Chocolate Shortbread Trees Food

CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD HOLIDAY TREES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat powdered sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in flour, cocoa and vanilla until well blended.
• On lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 3/8-inch thickness. Cut with floured 1 1/4-inch triangular cookie cutter or cut by hand with sharp knife. Place 1/2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake 10 to 13 minutes or until firm to the touch. Immediately remove from cookie sheets.
• Line cookie sheets with waxed paper. In small saucepan, place vanilla baking chips and shortening; cook and stir over low heat until melted and smooth.
• To make each tree, dip 1 edge of 1 cookie triangle into melted chip mixture; place on cookie sheet. Dip 1 edge of second triangle into melted chip mixture; place uncoated corner over coated edge of first triangle. Dip 1 edge of third triangle into melted chip mixture; place uncoated corner over coated edge of second triangle to form tree. Repeat with remaining cookie triangles.
• Drizzle remaining coating over completed trees; sprinkle with chopped candy.

CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD TREES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat butter and confectioners' sugar until blended. Beat in vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour and cocoa; gradually beat into creamed mixture., Divide dough in half. Shape each into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to roll., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 3-1/4-in. tree-shaped cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on greased baking sheets. If desired, sprinkle with nonpareils., Bake 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool on pans 5 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE SHORTBREADS

Steps:

• Mix the butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon. Stir in the flour and cocoa, followed by the chocolate chips - you'll probably need to mix it together with your hands at this stage. Halve the dough and roll each piece into a log about 5cm thick. Wrap in cling film and chill for 1 hr or for several days. Can be frozen for up to 1 month.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Slice logs into 1cm-thick rounds, transfer to a baking tray lined with baking parchment and bake for 10-12 mins. Cool on the tray.

CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, then add vanilla & mix well.
• In another bowl, whisk together flour, sugar & cocoa, then add to creamed mixture, beating about 3 minutes or until dough holds together.
• Pat the dough into a 9-inch by 4-inch rectangle, then cut into 2-inch by 1 1/2-inch strips.
• Place strips 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.
• Prick each strip several times with a fork.
• Bake 20-25 minutes or until set.
• Set sheets on wire rack(s) to cool for 5 minutes, then remove shortbreat to wire rack(s) to cool completely.

CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, sift flour and cocoa together. Add coarse salt and set aside.
• With an electric mixer beat butter on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes until fluffy. Add sugar and cacao nibs and continue to beat until very light in color, about 2 minutes more. Add the flour and cocoa mixture and combine on low speed, until flour is just incorporated and dough sticks together when squeezed with fingers.
• On a sheet of wax paper, pat and form the dough into a log about 12 to 14 inches long and 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. If you want a square or rectangular cookie rather than round, flatten each side of the log as you roll it up in the wax paper. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment. Remove the wax paper from the dough and slice the log into 1/4 inch thick slices. Lay cookies on lined baking sheets. Bake until firm, 17 to 20 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks. Can be stored in an airtight container for 3 to 4 weeks.

CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD TREES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Combine butter, powdered sugar and vanilla in bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add flour, cocoa and cinnamon; beat at low speed until well mixed.
• Roll out dough on lightly floured surface, one-half at a time (keeping remaining dough refrigerated), to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with 2 1/2- to 3-inch tree-shaped cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet. Cool completely.
• Melt baking chips and shortening in 1-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, 2-3 minutes or until smooth.
• Place icing in small resealable plastic food bag. Snip 1/8-inch off one corner. Pipe icing as desired onto cooled cookies. Decorate as desired. Let stand until set.

CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD TREES WITH RASPBERRY JAM & WH

Steps:

• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
• In a large bowl, beat butter until fluffy. Stir in sugar, salt and vanilla, using a spatula.
• In a small bowl sift the flour and cocoa; add to the butter mixture. Stir until ingredients are combined and a soft dough forms.
• Divide dough in half, place dough on opposite sides of the cookie sheet. Using your fingers, pat each piece of dough into a 6 inch round. Using a sharp knife score each dough round into 8 slices. Place entire cookie sheet in freezer for 25 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove cookie sheet from freezer and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Prick dough all over with a fork and bake for approximately 15 minutes until center is dry to the touch.
• Remove from oven, place cookie sheet on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Slice shortbread into wedges. Remove wedges from baking sheet and cool completely on racks.
• When cooled, spread a thick layer of jam on each wedge.
• In a small bowl, combine white chocolate and shortening, place in microwave, cook until melted; stir until smooth. Place chocolate in a pastry bag with a small tip and pipe "garland" on each "tree wedge". Allow cookies to sit, until chocolate has hardened. Place in an air tight container with waxed paper between layers.

DARK CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Blend butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a bowl with a fork until combined well. Sift flour and cocoa into butter mixture and blend with fork just until mixture forms a soft dough.
• Divide dough in half and pat out with floured fingertips into 2 (6- to 6 1/2-inch) rounds on an ungreased large baking sheet. Chill dough, uncovered, until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375°F while dough chills.
• Prick dough all over with fork and bake shortbreads in middle of oven until centers are dry to the touch and edges are slightly darker, about 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheet on a rack 10 minutes, then cut each shortbread into 8 wedges with a large heavy knife. Transfer to rack to cool.

CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD X-MAS TREES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°.
• Combine powdered sugar and butter in mixer bowl.
• Beat until creamy, 1-2 minutes.
• Add flour, cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon until well mixed for about 1-2 minutes.
• Roll out dough on lightly floured surface one-half at a time (keeping remaining dough refrigerated), to 1/4-inch thickness.
• Cut with X-mas tree cookie cutters.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes.
• Melt baking chips and shortening in 1-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally until smooth.
• After cookies are cooled, drizzle glaze over cookies.
• Let stand until set.