Chocolate Dipped Ginger Shortbread Food

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter, powdered sugar and vanilla with spoon. Stir in flour. (If dough is crumbly, mix in 1 to 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened.)
• Roll dough 1/2 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Cut into small shapes by hand or use cookie cutters. Place 1/2 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake 14 to 16 minutes or until set and bottoms are light golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and shortening uncovered on High 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until melted; stir until smooth. Dip half of each cooled cookie into melted chocolate. Place on waxed paper until chocolate is set.

CHOCOLATE DIPPED HAZELNUT SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place hazelnuts on baking sheet. Bake until they're a shade darker and fragrant, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
• Lower oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place hazelnuts in blender or food processor and pulse to coarse bits; set aside. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt to blend; set aside.
• Beat butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon until smooth. Beat in egg. Gradually beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Add the chopped hazelnuts and mix until distributed evenly throughout.
• Form into long cookies and place on greased cookie sheets. Bake until firm, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on racks.
• In a saucepan over lowest heat or in a double boiler, melt chocolate. Dip 1 end of cooled cookies into melted chocolate. Place back on cookie sheet to harden.

SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
• Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3 by 1-inch finger-shaped cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.
• When the cookies are cool, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put 3 ounces of the chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. (Don't trust your microwave timer; time it with your watch.) Stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted. Add the remaining chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it's completely smooth. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier.
• Drizzle 1/2 of each cookie with just enough chocolate to coat it.

CHOCOLATE DIPPED SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 170C (fan forced) about 185/190C for conventional.
• Cream butter and caster sugar together until fluffy.
• Toss in the flour, baking powder and vanilla essence and mix till combined.
• Place spoonfulls of mixture onto a lined baking tray and lightly press with a fork to flatten a little if you like.
• Bake in oven fir 15 to 20 minutes (my friend set hers for 12 minutes and kept a check from then - her oven tends to be hot - and reconed they were perfect at 16 to 18 minutes - won't disagree with her on that).
• Allow to cool and then drizzle over with the melted chocolate of choice.

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED BROWN SUGAR SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange two racks evenly spaced in the oven.
• Place the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on medium speed just until the butter and sugar are combined so you don't whip a lot of air into it. With the mixer on low, add the vanilla and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and mix just until the dough comes together.
• Scoop out 1-ounce pieces of dough (about a tablespoon), roll each one into a ball, then roll it into a 2 1/2-inch-long log. Place the logs 2 inches apart on two sheet pans lined with parchment paper and bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until the cookies start to brown around the edges and spring back when lightly touched. Set aside to cool on the pans.
• For the coating, place the chocolate and the butter in a heatproof bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir the mixture vigorously and continue to microwave in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted.
• Drag half of the rounded top of each cookie through the chocolate and place it, chocolate side up, on a piece of parchment paper. While the chocolate is still warm, sprinkle on the pecans. Repeat with all the cookies. Set aside for at least 30 minutes for the chocolate to firm.

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Make Classic Shortbread dough. Slice into strips, then dip in melted bittersweet chocolate and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

CHOCOLATE DIPPED SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Measure out the dry ingredients and put into a electric mixer. Add the butter (doesn't matter if salted or unsalted) and blend until in a dough form.
• Sprinkle some extra plain flour onto a work surface or tray (put some also on the rolling pin so it doesn't stick) and carefully flatten the dough with your hands and roll out to about an inch in thickness. Use cookie shapes (lovehearts are pretty snazzy) or shape with a sharp knife alternatively. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and place the shortbread onto it. Put into the oven at 150-160oC for approximately 30 minutes but check at 20. They should come out crisp and a nice yellowy colour. Leave to cool for about 10 minutes, as they can easily crumble when warm.
• To decorate:.
• When warm, you can sprinkle a pinch of caster sugar on each biscuit.
• After doing that, you can dip them into the white or dark chocolate, melted by placing in a glass bowl over bowling water.
• I add little sweets to give them that extra specialness, but to be honest, anything would look good on them and sure taste it!
• Try doing love hearts, dipping one half in white and dipping the other in dark, transfering back to the tray. They can be left in the fridge for an hour or so for the chocolate icing to solidify.

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar and vanilla until combined. On slow speed, beat in flour and salt until combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap; chill until very firm, at least 2 hours or overnight.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until 1/8 inch thick. Cut out hearts,or the cutter of your choice, with a 2-inch cutter. Transfer cookies to an ungreased baking sheet. Chill for 30 minutes.
• Heat oven to 300F with rack in center. Press the tines of a fork into each cookie to make designs. Bake until just beginning to brown around the edges, about 19 minutes. Cookies will keep in an airtight container for about 5 days.
• Melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl, on the top of a double boiler, over 1-inch of simmering water, stirring occasionally. Stir in the oil. Dip half or one-third of each cookie into the chocolate mixture. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack to dry, or place them on parchment paper in the freezer for 10 minutes.
• Serve.

CHOCOLATE DIPPED SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream butter and sugar, add flour and vanilla.
• Pinch of 1/2" balls of dough, roll in sugar and place on cookie sheet.
• Use the tines of a fork to flatten cookies.
• Bake at 350°F for 12-15 minutes.
• Remove from baking sheet, cool 10-15 minutes.
• Dip half of each cookie into melted chocolate.
• Chill to set chocolate.

DOUBLE-DIPPED SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Beat the butter with the icing sugar using an electric whisk until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and flour (the mixture will stiffen and look like crumble as the flour is added). Add the milk and keep beating until the mixture softens and sticks together (add some more milk if needed).
• Scoop the dough into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle and pipe swirled rings onto a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. If the mixture is too stiff to pipe easily, you can roll the dough into balls and put them on the sheet instead. The cookies will spread as they cook so don't worry if there's a small gap in the centre of the piped swirls, but ensure there is enough space between each cookie so they don't stick together as they cook. Bake for 15 mins, or until lightly golden, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• Put the white and milk chocolate in separate bowls and microwave each in 20-second bursts until melted. Dip the cookies into each chocolate, milk at one end and white on the other, then let any excess drip off before returning them to the rack to set. Will keep in an airtight tin for up to four days.

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• A food processor makes beating easy.
• Beat 1/2 cup butter with flour, cornstarch, sugar, ground almonds, and vanilla. When dough begins to clump, take it up and shape into a cylinder. Divide dough into 4 equal portions. Pinch and press each portion into a 12- to 14-inch rope, about 1/2 to 3/4 inches in diameter. Gently roll on a smooth surface to smooth out wrinkles and cracks. Cut each rope into 2-inch lengths and place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until just golden on bottoms. Cool on wire racks.
• In a double boiler over hot water, combine semisweet chocolate with 2 tablespoons butter. Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and well blended. Dip half of each cookie into the chocolate, then dip into chopped almonds. Place on wire rack over waxed paper for drips. Let cool until chocolate is set.
• Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

CHOCOLATE DIPPED GINGER SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350*F.
• Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil, allowing excess foil to hang over the sides. Butter only the bottom of the pan.
• Combine flour, butter, brown sugar, ginger, cornstarch, salt in a food processor. Process for about 20 seconds, stop the machine before the mixture forms a ball.
• Press dough evenly into prepared pan. With a sharp knife score the dough making 25 squares. Prick each square two times with a fork.
• Bake 25-28 minutes, until edges are very lightly browned. Cool 10 minutes then remove from pan by lifting the foil ends.
• Cut into 25 squares using a serrated knife.
• Melt chocolate and shortening in a saucepan, stirring well. Dip cookies diagonally into the melted chocolate. Then place on waxed paper and refrigerate until firm.