.