Go Back
+ servings

Black Cocoa Shortbread Cookies

Crumbly, crunchy and delicate black cocoa shortbread cookies with a deep flavor are so versatile. Use them to make home-made oreos, cut them out in any shape, gift them for the holidays, they are delicious!
Prep Time35 mins
Cook Time12 mins
Chilling time20 mins
Total Time1 hr 7 mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French
Keyword: black, cocoa, cookie sandwich, cookies, cut out, dark, sable, shortbread
Servings: 24 cookies
Author: Dea Kepic

Ingredients

  • 210 g flour
  • 25 g black cocoa powder dutch processed
  • 15 g cocoa powder dutch processed
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 70 g powdered sugar
  • 170 g butter cold
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract optional
  • 1/2 - 1 tbsp water

Instructions

  • Sift together the flour, both cocoa powders and sugar in a bowl.
  • Add salt and mix.
  • Add the cold butter in little pieces and then work them into the flour mixture with your hands, or blitz the mixture in a food processor. You want to get something resembling breadcrumbs. This is called the crumbing method.
  • Now add the vanilla extract and just enough water so that the dough comes together. You may need from 1/2 tbsp to 1 tbsp of water so add it slowly, mix the dough and see if you need more.
  • Shape the dough into a disk and wrap it into cling film. Place in the fridge for 10-20 minutes, enough to make the dough firmer but soft enough to roll it.
  • Preheat the oven to 180 °C and prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
  • Dust a clean surface or a parchment paper with cocoa powder (to keep the color of the cookies), place your cookie dough disk on top and dust it with cocoa powder (you can use another parchment paper on top).
  • Roll the dough to about 4 mm thickness. Run a spatula under the dough to make sure it's not stuck.
  • Cut out desired shapes and place them on the prepared baking sheet. They do not really spread out and keep their shape so you can place them fairly close.
  • Re-roll the remaining dough, cut out cookies and repeat until you have no dough left.
  • Bake for 12-13 minutes.
  • As soon as they come out of the oven, flatten them out with something flat (I used a cake server, pressed on the cookie and moved it around the cookie almost like ironing them), or you could place another flat and heavy tray on top of them.
  • Wait for them to cool completely and then you can enjoy, or fill them with buttercream.

Notes

  • The black cocoa powder can be all swaped with natural or dutch processed cocoa powder but the color and taste will be different.
  • Vanilla extract could be left out.
  • The flattening of the cookie is necesseary if you want flatter cookies, if you don't mind little bumps, this step can be skipped.
  • The dark cocoa shortbread cookies are a great base for a cookie sandwich. Fill them with buttercream or ganache.
  • Store them in an airtight container.
Tried this recipe?Mention @FreakyBlond or tag #prettysweetblog!