High altitude tested chocolate chunk shortbread cookies with chopped chocolate and espresso powder, drizzled with vanilla icing and sprinkled with more chocolate. The flavors of coffee and dark chocolate pair so nicely in these buttery shortbread cookies, while the icing adds a bit of sweetness to balance the bitter coffee notes.
You might also love these recipes for classic almond shortbread cookies, hazelnut shortbread cookies, and maple walnut shortbread cookies.
This site contains affiliate links. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means that I may make a small commission if you purchase a product using those links. This in no way affects my opinion of those products and services. All opinions expressed on this site are my own.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Long Shelf Life. One of my favorite things about shortbread cookies is how long they last. You can keep them at room temperature for a week or more, and much longer in the refrigerator or freezer. This makes these chocolate chunk shortbread cookies a wonderful make-ahead cookie for the holidays if you’re trying to get started early on your Christmas cookie making.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude. However, with no leavening in the cookie dough, this recipe will work well at any altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Cookies
- Flour. Use all-purpose flour to give the dough structure and strength.
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens the shortbread, while the fine texture makes a more tender cookie than if you used granulated sugar.
- Salt. Enhances the flavors.
- Espresso Powder. Instant espresso or coffee powder adds a bitter coffee flavor to complement the chocolate. This is optional, if you don’t like coffee.
- Butter. A key ingredient in shortbread! The butter is what makes this chocolate chunk shortbread tender and rich, with a buttery, crumbly texture.
- Chocolate. You can use dark, milk or semi-sweet chocolate.
- Milk. You’ll need just a little milk to help moisten the dough and bind it together.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
Icing
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the icing.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Milk. Thins the icing to a drizzly consistency.
- Chocolate. You can use dark, milk or semi-sweet chocolate, for a pretty finish on top of the cookies.
Instructions
Make the Cookie Dough
- In a bowl, combine the flour, powdered sugar, salt and espresso powder. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture until there are no visible pieces of butter.
- Chop the chocolate so that the chunks are 1/4 inch or smaller. Stir in the chopped chocolate, then stir in the milk and vanilla. Use your hands to work the moisture into the flour, until the mixture comes together into a dough ball.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and chill for 20 minutes.
Roll and Cut the Cookies
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut as many cookies as you can, then gather up the scraps, roll those out, and continue cutting cookies. Depending on the thickness of your dough and the size of your cutter, you should be able to cut 2 1/2 – 3 dozen cookies.
- Line several baking sheets with parchment paper, and place the cut cookies 1 1/2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Place the baking sheets in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes before baking.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Bake one tray of cookies at a time, baking them for about 11 1/2 – 12 minutes. Cool the cookies on the pan for several minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Icing
- In a bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk, until smooth and drizzly. Use a spoon to drizzle the icing over the cookies.
- Before the icing sets, sprinkle the top of the cookies with more chopped chocolate.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Will this recipe work without the espresso powder?
Yes, you can leave out the espresso powder.
Can I use chocolate chips instead of chopped chocolate?
Yes, you can. I recommend using mini semi sweet chocolate chips, not morsels.
Will this recipe work as slice and bake cookies?
It sure will. Shape the dough into a tight log, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill well. Then slice the cookies 1/4 inch thick, and bake as instructed.
Why aren’t my cookies sweet enough?
Shortbread cookies are not overly sweet on their own. And with the addition of the bitter espresso powder, these chocolate chunk shortbread cookies do not taste very sweet. This is why I’ve added the vanilla icing on top, for more sweetness to balance the bitter coffee notes. If you skip the icing, your cookies may not taste sweet enough for you.
You Might Also Like
Please check out my Amazon Shop for a curated collection of some of my favorite cake pans from trusted brands, baking tools, ingredients, pretty things and fashion finds. I recommend products that I buy and use every day!
Did you love today’s recipe? Please rate the recipe and let me know in the comments what you thought! Also, be sure to follow Curly Girl Kitchen on Instagram, and tag me when you try one of my recipes so I can see all your delicious creations!
Coffee Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Rolling Pin, Bench Scraper, Pastry Cutter
- 2 1/2 inch Round Cookie Cutter
Ingredients
Cookies
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt, if using table salt, use half the amount
- 1 tbsp instant espresso powder
- 1 cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into slices
- 6 oz chopped chocolate, milk, semi sweet or dark
- ¼ cup cold whole milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Icing
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ¾ tsp vanilla extract
- 2-3 tbsp milk
- 2 oz chopped chocolate
Instructions
Cookies
- In a bowl, combine the flour, powdered sugar, salt and espresso powder. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture until there are no visible pieces of butter.
- Chop the chocolate so that the chunks are 1/4 inch or smaller. Stir in the chopped chocolate, then stir in the milk and vanilla. Use your hands to work the moisture into the flour, until the mixture comes together into a dough ball.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and chill for 20 minutes.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut as many cookies as you can, then gather up the scraps, roll those out, and continue cutting cookies. Depending on the thickness of your dough and the size of your cutter, you should be able to cut 2 1/2 – 3 dozen cookies.
- Line several baking sheets with parchment paper, and place the cut cookies 1 1/2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Place the baking sheets in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes before baking.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Bake one tray of cookies at a time, baking them for about 11 1/2 – 12 minutes. Cool the cookies on the pan for several minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Icing
- In a bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk, until smooth and drizzly. Use a spoon to drizzle the icing over the cookies.
- Before the icing sets, sprinkle the top of the cookies with more chopped chocolate.
Leave a Reply