Chocolate Shortbread Wedges
Rich butter and chocolate shortbread wedges, perfect served with coffee.
Ingredients
all-purpose flour
1½ cup
cocoa powder (Dutch-processed)
¼ cup
salt
¼ tsp
unsalted butter (softened)
12 tbsp (1.5)
sugar
½ cup
vanilla extract (pure vanilla extract)
1 tsp
Instructions
1
Prepare the pan
Lightly butter a 9½-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom.
2
Mix dry ingredients
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, and salt into a medium bowl and stir to combine.
3
Cream the dough
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter in a large bowl until creamy. Add the sugar and beat until fully combined. Beat in the vanilla extract. On low speed, beat in the flour mixture until fully incorporated. (The dough will resemble fine breadcrumbs at first but will come together into a soft mass as you continue beating.)
4
Press into pan and chill
Press the dough into the prepared tart pan, using your fingers to smooth and level the surface. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour until firm.
5
Preheat and dock
Preheat the oven to 300°F. Using a fork, prick the dough all over at roughly 1-inch intervals (all the way through), forming 2 concentric circles. Press the tines along the edge to create a decorative border.
6
Bake
Bake in the upper-middle position of the oven for 63 to 65 minutes, until the shortbread edges feel mostly firm and the center is half-set. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes.
7
Cut
Carefully remove the outer ring of the tart pan. (I set the pan on a small bowl so the ring drops down.) Transfer the shortbread, still on the base, to a cutting board. While still warm, use a thin, sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut the shortbread into quarters, then cut each quarter into 4 wedges. (It will be hard to cut once fully cooled.)
8
Cool
Using a narrow metal spatula, carefully transfer the shortbread wedges to a rack to cool completely.
