Twelve Days of Christmas Goodies ~ Day 4: Traditional Shortbread With a Twist

It's not really Christmas baking until the sweet aroma of shortbread fills the air, is it? The melt on your tongue cookie is the ultimate traditional holiday delicacy. Well, sadly I'm not a huge fan of shortbread myself, so I created this recipe to satisfy my taste, while still pleasing those who prefer the classic version.

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

½ cup icing sugar

½ tsp vanilla

¼ tsp salt

½ cup cornstarch

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

Procedure

In bowl and using wooden spoon, cream together butter, sugar, vanilla and salt until light; stir in cornstarch until smooth. Stir in flour just until combined. Chill until firm, about 1 hour.

Roll into 1 tablespoon sized balls; place, about 1 inch  apart, on parchment paper–lined baking sheet. Dip fork in more flour; lightly press into cookies and drag across to make decorative indent.

Bake cookies in 300°F oven until bottoms are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cookies cool on pan on rack. Melt chocolate over stove. Carefully dip half of each cookie in melted chocolate and cool on parchment paper until chocolate is hardened. (Make-ahead: Store layered between waxed paper in airtight container for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month.) Makes 24 cookies.

Nutritional Information (per cookie) Calories 115, Fat 8g, Sodium 25mg, Cholesterol 20mg, Carbohydrates 9g, Protein 1g