This Easy Chocolate Chip Shortbread Recipe is buttery, and loaded with mini chocolate chips! Only 5 ingredients necessary for a chocolate-twist on a classic shortbread recipe.
I partnered with my friend’s at Bob’s Red Mill on this Chocolate Chip Shortbread recipe. I only partner with brands that I love and use in my own kitchen. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this website possible.
Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies are a buttery, melt in your mouth twist on classic shortbread! Doesn’t chocolate just make everything a little more…delicious? Of course if you don’t love chocolate (WHO? WHAT?) you can always make my 3 Ingredient Shortbread, which is also completely delicious in its own way. But of course, it’s Day 3 of my 12 Days of Christmas Cookies series, and I wanted to make a shortbread recipe that was not only classic, but also festive! Mission accomplished with this chocolate chip shortbread!
Shortbread is one of those recipes where the quality of the ingredients is very important. The flavors of the ingredients really shine through, so this isn’t a recipe to cut corners on! Use high quality butter, vanilla and of course, flour. I LOVE Bob’s Red Mill Unbleached All Purpose Flour, which is what I used in this shortbread recipe. It’s unbleached, unbromated, enriched baking flour milled from high quality North American wheat. It’s perfect to use in cakes, cookies, yeast breads, biscuits, muffins…literally everything.
Bob’s Red Mill products are also certified Kosher, and made with ingredients grown from non-GMO seeds. So, beyond being flavorful, I feel good about the ingredients that I use to feed my family.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Shortbread
There are two ways to make these shortbread cookies, which I’ve noted in the recipe below. You can roll out your dough, cut it into shapes and THEN chill it, OR you can chill the dough then roll it out and cut it into shapes. Either way will work!
If you want a more precise edge, cutting the dough into shapes and then chilling it is the method you might want to try. If the edges aren’t as important to you, roll it out after it’s chilled. In the pictures of the cookies I chilled the dough before rolling it out, just so you have an idea of what to expect!
You could even drizzle these chocolate chip shortbread cookies with some melted chocolate for an even prettier presentation!
The buttery, tender texture of these cookies is undeniable! The bottoms will get slightly golden brown, which only adds to the depth of flavor. A classic cookie recipe for sure!
PrintChocolate Chip Shortbread
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Prep Time: 10 minutes -
Cook Time: 20 minutes
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Total Time: 30 minutes
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Yield: 20 cookies 1x
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Category: Cookies
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Method: Baking
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Cuisine: Dessert
Prep Time:
Yield:
Category:
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Print Recipe
PinDescription:
Classic shortbread gets a chocolate twist!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup salted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour (I used Bob’s All Purpose Unbleached flour)
- 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix the butter, sugar and vanilla together for 2 minutes. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add in the flour, mixing until just combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips evenly.
- Transfer the dough to a zip-top bag and chill for at least 2 hours. Alternately, you can roll your dough out now and cut into shapes, and then chill the dough. Both methods are effective.
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Roll dough out into a large square, 1/3-inch thick. Cut the dough into squares using a knife, or you could use cookie cutters.
- Place on baking sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes:
store airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days
Nutrition Information:
Keywords: shortbread, cookies, christmas cookies, chocolate chip
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Make sure not to miss any of the cookies in my 12 Days of Christmas Cookies Series!
Day 1: Easy Sugar Cookies Recipe
Day 2: Crock Pot Peppermint Pretzel Candy
Day 3: Chocolate Chip Shortbread
Hi! I’m Shelly and I’m an addict. Of the buttercream sort. I started this site a few years ago as a way to justify my sugary, buttery obsession with desserts. It has worked out well for me so far, because as it turns out you guys all love sugary, buttery desserts too! It feels good to know you're not alone, doesn’t it?
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Made this and followed the recipe using Google to individually convert all measurements to grams, followed the “1, 2 3” ratios, baked it at the right temp for 18 minutes, was scared of overbaking it, and the end result was that the bottoms aren’t golden, they are as if butter melted on the bottom, as if they are underbaked. they don’t fall apart like shortbread should. it’s really annoying because i bake all the time, and i followed the recipie, and they just didn’t come out like they are supposed to be. It would have been helpful if the person… Read more »
The ratios aren’t 1,2,3. They’re 1,2,4.
