What is better than a melt-in-your-mouth square of shortbread? So simple and indulgent. Answer: These Chocolate Rye Shortbread. All the amazing texture and buttery flavor of traditional shortbread, plus nutty whole-grain and deep chocolate. These are the complex and interesting cousin of regular shortbread who moved away from home right after high school and came back all cool and worldly.
Why Rye?
During the supply shortages earlier this year, I was starting to wonder if I’d ever be able to get my favorite flours again. The only thing I could seem to find were wheat berries, einkorn berries and rye berries. Then in April, for my birthday, I was given an excellent grain mill! So I got to grinding. I made lots of different types of flours…some fine, some coarse. And it was during this time that I discovered how much I love rye flour for baking sweets. The whole grain makes it substantial, and the flavor is a perfect foil for sweets and spices. Rye flour on it’s own doesn’t taste like rye bread because it doesn’t have the added caraway, it’s much milder. The most heavenly combo I’ve tried so far is the rye flour with chocolate, hence these Chocolate Rye Shortbread!
If you want to give these a try but didn’t go slightly crazy during quarantine and don’t have your own grain mill, no worries. You can buy Bob’s Red Mill rye flour at many grocery stores or online here
The most important thing to know when making shortbread is that the butter needs to be VERY SOFT. Like, mayonnaise consistency. Shortbread is call “short” because it doesn’t have any eggs or milk or other liquids. If your butter is too cold, it will not come together into a dough and you’ll just mix and mix and mix, resulting in either a frustratingly stubborn coarse meal, or a very tough dough. If it’s cool in your kitchen, you can zap your butter in the microwave at half power for 15 seconds at a time until it’s soft enough.
Once you’ve mixed your dough, just pat it into the pan, getting top as smooth as you can. I like to make my cutting lines before I bake because if I make a mistake or change my mind halfway through (which happens about 50% of the time), I can just re-pat and try again. I use a ravioli wheel because it makes me feel fancy but you can use a knife or a toothpick or skip it entirely. This is totally optional.
Once the shortbread is baked, let it cool until it is still warm but you can pick up the pan comfortably. Then roll the superfine sugar around on the top. If you wait until the shortbread has cooled completely, it won’t stick to the top. You MUST cut this while warm. If you wait until it has cooled completely it will just crumble into a million little pieces when you try to cut it. You know those 80’s movies where the hero picks up the amulet he’s not supposed to pick up until he gets loves true kiss and it just disintegrates in his hands leaving him looking totally pitiful and heartbroken? If you let these cool before you cut them, you will make that face. I think this looks elegant cut into diamonds, but little squares work great too.
Why Cornstarch?
These have a hefty amount of cornstarch. Traditional shortbread gets it’s sandy texture from the addition of starch. Some recipes use rice flour, I prefer cornstarch because it’s a pantry staple so I can bake up some melt-in-your-mouth shortbread any time I want!
Give these a shot. They are a really simple way to try out a rye dessert. All of my testers, even the kids, gobbled these up. Happy baking!
Moar Chocolate from Bakers Brigade…
- Dark Chocolate Tart with Espresso Whipped Cream
- Decadent Chocolate-Covered Banana Cupcakes
- Chewy Chocolate Espresso Cookies
- Rich Chocolate-Almond Buttercream
- Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mousse Tart
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- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature (very soft)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup rye flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- superfine or granulated sugar optional, for topping
Ingredients
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- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter an 8 x 8 glass or metal pan.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and salt until combined. The butter needs to be very soft (the consistency of mayonnaise). Add the sugar and mix until well combined.
- Sift together the flours, cocoa, and cornstarch. Add to the mixer and mix on low speed until a dough forms. This may take a minute.
- Pat the dough into your prepared pan. If desired lightly mark your cut lines on the top of the dough with a sharp knife. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool on a rack until warm, not hot.
- Sprinkle superfine sugar on the top of the warm shortbread, tilting the pan back and forth as needed to coat the entire top. Pour off any excess. While the shortbread is still warm cut into small squares or diamonds. Cool completely before removing from the pan.
- Cookies should keep in a airtight container for several weeks or the freezer for several months.
What tool did you use to score the top of the shortbread?