Royal short bread cookies

I tried these shortbread cookies today and they came out very well ..My hubby was so happy after having this delicious cookie.Origin of these cookies are scotland, this rich, tender and crumbly straw colored biscuit (cookie) was once only served during Christmas and New Year’s Eve. In its most basic form, shortbread’s are made with just four ingredients, butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and flour. While today they are made in various shapes and sizes, at one time the dough was baked in a round mold and then cut into wedges that were given the name “petticoat tails”. They are called royal short breads bcoz they are dipped in melted chocolate .

Another valentine treat from my kitchen :)..

Short breads are yumm as is but chocolate added to it makes them yummier and add all good ness to the cookie.. perfect with a with a cup of hot coffee or Tea..

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

A pinch of salt

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Chocolate Dipped Shortbread:

1 cup semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Method
In a separate bowl whisk the flour with the salt. Set aside.

In the bowl , beat the butter until smooth and not too creamy fora minute or so. Add the sugar and beat until smooth for 2 min or so. Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill the dough for at least an hour or until firm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F . Line the baking trays with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough into a 1/4 inch (.6 cm) thick circle. Cut into rounds or other shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter. Place on the prepared baking sheets and place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.Refrigeration helps the cookies to maintain the shape while baking. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes, or until cookies are very lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

For Chocolate Dipped Shortbreads:

Place the finely chopped milk or dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place it over a saucepan of simmering water. Melt the chocolate. Add the remaining chocolate and stir with a wooden spoon until it has completely melted and is smooth and glossy. Taking one cookie at a time, dip one end of each cookie in the melted chocolate and place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Dip all the cookies halfway and place it on a parchment paper till the chocolate sets.

Store in air tight container for 15 days .

Tips:

Temperature is really important for this cookie as if the room temperature is very hot it may be tricky to handle the dough. . Shortbread’s can also be cut into various shapes and sizes using your favorite cookie cutter.