salted butter chocolate chunk shortbread cookies

I am very susceptible to trends.  I gave up on trying to be above or ahead of trends years ago and have accepted that I’m into lots of things lots of other people are into too.  I will wear mom jeans, drink kombucha, purchase millennial pink shampoo bottles, and light diptyque candles* in my mid-century modern apartment until the cows come home. Needless to say, I am an instagram marketer’s dream and will click on all those sponsored ads faster than you can say targeted consumer.  A LOT of what I click on, search for, or “like” is food related so over the past few months it’s pretty much a given that every fourth post is someone else baking these salted butter chocolate chunk shortbread cookies from Alison Roman. Everyone’s baking them, posting them, writing about them, and coming to the same conclusion that they are worth the hype.  Obviously I jumped right on this bandwagon.  The train has left the station and we are all eating buttery, dense, sugary-edged, cookie crack. The cookies really are so good and so easy to make.  My older sister came to help me clean out my kitchen cabinets the other weekend and I baked these up while she tackled my collection of sprinkles and my nephew drew on my table (like truly, ON my table.)Let’s just embrace embracing trends and eat these cookies while we listen to not so vintage records and purchase everything from the hearth and hand line at target.

*diptyque candles are actually pretty $$$ so I own one and mostly just look at it

salted butter chocolate chunk shortbread cookies

(recipe from Dining In by Alison Roman)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons good quality, salted butter

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups flour

6 oz chopped chocolate chunks (dark or semisweet)

1 egg

turbinado sugar

directions

In your stand mixer, beat the butter, sugars, and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Really let them get light and fluffy, not just dense and paste-like.  Mix in the flour until just combined and then stir in the chocolate chunks.  The mixture will be crumble but hold together if you give it a good squeeze.

Divide the dough in half and on plastic wrap or parchment paper, roll into two logs, roughly 2-2.5 inches in diameter.  Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours until firm.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Beat the egg in a small bowl and brush over each log before rolling in the turbinado sugar.  This may take some pressing of the sugar into the dough log.  Using a sharp knife, slice into roughly 1/2 inch thick rounds and bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.

Enjoy!