Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Biscuits

My boyfriend had a Christmas party at work and was asked to bring in a dessert. I decided this would be a good time to make some shortbread and use some Christmas themed cookie cutters I received last year, and haven't had a chance to use yet. Shortbread is incredibly easy to make, and dipping them in chocolate adds an extra bit of yumminess, though if you are a purist or can't be bothered, you can always omit the chocolate as shortbread tastes great on its own.

Good quality unsalted butter really does make a difference here; I have to admit I always use Lurpak butter - a Danish butter sold here in the UK - when I make shortbread, as it has exactly the right taste for shortbread.. Amazing.

Can you guess what the shapes are below? According to Pete, his work-mates could not make any sense of them and someone even thought one was a.. penguin! This amused me a lot.

Ingredients:

For the shortbread:

250g butter, at room temperature

110g caster sugar

350g plain flour (approx)

For the chocolate dip:

75g dark chocolate

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 190C / 375 F / Gas Mark 5

1. Cream butter and sugar together.

2. Add the flour gradually and mix together, until the mixture forms a smooth ball. Using your hands to compact the mixture into a ball helps, as the heat of your hands will ensure the butter stays warm and therefore the mixture becomes smooth. If the mixture is too crumbly, add a little more butter or a touch of water to bring the mixture together. Similarly, if the mixture is too wet, add a touch more flour.

3. Turn out the ball of shortbread mixture onto a lightly floured surface, and with a floured rolling pin roll out. 

4. Cut however you like; you can use cookie cutters such as shaped or circular cutters, or you can just slice the shortbread with a sharp knife into shortbread fingers. Transfer the cookie, leaving gaps between them, to 1-2 baking trays (depending on your shapes) that have been greased/lined with baking paper. If using cookie cutters, you will have mixture left over; gather into a ball, and repeat steps 3 - 4. 

5. IMPORTANT: transfer the cookies in their baking tray to the fridge for AT LEAST TWENTY MINUTES. This is to set the shapes. If you don't do this, and put them straight in the oven, things will be messy.

6. Bake in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes or until the cookies have begun to brown. They will still be a bit soft until set. Transfer to a cooling rack and leave to cool.

If dipping in chocolate:

7. Line plates/trays with baking paper. 

8. Once the biscuits have cooled, melt the dark chocolate. The easiest way to do this is with a microwave: put the chocolate in a microwavable dish and subject it to 30 second blasts, stirring in between each blast until much of it has melted. Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate on a stove using the double boiler method. Heat a pan of water to boiling, then place a glass dish in the pan so it rests just above the water. Put the chocolate in the dish, and stir until melted.

9. Once chocolate has melted, dip the ends of the cooled shortbread into the chocolate, and place on  the baking paper lined trays. If you have more complicated shapes (as I did) it is easier (and you are less likely to damage your shortbread) if you use a teaspoon to place melted chocolate on the shortbread, using the back of the spoon to spread it.

10. Leave to cool slightly for around 15 minutes, before transferring to the fridge to set the chocolate.

Enjoy!