Rich, homemade Chocolate Shortbread. Divine cocoa flavour is celebrated in this buttery, crumbly, and slightly salted chocolate shortbread recipe. Made in one bowl AND no chilling!

This intensely chocolatey shortbread recipe is a perfect Christmastime treat. It’s not overly sweet, slightly bittersweet, and has a salty hit in each bite.

A slice of shortbread anytime of the year is lovely, but around Christmas, I feel it’s even more special. Whether you have friends or family stopping by, want a gift to share with neighbours, or simply want to treat yourself to some baking and a sweet for an afternoon or evening dessert.

My chocolate shortbread has the flavour of a chocolate brownie. Rich, decadent, but without either a cake or fudgy texture, but instead the delectable, crumbly texture of shortbread.

When I made my Scottish Shortbread recipe for the blog back in 2015, I fell in love with the idea of baking shortbread by pressing the dough straight into a tin rather than rolling, then cutting the dough into shapes. We’re cutting the prep in half, which means we get to eat our shortbread even sooner!

Saving time is always helpful around December and the weeks leading up to Christmas, when we’re often pushed for time.

Like with most biscuit or cookie recipes, this one is just a base recipe.

Switch the recipe up by adding some freshly grated orange zest, tossing in some nuts, or combining some dark, milk, or white chocolate chips into the shortbread dough.

Once baked, you can dip the shortbread pieces into melted chocolate or drizzle it over.

There are so many exciting ways to make this recipe your own!

This recipe is found in ‘The Great British Book of Baking’. I was given this as a Christmas present from a work colleague last Christmas, and ever since spotting this recipe in the book, I’ve been excited to try it! It certainly did not disappoint, and it has me intrigued to try more!

Chocolate Shortbread

Rich, homemade Chocolate Shortbread. Divine cocoa flavour is celebrated in this buttery, crumbly, and slightly salted chocolate shortbread recipe. Made in one bowl AND no chilling!

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings 12

Author What Jessica Baked Next

Ingredients

200 g butter (salted or unsalted) softened
100 g caster sugar
260 g plain flour
40 g cocoa powder
Pinch of salt omit if using salted butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Lightly grease a 20cm cake tin with extra butter.
Cream the butter for a minute to soften. Now add the sugar and cream for a further 2 minutes until lightened in colour and fluffy.
Add the flour, cocoa powder, and the pinch of salt (if using), and mix until a dough comes together - don't over work the dough, just mix until there's no visible specks of flour remaining.
Transfer the shortbread dough to the greased cake tin and press down until compact. Score into 12 triangles, making sure you don't slice all the way through. Prick each piece of shortbread once or twice with a fork, and bake the shortbread for 25-30 minutes until the top is firm to the touch - mine was in the oven for a full 30 minutes.
Once baked, allow the shortbread to cool in the tin. Remove from the tin and sprinkle with a little extra caster sugar/or icing sugar if you prefer. Slice into 12 triangles and serve. The shortbread will keep for up to 1 week, stored in an airtight container/or a covered plate.