Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies

These Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies are a fun and festive take on traditional shortbread. With just four simple pantry ingredients, these slice and bake cookies will become your new favorite holiday treat.

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These chocolate dipped shortbread cookies are such a fun and easy cookie, perfect for holiday baking. They are a great cookie to make with little ones. Dipping the shortbread in chocolate and adding sprinkles is so much easier (and less messy) than rolling dough, cutting out shapes and frosting each cookie! These shortbread cookies also make a great addition to your goodie boxes for gifting and your Christmas candy trays!

If you love this shortbread recipe, you will also love my Lemon Shortbread Cookies with Lemon Glaze.

What you will need-Grocery List

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• 4 teaspoons pure vanilla 
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• Chocolate bark or chips for dipping 
• Sprinkles
• Parchment Paper
• Baking Sheet

How to Make Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and set out 3 sticks of real unsalted butter to soften to room temperature.
• In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix together 3 cups all purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1 cup granulated white sugar.
• Cube butter sticks and add to dry ingredients. Mix on low until all butter is incorporated. Dough will resemble cornmeal at this time. Add 4 teaspoons of vanilla. Turn mixer back on to medium speed and mix until dough comes together and easily forms into a ball. Don’t over mix at this point.
• Remove dough from mixing bowl and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Separate dough into two equal pieces. Roll each into uniform size round logs about 2-3 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for a minimum 30 minutes.
• Take dough logs out of fridge, unwrap and cut into 1/4th-1/2 inch slices. Add cookies to a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake on 350 F for 15-18 min or until edge of cookies become golden. Do not over bake as cookies will become dry and crumbly.
• Remove cookies from baking sheet and let cool on wire rack.
• While shortbread is cooling…melt chocolate bark or chips in a bowl.
• Once cookies have cooled, dip half of the cookie in chocolate and lay on a parchment sheet.
• Add holiday sprinkles before the chocolate hardens.
• Enjoy!

Tips for the Best Shortbread Cookies

• Use unsalted butter for the best classic shortbread buttery taste.
• Chilling the dough prior to cutting and baking helps the dough to keep its shape when cutting the cookie slices. Chilling also helps keep the cookie from spreading out too much on the baking sheet while baking, creating a more round, thicker cookie.
• Bake until the edges of the cookies just start to turn golden. Do not over bake.

Variations to Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies

• Sugar Sprinkled Shortbread Cookies: instead of dipping the cookies in chocolate, sprinkle the cookies with some granulated sugar or colored sugar sprinkles for a festive look!
• Traditional Shortbread: Make the shortbread recipe above and press dough into a 9×9 parchment lined pan. Poke a fork into the top of the shortbread evenly across the top. Sprinkle with sugar or colored sugar sprinkles for the holidays.
• Lemon Shortbread Cookies: Make this lemon shortbread cookie and add a lemon glaze.
• Thumbprint Cookies: Make the shortbread recipe above and scoop some dough out with cookie scoop and form into a ball. Roll the ball in granulated sugar and lay on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Press your thumb in the center of the ball, leaving an indention. Add a small amount of raspberry jam to the center and bake accordingly.

Storing and Packaging Shortbread Cookies

• Shortbread is best when served and consumed within 2-3 days when stored in an airtight container on the counter. Keep shortbread in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to a week.
• Make the shortbread dough ahead and keep it in refrigerator overnight or freezer for up to three months. If freezing dough, thaw dough completely by moving to fridge overnight before baking.
• For gifting shortbread, use these cute boxes and tie up with some ribbon or grab a cute tin!

Final Thoughts

Chocolate Dipped Shortbread cookies are sure to become one of your favorite holiday treats! Be sure to print the recipe by clicking on the recipe card below and don’t forget to pin this post to your holiday baking Pinterest board! I hope you love this recipe as much as we do.

Happy Baking!