Chocolate Dipped Chocolate and Toffee Chip Shortbread Cookies

For my first actual recipe, I thought I would start with an amazingly easy, show-stopper of a cookie. Every time I make these cookies, you'd think I'd just given everyone twenty bucks. They're so easy because they're shortbread: butter (lots), flour, sugar, flavor. Done. They're so show-stopper-y because, well, look at them. These cookies are so good, but then BAM! you dip them in chocolate and it takes them to a whole other level of buttery deliciousness. Let me emphasize, they do get even better after dipping. If any of them make it to the dipping process in the first place.

Chocolate Dipped Chocolate and Toffee Chip Shortbread Cookies

I recently made these for my grandfather's surprise 80th birthday party. My grandmother decided they were so good that we couldn't take them to the party. She wanted to save them all for ourselves. We're evidently not all that sharing of a family when it comes to our baked goods. So instead, they were saved and eaten in the adorable Brown's Point Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage, a living museum and hotel, that at which we had the honor of staying.

Without further ado, the Chocolate Dipped Chocolate and Toffee Chip Shortbread Cookies:

Chocolate Dipped Chocolate and Toffee Chip Shortbread Cookies
Recipe adapted from thekitchn

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients:
1 cup salted butter slightly softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 generous tsp good quality vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup Health toffee chips
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

First, start by creaming the butter until light and fluffy with a sthand mixer.

Before creaming

After creaming

 Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar until combined.

Powdered sugar is added, go slow with the mixer so the sugar doesn't go everywhere.

Add a generous tsp of good quality vanilla extract and 2 cups of flour. Mix just until combined. Do not over beat the dough, we do not want any gluten forming and making our cookies chewy. Crisp shortbread is always better.

The final dough product

Now comes the fun part. By hand, mix in 1 cup of mini chocolate chips and 1/2 cup Heath chips. Your dough will be very nice and spotted when you're done, and all the chips will be combined into the dough.

Shameless product placement

Now that's shortbread.

Here is where I tell you my favorite two kitchen products. I feel these products even outweigh the mighty kitchen aid stand mixer in terms of their usefulness (Gasp, she didn't!) The first is parchment paper. Please, just go get some, it makes everything better! Second, a cookie dough scoop. They're like ice cream  scoops, but tiny, and they make perfectly evenly sized cookies. They even come in different sizes for when you want big or small cookies. Today, I used the smaller (2 tsp) size for the shortbread cookies. These are also good for things like scooping cupcake batter into the cupcake tins, melon balling, and making ice cream sundaes for your cats.

Me love cookie... scoops.

One of the really nice things about these cookies, is that they don't spread. Which means you can really pack them on your cookie sheet and bake forty plus cookies in about thirty minutes. Scoop the dough on to a parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Using a flat bottomed glass, press the cookies into a flat shape. I dip mine in sugar to prevent the cookies from sticking to the bottom of the glass, and giving the cookies a nice sugar crunch in the process.

Before Squishing

After Squishing

Bake the cookies for 13 minutes in a 350 degree oven, or until they've just started turning golden on the edges. Remove from oven and let stand until completely cool. Now combine the other cup of chocolate chips and the 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil in a small sauce pan and melt the chocolate over a low flame. You can also microwave (in 10 second increments) or double boil if you'd like. Dip half of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a sheet of wax paper. Repeat. I usually throw mine in the freezer to speed up the setting process, but if you have the patience, you can also just wait. Once hardened, remove from wax paper and enjoy. These keep frozen for quite some time, or a few days in an air tight container. Try to eat just one.

Cooooookies.