Tuesdays with Dorie: Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

August 31, 2010


These shortbread cookies taste like an edible version of your favourite froo froo coffee drink. They're the sophisticated love children of an espresso laced chocolate chip cookie and a rich buttery sablé. These cookies are so delicious that you could use them in place of money and pay back the friend who covered your appetizer at the restaurant that you really didn't want to go to because the lighting makes everyone look like a Goth lemur. They're so good!


I knew this recipe was going to be delicious, but I had no idea that it would become my favourite non-chewy cookie. Please don't say anything to the World Peace cookies, but I think they've been dethroned. The fact that I love these so much may have had to do with an unavoidable error because, horror of all horrors, my grocery store was out of unsalted butter. Carmina Burana ( O Fortuna ) was the only thing that came to mind when as I walked up to the empty, upper left shelf. As a baker, there are few things more infuriating than not having access to unsweetened butter. I begrudgingly plucked the pseudo salted 'butter' off it's smug perch and tossed it into the basket. However, all was not lost!



That salted in the butter really made the flavour of these cookies pop. Salt has a way of enhancing the richness of chocolate and just about anything else for that matter. This recipe does not call for salt so it was a perfect twist of fate. These are supposed to be square cookies, but I forgot to buy large zip lock bags. The recipe is so simple that you just roll the dough out into a perfect square (with the guidance of the zip lock bag,) pop it into the refrigerator for a few hours and slice it up into squares. I used a pie crust slip cover and circular cookie cutters. There was just enough dough left for me to re-roll into a few squares (the neurotic perfectionist in me was pacified.)



My thanks to Donna, of Life's too short not to eat dessert first, for picking this as her Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. These cookies were in danger of not getting the attention they deserve. I don't even remember seeing them during the several 100 times I've looked through Dorie's book.

Please visit Donna's blog for the recipe. This may become one of your favourite cookie recipes too! Don't do anything crazy and buy salted butter, just add about 1/4 of a teaspoon of salt. And one more thing, try to resist eating the batter. There are no eggs in this recipe so you may want to take that as a green light to whip out the small spatula, but just remember to leave enough for the actual cookies.

24 comments:

  1. Yup, salt makes everything better! Don't tell anyone, but I always use salted butter. Think it's a throwback to my mom always adding a pinch of salt in anything sweet she'd make. :-)

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  2. Interesting combination of ingredients! I've never considered esperesso in shortbread, but it'd be great paired with the chocolate :D

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  3. Your cookies look amazing! Beautiful pictures as always :-)

    I honestly believe that salted butter is the best for making shortbead, I can't explain why, it's what my mother told me years ago so I comply!

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  4. These cookies aren't a recipe I would have tried on my own, but your recommendation has swayed me! And, as always, your photos are gorgeous.

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  5. Ciao Valerie ! Your cookies look great as I'm sure they did taste !! Send you my love !

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  6. Oh, I love the cut-outs. So pretty! I enjoyed making these cookies too.

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  7. awww, this is great :-) ...i love everything with espresso, and im sure these are just amaaazing! Beautiful photos too..

    :-)

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  8. Your cookies look perfect. I love the ribbions and the way you displayed them..picture perfect!
    How cool these are a new favorite of yours. I put the at the top of my cookie list too!

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  9. Lovely, Valerie! Never would have thought to use espresso in a shortbread cookie.
    Your photos are divine, as always.

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  10. Brilliant! I should have added salt. I couldn't imagine them being any better but that would do it. I love how yours turned out.

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  11. Hey Valerie, your site looks great! I love the way there is a good space between the posts and sidebar-that's pretty. Your header is really cute too. I love that silly font-fun!
    Oh, and these look like expertly prepared shortbread;)
    p.s. I have a sweet and a salt tooth, so, you know...

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  12. Maybe I should give salted butter a fighting chance? :D

    Stella, thank you! I've been nervously tweaking my HTML codes and I think, at least for now, I'm satisified...until I find more room for improvement.

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  13. the extra hit of salt would be great in these. I loved them.

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  14. Mmm salt. Sounds so good! And I love your circle cookies! I would not have had the patience to re-roll the extra bits... I probably would have just eaten the dough :)

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  15. I used a dark chocolate that had sea salt in it and also thought they were great with the extra salt.
    Love all your photos.

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  16. Oh my gosh, your cookies look so delectable. Isn't it amazing how tempting a shape change can be? Cut something into diamonds and it just immediately looks elegant. Wrap circles in ribbon and they become instantly more desirable! Your blog is so beautiful - I am insanely jealous of your talents. Thanks for baking with me this week.

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  17. They look beautiful as round cookies! I often add a bit of salt to Dorie's recipes, so I bet this made them even more fantastic.

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  18. Those look so elegant, I love them :). Also,I always wanted to ask you what gadget,widget or not,do you use to display your favorite photos along the side. Ive been trying to figure out how to do it.

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  19. Hi, Dini.
    Go into your 'Dashboard' and click on 'Design', from there click on 'Add a Gadget' and scroll down to 'Picture'. All you need to do is locate the image you want to use and plug in it's link. You can add as many as you want but they all have to be done individually.

    Hope that helps! :-)

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  20. they are so pretty! i always toss in a pinch of salt, even if a recipe doesn't call for it.

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  21. I think it might be time to get a Kitchen Aid. These look divine. How do you stay so slim? Are you a runner? That's what I do.

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  22. These cookies look fabulous!They will make a great gift at Christmas time, bundled with a coffee mug, chocolate covered spoon, hot chocolate mix, etc. Delicious!
    Thanks for the link to the recipe!

    jessyburke88@gmail.com

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  23. Hi, Nirmala. I'm a runner too.
    I find that yoga and pilates are also helpful...that and the fact that I push all my desserts onto other people. :D

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  24. I made those cookies long ago, before I started blogging. Loved them, and I used salted butter at the time!!

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Thanks for visiting, and for taking the time to read through my ramblings!
If you have a recipe comment or question, I'd love to hear from you.

Happy Baking!
♥ Valerie

 

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