Macadamia Chocolate Shortbread
Melt-in-your-mouth cookies featuring macadamia nuts with a layer of chocolate in the middle; the dough is frozen before slicing.
Ingredients
macadamia nuts (divided)
1 3/4 cups (about 8 ounces)
all-purpose white flour
1 1/2 cups
powdered sugar
1/2 cup
sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons
cold unsalted butter (cut into chunks)
1/2 cup (1 stick)
corn oil (or other flavorless vegetable oil (divided))
2 1/2 tablespoons
large egg yolk
1
vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons
salt (omit if salted macadamia nuts are used)
1/4 teaspoon
bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (not unsweetened, broken up or coarsely chopped)
1/2 ounce
Instructions
1
Make the dough
In a food processor, pulse 1 cup of the macadamia nuts and the sugar until ground to a smooth paste (about 1 minute), scraping down the bowl several times. Add the butter, 2 tablespoons of the oil, the egg yolk, and the vanilla; pulse with on-off switches until well combined, stopping to redistribute the mixture a few times. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of macadamia nuts, the flour, powdered sugar, and salt (if using); pulse with on-off switches until the macadamia nuts are cut into medium-coarse bits.
2
Melt the chocolate
In a small microwave-safe bowl, microwave the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of oil and the chocolate at 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds, until just melted. (Alternatively, melt the oil and chocolate in a double boiler set over warm water, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.) Let sit until cool.
3
Prepare the pan
Line a 4 1/4 x 8 1/2-inch loaf pan with two long strips of plastic wrap, crossing them in the middle and leaving about 3 inches of overhang on the long sides.
4
Assemble the dough slab
Divide the dough in half. Scoop half the dough into the pan. Lay a sheet of wax paper on top; press down and smooth the surface; tear off and discard the paper. With a pastry brush or rubber spatula, thinly spread the chocolate mixture over the dough. Place immediately in the freezer until the chocolate is completely set, about 10 minutes. Scoop the remaining dough over the chocolate. Lay a sheet of wax paper on top; press down firmly on the dough and smooth the surface; tear off and discard the paper. Fold the plastic wrap back over the dough. Freeze until the dough slab is icy and very firm, at least 3 to 4 hours or up to 24 hours. Bake right away, or remove from the pan, transfer to a sealed plastic bag, and freeze for up to 1 month.
5
Preheat the oven
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease or spray with non-stick spray several baking sheets.
6
Slice the dough
Carefully tear the plastic wrap off the dough slab. With a large sharp knife, cut off and discard the excess dough so the sides of the slab are vertical rather than sloped; wipe the knife clean after a few cuts. (If the dough is too hard to cut, let it sit for a few minutes; do not thaw too much or the dough will be difficult to cut cleanly.) Carefully cut the slab crosswise in half and lengthwise in half to form 4 logs for baking. Cut each log crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices; wipe the knife clean after a few cuts. With a spatula, carefully transfer the slices to the baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
7
Bake
Bake one sheet at a time in the upper third of the oven for 11 to 15 minutes, until just barely golden with slightly darker edges. Rotate the pans front-to-back halfway through baking to ensure even heating. Transfer the pans to racks and let sit until the cookies firm up slightly (3 to 4 minutes). Transfer the cookies to the racks with a spatula. Let sit until fully cooled.
