These Salted Chocolate Brown Butter Chai Shortbread are everything delicious in one small bite. The brown butter brings a bit of nuttiness, the chai adds some spice, and the dark chocolate brings it all together in one buttery cookie. These are the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea or coffee whenever you want a sweet treat that doesn’t hit you over the head with sweetness.
Welcome 2021. It’s a new year which means the project of pies and tarts has officially come to an end and I can return to making just about anything I want for this blog. My niece asked the other day if I had a theme for this year, but I think this year I am back to sharing anything I want. Naturally, the first thing I decide to go for is a shortbread cookie.
It feels like forever has passed since the last time I made shortbread. I know I’ve used it to make crusts for tarts and pies over the last 12 months, but actually making and slicing a cookie that you can dunk into your morning or evening (or afternoon and any time in between if you’re me) cup of coffee and just savor is something that I’ve missed. These Salted Chocolate Brown Butter Chai Shortbread are the perfect way to celebrate this new year.
Not to mention, these are pretty easy. If you don’t have a stand mixer or a hand mixer, you can even chip the softened brown butter into pieces and rub it into the sugar and flour with your fingertips. This mixture make a pretty crumbly dough that, once pressed into the baking pan, comes together beautifully to create cookie slices that are buttery and tender with every bite.
I like to use a salted dark chocolate (70%) when I make these for an extra kick of saltiness, but you can just use regular dark chocolate. The butter is already salted, but if you want that extra savory hit, you can add an extra 1/4 tsp to the dry ingredients before mixing them in.
Welcome to another year of baking. Pies were fun, but knowing that anything can come next is exciting!
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 40-50 minutes |
| Passive Time | 30-60 minutes |
| Servings |
cookies
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- 226 grams salted butter should be about 180 grams brown butter
- 90 grams granulated sugar
- 7 grams chai tea leaves
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 300 grams all purpose flour
- 1/2-1 tsp chai spice mix** (optional)
- 90 grams dark chocolate 70%, salted dark chocolate if you have it, chopped into small chunks
- 1/2 Tbsp sugar (for dusting)
Ingredients
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- Brown the butter: Cut your butter evenly into cubes and line them on the bottom of a large saucepan. Over medium heat, melt the butter. The butter will bubble and splatter a bit, but as the water escapes, you'll see the bubbles get smaller and the butter will get foamy and start to darken in the middle. This should take about 5 minutes but depending on the butter it may take more or less time. Remove the pan from the heat and swirl for 15 seconds. It should start to smell a bit nutty and the color of the butter will be noticeably darker. Pour the butter into a small bowl or a glass dish. There will be brown grainy bits at the bottom, you want to scrape all of that out of the pot--that's where most of the flavor comes from. Place in the refrigerator to solidify. You should have about 180 grams of brown butter from the 226 grams you started with.
- Remove the brown butter from the fridge when it's still slightly soft. If it is completely firm, allow it to come to room temperature. Transfer the softened butter to the bowl of a stand mixer or to a large bowl.
- Whisk together the sugar and the chai leaves. Using a food processor or a coffee grinder, blitz the sugar and the tea for about 10-15 seconds, until the sugar is fine and the leaves are broken into small pieces. Add the sugar and tea to the bowl with the butter.
- Using a paddle attachment, or a hand mixer, cream together the butter and the sugar until light in color and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes on medium high. It should almost look like you're about to make a buttercream frosting.
- Beat in the vanilla extract until combined.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and the chai spice mix*. I only add a 1/2 tsp but if you want a bit more spice you can add 1 full tsp or save the other 1/2 tsp for later to sprinkle on top of the shortbread.
- Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix on low until combined. Add in the second 1/2 along with the chopped dark chocolate chunks and continue to mix on low. Once combined, you should have a bit of a crumbly dough, but you should be able to squeeze the dough between your hands and have it hold together.
- Line a 8" x 8" square pan with a piece of parchment paper. Dump the dough into the pan. Using your hands or an offset spatula, gently press the shortbread dough into the pan until it is no longer crumbly and the top is smooth. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Remove the pan from the fridge. Using a fork or a toothpick, press holes into the top of the dough. I also like to take a sharp knife and gently score the dough to make it easier to slice later. You should have 8 rows about 1 inch thick, turn the pan and cut 3 rows about 2 1/3 inches thick. Bake for 40-50 minutes until the edges begin to brown. If you like your cookie a bit lighter, take it out sooner. If you want them a bit darker in color and crunchier, leave them for the full 50 minutes. For the last 5 minutes of baking, sprinkle 1/2 Tbsp of sugar over the top. If you saved the extra chai mix and want that extra spice, mix in the other 1/2 tsp with the sugar before sprinkling over the top.
- Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire rack. Using the parchment paper, pull the dough from the pan and place onto a cutting board or work surface. Slice into 24 cookies 1" x 2 1/2" in size. Leave to cool completely. Store in an airtight container or wrap in plastic wrap and foil if freezing.
** You can use any chai spice mix that you like! I usually use this mix from Fit Foodie Finds (1 tsp cardamom, 1 tsp allspice, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp cloves, 1 Tbsp ginger). If you want a bit more of a kick, you can add some pepper to the mix like this Lively Table version.