One of the upsides of being back in London after two months abroad, is that I can finally bake again. Last week I made a batch of Alison Roman’s famous Salted Butter and Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies, aka the cookies that broke the Internet.
Alison Roman is a cook, writer and author of Dining In and the creator of the salted butter and chocolate chunk shortbread cookies that took over Instagram during the winter.
I was living in Bali when I started to notice the same cookies appearing over and over on my Instagram feed. A quick Google search revealed the story behind these cookies: Alison published the recipe in her cookbook last October and by January it had gone viral on Instagram.
The recipe has been shared online by pretty much anyone including Smitten Kitchen (Deb Perelman hinted that this might be ‘cookie of the year’), Bon Appetit, New York Times and The Telegraph.
I made the cookies last week to bring to Creating for Good‘s meeting and to my surprise none of my friends had heard about these cookies before. How can a cookie go viral yet remain unnoticed to some of the biggest London Instagrammers? Mistery.
I took it to mean that this recipe needed to be shared some more! No matter how many times it’s already been re-posted online, there are still many people out there who haven’t tried it. Are you one of them?
Let’s not get over ourselves, these are just cookies and they are not going to change the world. Are they better than Izy Hossack’s Chocolate Chip Cookies with Basil Brown Butter and Sea Salt? or Ottolenghi’s Chocolate Cookies? I am not sure…
But they are very good cookies and they are going to make your day / your week better. Honestly. So try them.
The recipe couldn’t be easier: mix all the ingredients into cookie dough, divide it into two two rolls, refrigerate, slice, bake.
The result is a dense and buttery cookie with a subtle but essential salty flavour, rich dark chocolate chunks and crunchy sugar around the edges.
“Less chocolate chip cookie, more brown sugar shortbread with chocolate chunks—they just might be the cookie you’ve been looking for.” [Alison Roman]
Salted Butter and Chocolate Chunk Shortbread
Ingredients
- 250g salted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
- 100g granulated sugar
- 50g light brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 295g plain flour
- 170g dark chocolate, chopped in chunks
- 1 large egg
- Demerara sugar, for rolling
Preparation
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, white and brown sugars and vanilla on medium-high speed until light for about 3–5 minutes.
With mixer on low speed, slowly add flour and chocolate chunks. Beat the cookie mix to blend the ingredients.
Divide the cookie dough in two parts, placing each half on a piece of cling film. Shape the dough into a roll / log shape. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours (the longer, the better).
Preheat oven to 180C°. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Brush outside of cookie dough rolls with egg wash. Roll the dough in demerara sugar.
Slice each log into 1cm thick rounds. Arrange on the baking trays about 2cm apart. Bake cookies until edges are just beginning to brown, for about 12–15 minutes.
Cool on a wire rack. Store in plastic wrap or an airtight container.
[…] a good shortbread recipe: it’s something quite simple to make, but very satisfying (like the Salted Butter & Chocolate Chunk Shortbreads I made recently). I love the smell of freshly-baked butter cookies filling up my […]