Rich Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Rich Chocolate Shortbread Cookies have a secret — olive oil + butter! — and a super-satisfying crunch from coarse sugar on top. This is the grown-up cookie you want.

This post is sponsored by Divine Chocolate, which provided product samples for recipe development. All opinions are my own. 

I’m on a bit of a shortbread kick….well, probably for my whole life, but who is counting? It’s just such an easy cookie to make, with a big flavor payoff. Flour, sugar, butter….that’s basically it. I often add an extract or some other flavoring, because I like to tweak recipes like that, but it’s basically a simple recipe.

This Chocolate Shortbread version is enriched with high-quality cocoa, and has a mixture of butter and light-flavored olive oil, for the best of both worlds. I’m a big fan of baking with olive oil. I keep two kinds in the pantry — an extra-light flavored version to bake with, and a full-bodied version for the skillet.

I’m presenting Chocolate Shortbread today as part of #Choctoberfest. Yes, #Choctoberfest is a real thing! If you love chocolate, this is your week.  

How to make Chocolate Shortbread

It’s easy! Flour, sugar, some kind of fat…shortbread is a breeze.

1. Assemble your ingredients, as with any recipe. This is a good practice to get into.
2.  Mix up the dough. I do it with an electric mixer (I’m lazy that way), but you could do it by hand of course.
3.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then pat or roll out and poke with a fork.
4.  Sprinkle with coarse sugar crystals.
5.  Lay it on!
6.  Baked and out of the oven.
7.  Cut while warm. I used the edge of a spatula to cut them so I don’t slice my silicone baking mat.

About the cocoa

I used cocoa from Divine Chocolate, one of the sponsors of #Choctoberfest. Divine Chocolate’s baking line is

• non-GMO
• Vegan Society-certified
• Fairtrade
• 100% pure cocoa butter
• without soy or palm oil
• the only Fairtrade chocolate company in the world that is co-owned by cocoa farmers — a cooperative in Ghana co-owns the company, and gets the largest shares of the business.
• I feel good about using their chocolate in my baking, and it is 100% shockinglydelicious! The cocoa smells rich and deeply chocolaty, and their chocolate baking bars have a rich consistency and utterly delicious flavor. I’m sold.

Let’s make Chocolate Shortbread Cookies!

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It’s #Choctoberfest this week, an annual recipe-sharing event. I’m joining 70 other food bloggers from around the world to create delicious chocolate recipes, ranging from chocolate cakes, pies, cookies, puddings, to tarts, candies and more. You can follow along by searching for the hashtag #Choctoberfest on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter. Or, simply follow any of the participating bloggers listed below.

Choctoberfest bloggers:

Make sure you check out the participating bloggers to see #Choctoberfest recipes throughout the week: Triple Chocolate Kitchen • 2 Cookin Mamas • A Day in the Life on the Farm • A Labour of Life • A Little Fish in the Kitchen • A Southern Fairytale • Amy’s Cooking Adventures • An Affair from the Heart • Bottom Left of the Mitten • Broken Teepee • Bunsen Burner Bakery • Champagne and Coconuts • Cindy’s Recipes and Writings • Cook with Renu • Cook’s Hideout • Cookaholic Wife • Crafty Cooking Mama • Daily Dish Recipes • Dixie Chik Cooks • Everyday Eileen • Fairyburger • Family Breakfast Recipes • First Timer Cook • Fix Me a Little Lunch • Frugal & Fit • Fun Happy Home • Get the Good Stuff! • Glenda Embree • Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks • How Was Your Day? • I Can Cook That • Join Us, Pull up a Chair • Karen’s Kitchen Stories • Kate’s Recipe Box • Kelly Lynn’s Sweets and Treats • Life & Medicine Blog • Life on Food • Long Distance Baking • Lynchburg Mama • Makes, Bakes and Decor • Making Miracles • Mama Needs Cake • Memories In The Kitchen • Our Good Life • Our Sutton Place • Palatable Pastime • Queenslee Appétit • Reviewz & Newz • Sarah Cooks the Books • Sarah’s Bake Studio • Seduction In The Kitchen • Shockingly Delicious • Simple Family Crazy Life • Simply Inspired Meals • Sneha’s Recipe • Style Island • Sumptuous Spoonfuls • Sweet Coralice • Sweet Dash of Sass • Take Two Tapas • That Recipe • The Awesome Muse • The Beard and The Baker • The Delicious Spoon • The Food Hunter’s Guide to Cuisine • The Freshman Cook • The Redhead Baker • The Schizo Chef • The Spiffy Cookie • The Urben Life • Trampling Rose • Turnips 2 Tangerines • Who Needs A Cape? • Wildflour’s Cottage Kitchen • Zesty South Indian Kitchen     “

Tagged as: #choctoberfest, chocolate, Cookies, shortbread