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Chocolate Almond Shortbread Cookies

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.

5 cookies stacked.


 

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.
Ingredients to make the cookies.

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.

Butter beaten until creamy.

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.

The dough wrapped in plastic.

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.

The dough rolled and cut out.

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.

The cookies baked on the cookie sheet.

Where did  Shortbread originate?

According to British Food History â€“ Dating back to the 12th 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!

Cookies stacked.
5 cookies stacked.

Chocolate Almond Shortbread Cookies

Rosemary Molloy
Buttery melt-in-your-mouth Chocolate Almond Shortbread – easy with six ingredients and the best nutty flavor with chocolate chips in every bite.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Chilling Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 21 cookies
Calories 123 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • â…” cup + 1 tablespoon butter (softened)* (165 grams total)
  • â…“ 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)

*If using unsalted butter then add ¼ teaspoon of salt. Be sure to use a good quality butter, apparently this year 2022, store brand butter quality is not what it used to be. Less fat could mean a dry not so tasty cookie.

    Instructions
     

    • Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer (or stand mixer) in a large bowl for about two to three minutes or until the mixture is creamy.
    • Sift the flour and salt into the butter mixture and stir. When it’s almost combined, add the almonds & chocolate chips, continue mixing on medium speed until the dough is firm.
    • Wrap the cookie dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 30 to 60 minutes. You can also chill it overnight.
    • Take the dough out of the refrigerator. If it’s very firm, gently knead it to soften it up enough to roll. Place the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap or parchment paper and roll it out until it’s 1/4″ thick.
    • Cut the dough out into rounds or squares using a cookie cutter and place them on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle sugar over the tops, if desired.
    • Place the pans in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes while the oven preheats to 320F (160C).
    • Bake the cookies for approximately 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool them for two to three minutes on the cookie sheets before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

    Notes

    For the nuts you can either purchase already chopped nuts or chop whole nuts, I recommend roasting the nuts first, place the 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.
    For extra almond flavor, try adding a teaspoon of almond extract to the dough. Or, you can add vanilla extract.
    Shortbread will keep for up to a week at room temperature. The cookies will also keep in the freezer for up to three months.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 123kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 70mg | Potassium: 33mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 258IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg
    Did You Make This Recipe?Please leave a comment below or pin it to your Pinterest account!

    18 Comments

    1. I must have creamed the butter & sugar too much because the dough is too soft. I had it in the fridge for a couple of hours, but it is soft.
      What should I do?

    2. Quick question before I bake~ Is your recipe calling for 1/4 cup of almonds that are to be chopped or 1/4 cup of already chopped almonds?

    3. HI! When adding the sugar, do you use the entire 1/3 cup+1 1/2 tablespoons, or do you save the 1 1/2 tablespoons for sprinkling on top before baking? I love your recipes and look forward to opening my e-mails. Thanks for such great recipes.

      1. Hi Pat, thanks so much, so glad you like the recipes and emails! Yes use the entire 1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar and also butter. I usually work in metric so it comes out strange sometimes. 🙂 Take care!

        1. Thank you for the quick response. Going to get started on this recipe…right now. Merry Christmas!

    4. Any tips for how to finely chop almonds? I tend to avoid working with chopped almonds because they are such a hard nut and I find it difficult to chop them. I really want to try this recipe!

      1. Hi Linda, you could use a food processor, or if you prefer you could substitute with hazelnuts, walnuts or even pecans. I hope that helps. Let me know. Take care!

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