Cookies are so fun to make. They’re totally customisable and super easy to make, and these Dark Chocolate Shortbread Cookies are cookies all grown up. Just 5 ingredients for the cookies, plus a little melted chocolate for dipping them and some fruits, nuts or sprinkles to decorate them with.

The flavour is of dark bittersweet chocolate and the freeze-dried raspberries that I used is such a wonderful, bitter, sweet and tangy combo.

For a sweeter chocolate cookie, perfect for decorating, try these chocolate sugar cookies.

A stack of 4 dark chocolate shortbread cookies and another one leaning on the stack, all sprinkled with freeze-dried raspberries on a sheet of brown baking paper

All About Dark Chocolate Shortbread

These cookies have a crunchy but melt in your mouth texture. As with all shortbread, they are dry all the way through and the kind of cookie you want to eat with a cup of tea or coffee. They’re also buttery making them a truly luxurious treat.

There are just 5 ingredients in the cookies themselves: butter, icing (powdered) sugar, flour, cocoa and a dash of salt. Then they’re dipped in dark chocolate and sprinkled with freeze-dried raspberries.

How To Make Dark Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

  1. So simple, you just start by creaming together butter and sugar.
  2. Follow up by adding the dry ingredients until you have a dough
  3. Let it sit in the fridge for 15 minutes before rolling out the dough to about 5mm thick
  4. Then cut out rounds, hearts, squares – whatever you like. I used these circle cookie cutters
  5. Bake them for around 12 minutes then let them cool and they’ll be crisp all the way through.

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

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.

Once they cool, dip them in some melted chocolate and sprinkle them with crushed freeze-dried raspberries.

The raspberries give an amazing sweet and tart lift to the intense chocolate.

One Of The Best Cookies For Gifts

Shortbread make the best cookies for gifts, since they keep so well. They don’t spread much making them quite uniform which makes them really pretty to package up too.

Substitutions

Since these crunchy, buttery chocolate shortbread cookies are so easy to make, they’re great for making a bunch of edible food gifts for Christmas or even as a Valentines treat.

More Shortbread Recipes You’ll Love

 

A batch of dark chocolate shortbraed 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 10 votes
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

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?Rate or comment below and let us know how it was!

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