These Chocolate Shortbread Cookies are like your favourite shortbread cookies all grown up. Made with rich Dutch-processed cocoa powder, then dipped in more melted chocolate before they’re topped with fruit, nuts, or sprinkles… they’re so fun to make and eat.

  • A crunchy yet melt-in-your-mouth texture.
  • The kind of cookie you want to eat with a cup of tea or coffee.
  • So buttery — a truly luxurious treat!
  • Made with just 5 ingredients.

The flavour of the dark bittersweet chocolate and the freeze-dried raspberries that I used is such a wonderful, bitter, sweet, and tangy combo in this chocolate shortbread cookies recipe. If you prefer a sweeter chocolate cookie that’s perfect for decorating, try these chocolate sugar cookies too.

a batch of dark chocolate dipped shortbread cookies, sprinkled with freeze-dried raspberries on a sheet of brown baking paper

Table of contents

Ingredients you’ll need

closeup: chocolate shortbread cookie recipe on a piece of parchment paper with freeze-dried raspberries scattered

Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.

  • Unsalted Butter: I almost always prefer to use unsalted butter for baking recipes. You’ll need quite a bit for this chocolate shortbread cookie recipe — butter is the base of it all, and is the reason why these cookies taste so rich and, well, buttery.
  • Icing Sugar: Also called powdered sugar. I like using it instead of granulated sugar as it will give you a much smoother batter.
  • Flour: Plain (or all-purpose) flour is perfectly fine for chocolate shortbread cookies.
  • Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder: Make sure to use Dutch-processed cocoa powder. It’s less bitter and a lot smoother than other cocoa powders.
  • Dark Chocolate: You’ll use this for dipping. I like bars with 50% cocoa best for chocolate dipped shortbread cookies.
  • Toppings: As mentioned, you can experiment with freeze-dried raspberries (as shown in the photos), as well as other fruit bits, nuts, or even sprinkles.

How to make chocolate shortbread cookies (step-by-step)

Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.

  1. Recipe prep: Preheat your oven and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Combine the dry ingredients: Whisk the flour, cocoa, and sugar together in a medium bowl and set aside.
  3. Cream the butter and sugar: Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until light and fluffy.
  4. Add the dry ingredients: Incorporate the dry ingredients to create a dough. Let it chill in the fridge for 15 minutes.
  5. Roll out the dough: Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out to about 5mm thick.
  6. Shape: Cut out rounds, hearts, squares — whatever you like. I used these circle cookie cutters.
  7. Bake: Place your chocolate shortbread cookie recipe in the oven and bake for around 12 minutes. Let them cool and they’ll be crisp all the way through.
  8. Dip: Once the cookies are cool, dip them in melted chocolate and decorate with your favourite toppings. Enjoy!
closeup: a stack of chocolate shortbread cookies recipe sprinkled with freeze-dried raspberries on a sheet of brown baking paper

Tips and tricks

  • I recommend rolling out the dough on a cocoa-dusted surface as opposed to a flour-dusted surface. Flour may lighten the look of the baked cookies and may even make them patchy. Cocoa, yes, is a little messier, but it’s so worth it for the best chocolate shortbread cookies.
  • A note on the raspberries: The added freeze-dried raspberries give an amazingly sweet and tart lift to the intense chocolate. If you’d like to experiment with other toppings, I recommend pairing them with the raspberries instead of replacing them completely. Alternatively, you can use another type of freeze-dried fruit.
  • Dark chocolate shortbread cookies make for great gifts because they keep so well. They also don’t spread much — making them quite uniform — meaning they package up very nicely.

