Name: Chocolate Almond Shortbread Cookies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 105 min
Ingredients: ⅔ cup + 1 tablespoon butter (softened)* ((165 grams total)); ⅓ cup + 1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar (or fine or caster sugar) ((84 grams total)); 1¾ cups all purpose flour (11% protein or more); 1 pinch salt*; ¼ cup finely chopped almonds; ¼ cup chocolate chips (unsweetened or milk)

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Buttery melt-in-your-mouth Chocolate Almond Shortbread is simple to make with six ingredients and has the best nutty flavor with chocolate chips in every bite. These easy cookies are great any time of year.

I have shortbread cookie recipe for you today – it’s a cookie I never get tired of! I love making shortbread all year because I don’t know anyone who can resist these buttery delicious cookies.

Chocolate almond shortbread cookies combine two of my favorite ingredients: chocolate and almonds. It really is a great match giving these cookies a nutty flavor with chocolate chips in every bite.

Luckily, shortbread is freezer-friendly so whenever I make a batch, quite a few go into the freezer. That keeps me from working my way through the whole batch in one day. They’re so irresistible.

They are also a great Christmas cookie to make because they keep well at room temperature or you can make them ahead and freeze them. We make batches of our favorite shortbread recipes all through the holiday season to give away to friends and family.

You only need six ingredients to make this easy chocolate almond shortbread recipe. It’s definitely worth a try!

Ingredients

Softened butter
Granulated sugar
All-purpose flour – with at least 11% protein, this helps to keep the cookies from spreading
Salt
Finely chopped almonds – you can either buy them chopped or chop your own, I advise roasting them before chopping
Chocolate chips – milk chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips work great.

How to Roast Nuts

Place nuts in a single layer on an ungreased baking / cookie sheet. Bake in a pre-heated 350F/180C oven for 5 to 8 minutes or until they are golden brown, remove immediately from the pan to a clean bowl to cool.

Instructions

Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer (or stand mixer with a paddle attachment) until the mixture is creamy, about two to three minutes.

Sift the flour and salt into the butter mixture and stir to combine. When it’s almost combined, add the almonds and chocolate chips and mix mixing at medium speed until the cookie dough is firm.

Adding the flour, nuts and chocolate and making a dough.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill it for 30 to 60 minutes. You can also chill the dough overnight.

Once the dough is chilled, take it out of the refrigerator and place it between two pieces of plastic wrap. Use a rolling pin to roll it out. It should be 1/4″ thick.

Cut the dough out into rounds or squares using a cookie cutter and place them on baking sheets or cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. I like to sprinkle some granulated sugar over the tops for a lightly crunchy topping.

The cookies on a cookie sheet before baking.

Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for 15 minutes so the dough can firm up. This will keep the shortbread from spreading too much while it bakes.

Preheat the oven to 320°F and then bake the cookies for about 10 minutes. Take them out of the oven and leave them on the cookies sheet for two to three minutes. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Where did Shortbread originate?

According to British Food History – Dating back to the 12^th century , shortbread was originally called biscuit bread.

These biscuits were made from left-over bread dough that was sometimes sweetened and dried out in the oven to form a hard, dry rusk. This practise took place over the whole of the British Isles, not just Scotland.

What does shortbread taste like?

Shortbread has a buttery flavor with a melt-in your mouth crumbly texture. For some people it can even have a dry sandy texture.

Cookies on a green Christmas tree plate.

Why are my cookies spreading?

To keep the cookies from spreading it is best to beat the butter and sugar just until combined and not creamed (of course this also depends on the type of cookie), for some cookies including some icing sugar in the mixture also keeps the cookies from spreading.

And probably most important of all, is to use a higher protein all purpose flour with at least 11.5- 12% protein count.

And don’t forget to chill the dough for at least 1 hour and again the cut out cookies before baking while the oven is pre-heating. Using most of these will help produce the perfect Christmas Cookies.

Recipe Tips

For extra almond flavor, try adding a teaspoon of almond extract to the dough. Or, you can add vanilla extract.

Don’t skip the chilling step. The butter needs to firm up so the cookies don’t spread while they bake.

This is a great recipe to make ahead. You can mix the dough and chill overnight and then cut out the cookies and bake them the next day.

Shortbread will keep for up to a week at room temperature. The cookies will also keep in the freezer for up to three months.

Chocolate and nuts are a great combination and perfect in these chocolate almond shortbread cookies. It’s such an easy recipe and each bite is even better than the last – Enjoy!