Chocolate chip shortbread
Chocolate chip shortbread is a delicious twist on a classic bake. This soft buttery shortbread, filled with chunks of chocolate, is perfect treat to enjoy with a cup of tea.
Chocolate chip shortbread is a delicious twist on our classic shortbread recipe. It’s still a soft, buttery shortbread cookie, but we’ve added chocolate chips for an additional tasty treat.
Shortbread is such a classic bake, but once you’ve mastered the basic recipe you can jazz it up by adding different flavours or things like these chocolate chips. It adds some lovely texture and a different taste to the simple shortbread recipe.
Best of all, it’s such an easy recipe, with only four ingredients, kids and beginner bakes can enjoy making it.
How can kids help make chocolate chip shortbread?
With only 4 ingredients, and no special baking equipment required, this is a great bake for little bakers to help with.
This recipe is really hands on, as well as easy and quick to make which are all things I look for when my kids want to make something in the kitchen.
As with most bakes, your kids can get to measure out all the ingredients before mixing them together.
Then, if you have kids who love playing with playdough, they’ll love getting to roll the dough out and cutting out the cookies. It’s really as simple as that.
How can you store chocolate chip shortbread?
You can keep these shortbread cookies in an airtight container for up to five days. You can also freeze them – simply wrap each biscuit in cling film and popping them in a freezer bag.
Make sure you defrost them fully by leaving them out at room temperature before you serve them.
Do you have to use cookie cutters?
No! We used the flutted side of our round cutters but if you don’t have any round cutters you could use an upturned glass.
Alternatively, you can turn these into shortbread fingers by simply pressing the dough into a baking tin.
To do this, line an 8 inch / 20cm square baking tin, and then instead of rolling out the dough, press it into the tin, flattening it out and pushing it into the corners of the tin with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake it in the oven for around 30 minutes (or until it starts to turn golden brown). Remove it from the oven, then immediately cut it into fingers.
Should I use butter or margarine to make this shortbread?
We always use butter, rather than margarine or any baking margarines such as Stork when we make shortbread. The butter gives the shortbread it’s flavour, so the end result won’t be as delicious if you use margarine.
Why is my shortbread chewy?
If your shortbread has turned out hard and chewy, rather than soft and crumbly like you would expect it to be, it’s possibly because you’ve over worked it.
You need to try to stop working and kneading the dough as soon as it comes together. Having said that, also try not to worry too much if you’re baking these with children, who tend to be a little heavy handed – they’ll still taste great, even if the texture isn’t as soft.
What other Scottish recipes can I make?
If you want to browse some of our other Scottish recipes you can find them all together in one place, or check out our favourites:
Millionaire’s shortbread
Cranachan
Oat cakes
Empire biscuits
Scottish shortbread
Scotch broth
Shortbread fingers
Potato scones
Useful equipment
You might need the following baking tools/gadgets to make these shortbread cookies:
Digital scales
Mixing bowl
Measuring cups
Rolling pin
Cutters
Baking tray
Wire rack
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Difficulty: Easy
Time: 20 minutes plus 20 minutes baking
Serves: 20+ biscuits
Ingredients
175g (1 1/4 cups) plain/all-purpose flour
100g (1/2 cup) butter, softened
75g (1/3 cup) caster sugar
80g (½ cup) chocolate chips
How to make chocolate chip shortbread
Pre-heat the oven to 170C / 150C Fan / 340 F and get your child to lightly grease 2 baking trays or line them with baking or parchment paper.
Cream the butter and sugar together
Get your kids to help measure out the butter and cut it into small pieces. If it’s not soft (we always forget to remove ours from the fridge beforehand), pop it in the microwave for ten seconds or so. Just do it long enough to soften it, don’t melt it.
Measure the sugar out and add them both to a mixing bowl or free-standing mixer if you have one.
Using wooden spoons, a hand held mixer or the k-paddle of your free-standing mixer cream the butter and sugar together until they become light and creamy.
Add the flour
Measure out the flour and add it to your mixing bowl.
Mix it in, with wooden spoons or your k-paddle beater until it is well combined.
Add the chocolate chips
Pour the chocolate chips into your mixing bowl. There’s no need to be too accurate – roughly half a cup (80g will do).
Again, mix these in with a wooden spoon at first, and then using your hands, knead the dough so it comes together in a nice ball of dough.
It took us a little bit of kneading to make the dough come together and stop crumbling apart. You do want to stop as soon as you can though to ensure your shortbread is lovely and soft.
Make the chocolate chip cookies
Lightly sprinkle some flour down on your work surface.
Roll your dough out until it is around 5mm (1/4 inch) thick. We found the chocolate chips stopped us rolling it any thinner.
Using a 5cm fluted cutter, cut circles out and place them on your baking tray.
This is a great task for little ones to help with – it’s great for finger dexterity and just like playing with playdough.
Bring together any scraps, re-roll it and cut out some more shortbread cookies. Keep doing this until there’s no dough left.
Bake the chocolate chip shortbread
Bake the shortbread cookies for 15-20 minutes. They’re ready when they are starting to turn golden brown. Remove the shortbread from the oven and leave it to cool on the baking tray for a few minutes, before popping them on a wire rack.
Serve and enjoy.
Chocolate chip shortbread
Equipment
- Digital scales
- Mixing bowl
- Measuring cups
- Rolling pin
- cutters
- baking tray
- Wire rack
Ingredients
- 175 g (1 ¼ cups) plain/all-purpose flour
- 100 g (½ cup) butter, softened
- 75 g (⅓ cup) caster sugar
- 80 g (½ cup) chocolate chips
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 170C / 150C Fan / 340 F and lightly grease 2 baking trays or line them with baking or parchment paper.
Cream the butter and sugar together
- Measure out the butter and cut it into small pieces. If it's not soft pop it in the microwave for ten seconds or so. Just do it long enough to soften it, don't melt it.Measure the sugar out and add them both to a mixing bowl or free-standing mixer if you have one.
- Using wooden spoons, a hand held mixer or the k-paddle of your free-standing mixer cream the butter and sugar together until they become light and creamy.
Add the flour
- Measure out the flour and add it to your mixing bowl.Mix it in, with wooden spoons, until it's well combined.
Add the chocolate chips
- Pour the chocolate chips into your mixing bowl. Again, mix these in with a wooden spoon at first, and then using your hands, knead the dough so it comes together in a nice ball of dough.It took us a little bit of kneading to make the dough come together and stop crumbling apart. You do want to stop as soon as you can though to ensure your shortbread is lovely and soft.
Make the chocolate chip shortbread
- Lightly sprinkle some flour down on your work surface.Roll your dough out until it is around 5mm (1/4 inch) thick.
- Using a 5cm fluted cutter, cut circles out and place them on your baking tray. Bring together any scraps, re-roll it and cut out some more shortbread cookies. Keep doing this until there's no dough left.
Bake the chocolate chip shortbread
- Bake the shortbread cookies for 15-20 minutes. They’re ready when they are starting to turn golden brown. Remove the shortbread from the oven and leave it to cool on the baking tray for a few minutes, before popping them on a wire rack.
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If you liked this chocolate chip shortbread you’ll love our other easy biscuit recipes as well as our favourite easy bakes for kids.
Grace Coop says
I love making your recipes with my grand daughter. I always baking with my children when they were young but having a recipe set out so clearly takes away the “panic” when baking with my grand daughter. It’s so easy to forget something when trying to keep an eye on little ones 🙂
cookingwithmykids says
I’m so glad you like our recipes, and are getting to share them with your grand children!