Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients

•           1-1/8 cups of flour

•           1 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

•           1 teaspoon salt

•           1 cup of salted butter, softened

•           2/3 cup of icing sugar

Directions

1.         Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/175 degrees C.

2.         Sift together flour, cocoa, and salt.

3.         Using a hand mixer, beat butter and sugar until combined.

4.         Pat dough into an ungreased  pan. The dough won’t really hold together and you will think that it needs more moisture – but it doesn’t!  Trust me!

5.         Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Allow it to cool for 5 minutes, then remove from the pan and cut into squares.

6.         Sprinkle with icing sugar and allow the cookies to cool.

VARIATION:

•           Instead of patting the cookie dough into a pan, squeeze together small balls of dough and place them on a cookie sheet.

•           Press your thumb into the cookie ball.

•           Fill the thumbprint with raspberry jam.

•           Bake for 20 minutes.

•           Remove from the pan and place on a rack to cool. You can sprinkle the cookie lightly with icing sugar if desired.

Butheina Alnounou

bossynounou@yahoo.com