brown sugar and oatmeal shortbread cookies
Brown Sugar and Oatmeal Shortbread Cookies
This recipe comes from Fine Cooking, and I've tweaked it only a little by adding a drizzle of chocolate over each cookie.
Ingredients:
8 ounces (1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon table salt
10 ounces (2-1/4 cup) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
Directions:
Line two baking sheets with parchment. Combine butter, brown sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the butter combines with the sugar but isn't perfectly smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the flour and oats and mix on low speed, scraping the bowl as needed. Mix only until the dough has just about pulled together, about 3 minutes. Do not overmix.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut the dough into squares or use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes, cutting them as close to one another as possible. Press dough scraps together, re-roll to 1/4 inch thick, and cut out additional cookies. If the dough becomes too sticky, refrigerate it briefly. Arrange cookies on the two prepared baking sheets and refrigerate until chilled, at least 20 minutes.
While dough is chilling, heat oven to 300 degrees. Place oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven. Bake the cookies until golden on the bottom and edges and pale-to-golden on top, about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Swap the position and rotate the baking sheets after 15 minutes for even baking. Cool in pan for a couple of minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool to room temperature.
Optional: In a small microwave-safe bowl, microwave the chocolate in 20 second bursts, stirring between each, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Using a spoon or spatula, transfer the melted chocolate to a plastic bag, squeeze it into one corner of the bag, then snip off the very tip of the corner. Drizzle chocolate over the cooled cookies. Refrigerate until set, 15 to 20 minutes.
Tweaked from this recipe from Fine Cooking.