The Long and Short(bread) of it

Posted on by

I spent the last few days out of the bakery and took a short(bread) cut to return this afternoon.

I made variations of these cookies before (search abatteroldsuitecase.com for “shortbread”.)

I also included the recipe for making tempered chocolate for coating the cookies

Shortbread Cookies

INGREDIENTS (Half Recipe in parentheses)
• 336 g = 3 sticks, 36 Tbl (170g = 1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at RT
• 200 g = 1 c (100g = ½ c) sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1 tsp (½ tsp) pure vanilla extract
• 420 g = 3 ½ c (210g = 1¾ c) all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp (⅛ tsp) salt
• 175-200 g semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• Optional: 3 Tbl fresh orange zest

METHOD

  1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla, (and zest if using.)
  2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into two flat rectangles ~ ¾ inch thick each. Do not overwork it and the flour will hydrate some in the freezer. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
  3. Roll the dough ~1/2-inch thick and cut into desired shapes. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and dock with a fork (and optionally sprinkle with sugar.)
  4. Preheat the oven to 350⁰F. Refrigerate cut cookies while the oven heats. (~ 15 minutes)
  5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.
  6. If chocolate coating, when the cookies are cool, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
    a. Temper the chocolate as described below
    b. Drag ½ of each cookie with just enough chocolate to coat it.
    c. Optional: dust still warm chocolate lightly with zest

Tempering Chocolate with Mycryo

INGREDIENTS

Weigh 1% of the mycryo butter so it’s ready to add.
• 100g/3.5oz chocolate + 1/2 tsp (1g) Mycryo cocoa butter
• 200g/7oz chocolate + 1 tsp (2g) Mycryo cocoa butter
• 1kg/35.27oz chocolate + 5 tsp (10g) Mycryo cocoa butter.

METHOD

  1. Melt chocolate to 122-126°F (microwave or bain-marie). Leave the chocolate to cool to 93-95° F (or 91-93° F for milk, white or colored chocolate) at ambient temperature.
  2. When cooled, sprinkle the 1% Mycryo® cocoa butter as per table above and wait a few seconds as it melts then stir in to combine.
  3. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the chocolate off the sides and fold into the middle.
  4. Stir well and continue to stir well frequently
  5. Use immediately. To keep the chocolate in temper, maintain it within working temperatures: 88°F–91°F for dark chocolate, and 82°F–84°F for milk/white/colored chocolate.
  6. If the chocolate starts hardening, then heat it up and stir well until it warms back up to working temperature and the chocolate is smooth again. (Do this carefully, putting it in the microwave in 5 second bursts, stir vigorously and repeat until desired temperature is achieved.)

Leave a comment