Slice n’ Bake Chocolate Shortbread

Slice n’ bake chocolate shortbread cookies are recipe #10 of our “24 Days of Christmas” Holiday series where I share 24 recipes over 24 days as a virtual advent countdown to Christmas. Christmas is my favourite holiday, especially when it comes to baking, and I think there are endless creations that we can come up with to reflect the holidays. All 24 holiday recipes will be shared across instagram, tiktok and here on the blog where you can print off the full recipe for your baking pleasure!

These slice n’ bake chocolate shortbread are the epitome of a Christmas dessert. I have taken my classic shortbread recipe and added chocolate and chopped pecans to them for a twist. The basis of this recipe is simple with just room temperature butter, brown sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder and chopped pecans.

The Recipe

Ingredients

Below are the ingredients you will need for these slice n’ bake chocolate shortbread cookies.

• 1 1/4 cup butter room temperature
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup pecans chopped
• 8 ounces melted white chocolate for dipping

Instructions

• Start by grabbing all of your ingredients and a parchment lined baking tray.
• In an electric mixer on medium speed combine butter, brown sugar and vanilla. Mix well until thoroughly combined.
• In a separate bowl combine flour, salt and sifted cocoa powder. Gradually add this to your wet mixture until thoroughly combined. Fold in your chopped pecans.
• On a lightly floured, clean surface, roll your dough in to a log shape to size of your desired cookies and as symmetrical as possible. Wrap this in cling wrap and stick in the fridge for 3 hours.
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grab your dough from the fridge and unwrap it. Slice 1.5″ slabs of cookie dough and place them on a parchment lined baking tray. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
• Let these cool completely before dipping or drizzling with white chocolate.

Recipe Notes

An important part of these slice n’ bake chocolate shortbread cookies recipe is that the dough has a chance to chill in the fridge. Because this recipe is substantially butter based it is important for the butter to have a chance to chill so that the cookies do not over spread.

Once you combine this cookie dough in your electric mixer you will shape it in to a log form, wrap in saran and then stick in the fridge for at least 3 hours. Once this time is up, slice the cookies about 1.5″ thick, place them on a lined baking tray and bake for about 10-12 minutes. Let these cool completely and then feel free to dip them in melted white chocolate for a little something extra if you please. This recipe makes about 16-18 cookies.

Why I Love This Recipe

I love these slice n’ bake chocolate shortbread cookies recipe because there is something about slice n’ cookies that is nostalgic. A shortbread cookie is a sign of the holidays. I love digging in to where and when a staple baked good was created, and from my research, a Scottish baker created shortbread cookies in the 16th century. You know something is incredible when they have been around for that long!

You can absolutely make these cookies ahead of time and freeze them! If you would like to bake them before freezing them, I would recommend baking as per the recipe below and then letting them cool completely. You could dip in the chocolate and then freeze, or freeze without the chovolate and dip them in chocolate when you are ready to bake.

Alternatively, you could slice the shortbread cookies and freeze the raw dough before baking. If taking this route, I would recommend letting the cookies come back to room temperature before baking them.

If you love this recipe, check out my sheet pan shortbread here!