Substitutions and variations for chocolate dipped shortbread cookies

  • Raspberries: As mentioned, you can use another type of freeze-dried fruit. You could also use regular dried fruit.
  • Nuts: Pistachios (like in these chocolate pistachio cookies) are a great option.
  • Sprinkles: I love the idea of updating these with colourful sprinkles for the holidays. Pink and red for Valentine’s Day, green and red for Christmas… there are plenty of options to choose from.
  • Chocolate: Dip your chocolate shortbread cookies in milk chocolate to sweeten them up a little, or white chocolate for a real contrast. You can even drizzle your chocolate of choice for a different look.
  • Sandwich the chocolate dipped shortbread cookies with a filling:

FAQs

What is the secret to making good shortbread cookies?

There are a few different things that go into making sure your chocolate shortbread cookie recipe comes out well every single time. The quality of your ingredients is very important — choose the best butter and cocoa powder you can find. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Finally, the chilling step is crucial. It helps the cookies keep their shape and gives the flavours the chance to develop.

What is the difference between a butter cookie and a shortbread cookie?

The key differences lie in the amount of ingredients used and how they are made. Butter cookies typically feature more sugar and are baked at higher temperatures. Shortbread cookies, like this chocolate shortbread cookies recipe, are made with more butter. Somewhat strangely, the latter actually boasts an even more buttery flavour than butter cookies.

Should butter be warm or cold for shortbread?

I recommend that you use cold butter for these dark chocolate shortbread cookies. It helps prevent the dough from warming up too quickly, which makes rolling out the dough a lot easier.

a stack of dark chocolate shortbread cookies, sprinkled with freeze-dried raspberries on a sheet of brown parchment paper

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A batch of dark chocolate shortbread cookies, sprinkled with freeze-dried raspberries on a sheet of brown baking paper

Dark Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Yield: 22 cookies
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
0 minutes
Total Time: 32 minutes
5 from 13 ratings
These easy, 5 ingredient Dark Chocolate Shortbread Cookies are rich, dramatic and totally luxurious. Using dark cocoa, these short, bittersweet chocolate cookies are dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with crushed freeze-dried raspberries.
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Ingredients

FOR THE CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD

  • 115 g unsalted butter, softened (½ cup / 1 stick)
  • ⅓ cup icing (powdered) sugar
  • 1 cup + 1 tablespoon plain (all-purp) flour (notes, 150g )
  • 2 tablespoons dutch processed cocoa powder (notes, 8 teaspoons )
  • Pinch of salt

TO DECORATE

  • 100 g dark (50%) chocolate, melted (½ cup)
  • Handful of freeze-dried raspberries, nuts or sprinkles

For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 180C / 350F / 160C fan forced. Line 2 cookie trays with baking paper.
  • Whisk together the flour, cocoa and salt in a medium bowl to evenly distribute. Set aside. Beat the butter and sugar in a stand mixer or in a bowl with a handheld mixer until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl as needed.
  • Add the dry ingredients and mix on the lowest setting until it forms a dough. Pull it together and place in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up.
  • Dust a clean surface with cocoa powder. Dust the top of the dough with cocoa too, then roll it out to about 5mm thick.
  • Use cookie cutters to cut shapes out and transfer them to your prepared cookie trays
  • Bake for 12 minutes, turning trays halfway through cooking so they cook evenly.
  • Allow them to cool completely before dunking in melted chocolate and sprinkling with your choice of decoration.

Notes

Equipment used: cookie trays, circle cookie cutters
  1. I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (= 4 teaspoons worldwide)
  2. For best results, you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
  3. All ovens vary – if you know your oven runs hotter than standard, take them out 2-3 minutes before the recipe suggest and allow them to cool to see if they crisp and cooked through.
Want more cookies recipes? Click here
Calories: 94kcal
Author: Marie Roffey
Course: Afternoon Tea, Dessert, Snack, Sweets
Cuisine: American, English
Have you tried this recipe?Don’t forget to leave a rating and comment below and let me know how it was! I love hearing from you. Nutrition information is approximate and derived from an online calculator. The brands you use may cause variations.
Nutrition Facts
Dark Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
Amount Per Serving (20 g)
Calories 94
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

overhead: several dark chocolate shortbread cookies on a piece of brown parchment paper with freeze-dried raspberries on top