Chocolate Shortbread

I recently made this over Christmas for a family gathering and was immediately asked for the recipe which I think proves it is delicious; even if I do say so myself! The recipe itself is by Linda Collister from The Great British Book of Baking. It was written to accompany the BBC series which I of course watched avidly and the book has become one of my favourite places to find recipes.

If, unlike me, you have the foresight to get the butter out of the fridge maybe 20-30mins before you start this recipe I would recommend it as when it is rock solid the rubbing in part can take a while! Make sure you don’t let it get too soft though as that won't work either. This can be made in a food processor or by hand. Personally I prefer to make things by hand, aside from the odd pack of ready to roll pastry, but I have included the food processor method too.

Also, when rubbing it make sure you keep mixing the mixture round so the butter is rubbed in evenly throughout the flour. Shaking the bowl will bring all the lumps of un-rubbed in butter to the top so you won't miss any.

The recipe says to cook the shortbread for 25mins at 180°C but I followed the recipe exactly the first time I made it and while it was cooked in the middle, it wasn’t firm. Also when it cooled it was more cakey than biscuity like shortbread should be. In the book it says that as it is high in cocoa it can burn easily in the oven if you aren’t careful so after its allotted 25mins I turn the oven down to 150°C and cook it for a further 15 mins to make it firm and biscuity without burning it. Now this may just be my oven so I advise you to just keep an eye on it and if it doesn’t feel firm turn the temperature down and put it in for 5mins at a time to avoid spoiling all your hard work! The cocoa is what makes it extra yummy though so it’s worth the extra attention, the smell alone is amazing.

Here is Linda Collister’s recipe:

260g plain flour

100g caster sugar

40g cocoa powder (I use Bourneville as it as a great flavour)

A pinch of salt

200g unsalted butter (chilled and diced)

Extra sugar for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to180°C

Put the flour, sugar, cocoa and salt into a mixing bowl and stir well to thoroughly combine. Add the diced butter and rub into the dry ingredients using the tips of your fingers

To make this in a food processor pulse the dry ingredients just to mix them and then add the butter, running the machine for about 30seconds

When the mixture looks like sandy crumbs tip it into a pre-greased tin (20.5cm loose bottomed tin works best). Press the mixture into an even layer using the back of the spoon. Prick the dough well and lightly score into 12 pieces with a round bladed knife

Bake in the preheated oven for about 25minutes, until just firm (see above note)

Remove from the oven, sprinkle wit sugar and cut into sections along the marked lines with a very sharp knife. Leave to cool before removing from the tin