Salted Butter Herbed Almond Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies
This recipe comes to us courtesy of Alison Roman's cookbook Dining In via Deb Perelman of the Smitten Kitchen. The addition of our Herbed Almonds kicks these already incredible cookies up a notch. The simplicity of this recipe is deceiving - so much more than "just another chocolate chip cookie", these cookies are deliciously complex. People will think you spent way more time preparing and baking these treats than you actually did. Let them!
Directions
Beat the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed. Add flour and mix until just combined. Add chocolate chunks and chopped almonds and mix just until incorporated. The mixture will look crumbly.
Divide between two sheets of parchment paper, waxed paper, or plastic wrap, and use your hands to form the dough halves into log shapes about 2 to 2 1/4 inches in diameter. Chill until firm, about two hours. You can speed this along by placing the logs into the freezer for 30 minutes but these cookies are best when they have rested in the fridge for ~12 hours. One trick is to mix the dough in the evening and bake the cookies the next day. Since the dough is refrigerated, you can bake as many or as few as you'd like. The dough will keep in the fridge, tightly wrapped in plastic, for up to one week or in the freezer for up to a month.
When you're ready to bake the cookies, heat your oven to 350F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly beat the egg in a small bowl. Open your chilled dough log(s) and leave them on the parchment paper or plastic wrap. Brush all sides of the dough logs with the beaten egg. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the logs and roll in sugar to completely coat the outside of the log.
Using a sharp, serrated knife, cut the logs into 1/2 inch thick slices. You will encounter the chocolate chunks and almonds while slicing, so squeeze the log gently to help keep the slice from crumbling. If it does crumble, no problem! Simply reform the slice with your fingers. It might not look pretty but it will still taste great! Arrange cookie slices on prepared sheets, placing them one inch apart. Sprinkle each cookie with a few flakes of salt. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to turn golden brown. Let cool slightly before transferring the cookies to wire racks to cool. Cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to five days, if they last that long!
NOTE: This is a pretty simple cookie but this is one recipe where it is definitely worth it to splurge on the ingredients. Use European salted butter, Maldon flaked sea salt, Ghirardelli chocolate and a favorite vanilla, Melipone.
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups salted butter, COLD, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
6 ozs semi- or bittersweet dark chocolate, chopped into chunks (not thin shards)
4 ozs Kuhlman Cellars Herbed Almonds, chopped
1 large egg, beaten
Turbinado sugar for rolling (can also use demerara, raw or sanding sugar)
Flaky sea salt for sprinkling
