Chocolate Shortbread Hollywood Stars Recipes

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.

HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• In a small bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, sugar and cocoa; add to creamed mixture. Beat until dough holds together, about 3 minutes. , Pat into a 9x4-in. rectangle. Cut into 2x1-1/2-in. strips. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Prick with a fork. , Bake at 300° for 20-25 minutes or until set. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD "HOLLYWOOD STARS"

Steps:

• In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on high speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add flour and cocoa and mix on low speed until just combined.
• Form dough into ball and flatten into disk. Chill, wrapped in plastic, until firm, at least 1 hour.
• Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Roll out dough to 1/4-inch-thick round and cut out cookies with 2-inch star-shaped cutter. Place on baking sheets, spacing 1/2 inch apart. If desired, reroll scraps and cut out more cookies.
• Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until slightly firm to touch, about 15 minutes. Cool on pans 2 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
• In medium bowl, mix together Mascarpone and confectioners' sugar until well blended.
• Turn 1 cookie upside-down and spread with 1 teaspoon filling. Top with a second cookie, right-side up. Repeat with remaining cookies and filling.
• In medium bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and 1 tablespoon of egg white. Mix until consistency is very smooth. Pour icing into pastry bag fitted with #1 round tip. Pipe decorative design onto cookies. Let icing dry completely (about 1 hour, depending on humidity) before storing cookies.

CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD HEARTS

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder and salt.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in yolk, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Form dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
• Once chilled, remove plastic wrap and sandwich dough between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll it out into a 1/2-inch-thick slab. Leaving dough between the parchment, place it on a baking sheet or large plate and refrigerate for 30 minutes (or up to 24 hours).
• Heat oven to 325 degrees, and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Pull dough from refrigerator, and remove parchment from dough. Using a 2-inch heart-shaped cutter, cut out as many hearts as possible. Transfer them to the prepared cookie sheets. Reroll the dough scraps and repeat.
• Bake cookies for 18 to 23 minutes, until puffed and set, rotating the cookie sheets halfway through. Transfer pans to wire racks to cool completely.
• In a heatproof measuring cup, melt chocolate in the microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring in between.
• Dip half of each cooled cookie in melted chocolate, letting the excess drip back into measuring cup. Place back on parchment-lined baking sheets, and sprinkle chocolate with crushed raspberries, if using. Let cool until chocolate is set, then store in an airtight container.

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE AND PEPITA SHORTBREAD STARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Grind pepitas in coffee grinder or blender until coarsely ground. Set aside. Stir chocolate in top of double boiler set over simmering water until melted and smooth. Transfer chocolate to large bowl. Cool slightly.
• Add butter, 1/2 cup sugar, ground cinnamon and salt to melted chocolate. Using electric mixer, beat until well blended. Add flour and ground pepitas and stir until just blended.
• Roll out dough on floured surface to -inch thickness. Using 3-inch star cookie cutter dipped into flour, cut out cookies. Transfer cookies to ungreased baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Reroll dough scraps; cut out additional cookies and place on baking sheets. Brush cookies with egg white; sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake cookies until just firm to touch, about 18 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheets. Transfer to rack; cool.