1 part sugar
2 parts butter
4 parts flour.
This might be why your recipe fell apart.
What are the ingredients in grams ? Thanks
you need to Google each item separately to ensure that you get the right conversion, because there is not one single chart for grams. amount in grams depends on what the item is. butter converted might be different to flour. so just google “1 cup of butter converted to grams” to get an accurate answer for butter, then do the same for flour. if you go by some generic chart, you will get your amounts wrong. this recipe, to work, needs you to have a 1:2:3 ratio – sugar, butter, flour. 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup butter, 2 cups flour.… Read more »
Serving size: 1 cookie
How many grams is 1 cookie?
What if I made 8 cookies out of the dough?
Does anyone else have an issue with the dough being too sticky? Even after chilling it, I found that the dough stuck to my fingers and I was unable to roll it!
always add flour when rolling
my dough wasn’t sticky at all. i was able to work with it right after i had mixed the ingredients. you may have gotten your conversions wrong.
If you use a shortbread mold, the cooking time is way off. It should be about 50 minutes, not 20 minutes.
i wish i had read your comment before i baked these, because i left mine in the oven 18 minutes, and they are underdone. i get very annoyed when the person who leaves a recipe isn’t accurate or crystal clear in their instructions
Can you bake these right after you make the dough?
you can, yes, but if you’re slicing them into shapes they won’t hold as well 🙂
just get a chef’s knife and cut them after they’re baked. easy peasy.
yes. my dough was easy to handle right after mixing ingredients. but because instructions for baking were off, my shortbread came out underbaked. cheers.
Hello, can I still work with unsalted butter?
★★★★★
Sure 🙂 You might want to add a little kosher salt to the dough, 1/2 teaspoon… or you can sprinkle the top with flaked sea salt!
Hello, can I chill the dough overnight ?
sure!
Baked these forbthe first time. Rolled them into logs, the chilled, rolled in sanding sugar, and sliced. Two questions. 1) What should they look like when you take them out of the oven; and 2) how long do you let them cool on the baking sheet before moving them to the cooling rack? Thanks!
If you rolled them into logs before baking and sliced them they should be circles 🙂 You don’t have to allow them to cool on the baking sheet before transferring!
Let’s just say they’re close to circles. Should i look for browning on the top at all, or just on the edges?
By the way, they are a big hit with my family!
Absolutely love this recipe! They’re so fun and quick to make. I’ll definitely be making these again. Thanks sooo much Shelly!!??
Can you freeze the dough or the already baked cookies for later?
both!
I made these yesterday with gluten free flour of the cup by cup variety. I’m an experienced baker but this was my first try at shortbread. Great recipe, they came out perfect! I rolled them out and cut them into squares with a sharp knife. We half dipped them in melted chocolate and decorated for Christmas. Thank you for the great recipe
★★★★★
Besides the gluten free flour did you have to change anything else in the recipe?
Am I doing something majorly wrong? I’ve done 2 attempts and the dough is just powder, there seems like far too much flour? I’ve had to give up as I’m out of ingredients but it says you should be able to roll out the dough after putting choc chips in, mine is just powder.
Is it possible you are using 1 stick of butter instead of 1 cup (2 sticks)?
Hey, yea mine was the same, I ended up having to use more butter which only helped a little bit, it was difficult to shape and cut them so fingers crossed when I bake them that they turn out! Lol
Hi yes i had same problem , could you possibly add the amounts in grams too, to make sure we are using right amounts.
don’t trust anyone who converts for you. Google each item separately. for example, say “convert 1 cup of butter to grams” and then say “convert 2 cups of flour to grams.” never use one single chart for all items.
Sprinkle a bit of water into the dough to help it stick together before you roll it out
you probably did your conversions wrong. you need to convert each item SEPARATELY via Google. the ratio of sugar to butter to flour needs to be 1 to 2 to 3. also maybe try softening your butter a bit before you add it to the ingredients. don’t melt it, just soften it.
made those for Halloween using a bat cookie cutter and some orange icing. yummy!
★★★★
Best cookie ever! and so easy to make ?
★★★★★
i made shortbread twice before using another recipe and both times it came out perfect. but this time, because baking time is off, my shortbread was underbaked. frustrating when it’s not your fault.