Inspired By Alson Roman’s Salted Butter and Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookie
The other day, I decided to conduct my weekly refrigerator purge. As I sifted through the various bins and compartments, I relocated a few wilted vegetables to the veggie stock bag in my freezer when I made an unusual discovery. Someone in the house had bought salted butter. Not a big deal, I know. BUT I always buy unsalted butter because I like to control the salt content in my food, so this was a highly unusual find. I do most of the grocery shopping, and no one fessed up to the purchase, so the salted butter was fair game to use. The obvious choice for me was to make my version of “The Cookie,” Alison Roman’s confectionary crown jewel.
I’ve wanted to make Roman’s Salted Butter and Chocolate Chunk Shortbread recipe for a while, but I’ve never done it for one reason or another. However, its consistent high praise has always piqued my curiosity, if not a bit of jealousy, that someone could create a viral sensation over a shortbread cookie. With the salted butter in my fridge, it only seemed fitting that now was the right time. Roman describes this cookie as “Less chocolate chip cookie, more brown sugar shortbread with chocolate chunks,” so I can understand why people went nuts for this recipe.
My version of Roman’s recipe is an excuse to repurpose some ingredients in my pantry and fridge, so it is not a dead ringer for the original. I used vanilla paste instead of vanilla extract, thick chips instead of hand-chopped chocolate, and although I had salted butter on hand, I only had two sicks. Roman’s version calls for 2 1/4 sticks, so I supplemented my recipe with unsalted butter. I also substituted turbinado sugar for the demerara sugar, which I read is essentially the same thing.
This was a family pleaser for sure! They liked that the cookie was not too sweet and agreed that the buttery shortbread was delicious. This recipe will be a repeater in my house for sure. Viral sensation indeed!
Instructions
Step 1: Cream the butter, vanilla, and sugars in either a mixer with the paddle attachment, with a hand mixer, or by hand until the mixture is light in color and fluffy in texture.
Step 2: Add the flour and mix until incorporated.
Step 3: Add the chocolate chips and mix until just incorporated, but do not over-mix the dough. The doubt will be shaggy and a bit dry at this point. This is ok and actually what you are looking for.
Step 4: Roll the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and form it into a log about 2 inches in diameter. Cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator until it is chilled and entirely firm-1.5 for 2 hours.
Step 5: Preheat the oven to 350°F
Step 6: Brush the log with water or cream and roll it in the demerara sugar.
Step 7: Cut the logs into ½-inch thick rounds. The cookies will crumble, so help form them back together when you place them onto the cookie sheet. Remember to leave enough room between them so they don’t touch, but keep in mind that they will not spread that much as they bake.
Step 8: Sprinkle each cookie with the flaky salt and bake for 12-15 minutes. Once the cookies are finished baking, place them on a cooling rack until they are cool.
Catbird Cooking 