Ina Garten's Shortbread Cookies Are Buttery, Chocolate-Dipped Perfection

Ina Garten's shortbread cookie

Ina Garten is the culinary queen for many reasons. With more than a dozen cookbooks, successful television shows and a doting husband by her side (#teamjeffrey), who could argue with any of her practically perfect recipes?

But maybe the best thing about Ina is she wants you to be able to turn out practically perfect recipes, too, so she always offers tips and tricks throughout her recipes so you can get the recipe right. When we were looking through the Ina archives for a holiday cookie, we stumbled upon her super-easy shortbread recipe. With fewer than seven ingredients, it’s perfect for this busy time of year. We grabbed everything to give it a try and determine if it’s really as easy as it looks.

Get the recipe: Ina Garten's Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients for Ina Garten's Shortbread Cookies

For this recipe, you’re going to need unsalted good-quality butter, granulated sugar, vanilla, 6 to 7 oz. of very good semi-sweet chocolate, (I used chocolate chips), flour and salt.

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How to Make Ina Garten's Shortbread Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350°. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugar. Add in the vanilla. Sift in the flour and salt and mix until the dough starts to come together. Dump the dough onto a floured surface and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3-by-1-inch finger-shaped cutter. (I used a small round fluted cookie cutter, which also worked well.) Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the edges start to brown. Let the cookies cool completely, then transfer them to a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Put 3 ounces of chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave until the chocolate is just melted. Add in the remaining chocolate and stir until glossy. Drizzle half of each cookie with just enough chocolate to coat it and let sit until the chocolate sets.

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What I Thought of Ina Garten's Shortbread Cookies

Honestly, these cookies are light and buttery and tough to stop eating. The combination of the glossy chocolate and the light sanding of sugar on top makes you feel oh-so-fancy, like you’re sitting down in Ina's Hamptons home over a cup of coffee and a platter of these gorgeous cookies. These were straightforward and easy to make and heightened by the excellent quality ingredients that I used (no grocery store brand butter here!). The recipe made enough for a crowd and they packed well and froze well too, so this could be a great cookie to make in advance and stash in the freezer. I didn't have a finger-shaped cookie cutter, so I ended up using a vintage circular one I had and they came out just as pretty. Use what you have!

Tips for making Ina Garten's Shortbread Cookies

1. Make sure to mix your shortbread. Don't rush on mixing the dough well with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. These cookies won't be very easy to mix by hand so it's worth schlepping out the KitchenAid for this one. The first time I made these, my shortbread came out crumbly and the dough was very hard to roll out. The second time was a lot better because I made sure to mix everything well and follow Ina's instructions to the letter. 
2. Ingredients matter. Since there’s only a few ingredients in this recipe, you can taste everything. This is definitely the moment to use good-quality butter and flour.
3. Roll out your dough with ease. Get yourself an adjustable rolling pin to make rolling out dough way easier. Instead of eyeballing it, you can use the adjustable knobs to make sure you're getting the correct thickness.

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