DOUBLE-CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD
It's a brownie! It's a shortbread! It's the best of both worlds.
Hi friends!
I’m bringing you the last of my four best CLASSIC COOKIES I think you’ll love having up your sleeve for summer parties and picnics, right in time for Memorial Day weekend. I know it’s not right to assault you with so much cookie content right before swimsuit season, especially as my husband is working on getting back into our best health before our June birthdays. But alas, by offering them all to you at once, you’ll have everything you need for my COOKIE BAKING CLASS, which happens this Sunday.
Before I tell you more about this rich chocolatey shortbread/brownie mash-up, I thought I’d share how this cookie project came to be. On the way back from our trip to Mexico in March, András, the kids, and I were talking about everyone’s favorite cookie from all my books. We realized that I had never even baked some of my most beloved cookie recipes for my kids at all (including one from my first book, which is adored by my mom and also Martha Stewart)!
As the French say, c'est dommage!
Mid-this cookie conversation, I got a reminder from the school that the first day back to school after spring break was, in fact, not in three days, as I had thought—but a full SIX days later. In short, we had some time to kill.
So, during the last week of March, high on sunshine and tacos but facing several rainy days at home, the kid and I, plus my fantastic intern Lucy, revisited eight of the best cookie recipes from all my books, tasted them, tweaked and re-photographed the best ones to live on for you, here.
This one was inspired by a French pastry chef I worked with early in my cooking career. For the longest time, we made it as a roll-and-bake as he always did, which required lots of chilling and resting, expert slicing skills, and patience. They were delicious but fussy. Pressing them into a pan, however, is easy. Bonus: They were thicker, more decadent (with a more brownie-like core), and easier to pack and serve as classic shortbread fingers. A win!
We also tested it with gluten-free flour (I’ll share those results in my class), dark brown sugar versus light brown, and different kinds of granulated sugar, which all affected our results. Baking, after all, is science.
In my LIVE COOKIE MAKING CLASS this SUNDAY, May 19, I will teach you all about how little nuances in ingredients and techniques can mean the difference between a mediocre, good, or positively excellent cookie. Because why eat a cookie if it’s not going to be excellent?
Little things, like the difference between creamed or melted butter, how we shape or chill, or what temperature we bake cookies, can change a cookie dramatically for the better. I can’t wait to share these secrets with you.
In the class, We’ll be baking:
Double Chocolate Shortbread (recipe, below)
There’s still plenty of time to sign up. The class size is not capped, so bring your friends and family or invite friends or neighbors over to cook with you. You only have to pay for one ticket, no matter how many you want to join. (If you’re already a paid subscriber, find details on how to join for free below.)
Ok, I promise no more cookie spam until much later this summer. But before I sign off, bookmark this recipe for Holiday parties and cook boxes for December, too (how’s that for advance planning—this year, we’ll be six months ahead).
xx
Sarah
This letter wouldn’t be possible without YOU! Thank you for being here and enormous thanks to all who choose to support my work with a paid subscription.
DOUBLE CHOCOLATE SHORTBREAD