Aren’t families great? All of the drama love, politics togetherness, and noise tradition. This is one of my all-time favorite REK songs, and not just for Christmas; you’ll catch me signing it in May and again in October. Honestly, though, I love my big, loud, fun-loving family and am so glad I get to add a whole new branch to the tree in 11 days.
Make no mistake about it, I am a Mega Nerd™ and will read just about anything, including cookbooks. You can imagine my pleasant surprise when I found a cookbook of Adam’s family’s recipes hiding above the microwave. Pleasant surprise turned to excitement when I saw “Aunt Jan’s Chocolate Chip Shortbread.”
Scotland has given us many wonderful things, like scotch whiskey, tartan, and history plagued with scandal (paging Mary, Queen of Scots), but one of the unsung heroes of Scotland is a sweet, humble little biscuit called “shortbread.”
No, I haven’t given William Wallace a new nickname, although I think he’d have appreciated being called “shortbread.”
“…they may take our lives, but they’ll never take our FREEDOM!”
– William “Shortbread” Wallace
Aunt Jan’s Shortbread
1 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup mini chocolate chips
Because I already have a chocolate cookie for the party, I’m substituting the chocolate chips for toffee bits. Gotta keep it all in the UK family, y’know. Burnt sugar is one of my favorite flavors, so I don’t mind having praline and toffee options. Besides, one is pecans and the other almonds. Totally different. Sorry, chocolate, I’m just not that into you.
- Heat oven to 350*F.
- Combine butter and sugar in large mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl down often until creamy (1-2 minutes)
- Reduce speed to low, add flour and cornstarch. Beat, scraping bowl often until well-blended (1-2 minutes)
- Stir in chocolate chips (toffee bits) by hand.
- Press into ungreased 13×9″ baking pan and prick all over with a fork.
- Bake 35-40 minutes, until edges just begin to brown
- Cool in pan 15 minutes, then cut into bars while warm.
Alrighty, Aunt Jan, I’m gonna trust you on this cornstarch thing. For all I know, she just taught me a fantastic baking hack! If it all goes south, my friend Susanna reminded me, “It’s nothing a trip to Whole Foods can’t fix.” Right you are, dear.
The recipe was easy enough to follow. The hardest part was scraping down the bowl; there wasn’t exactly a load of liquid to keep it all centrally located in the bottom of the bowl.
Confession: The toffee bits package had 1 cup…and a third. What am I going to do with a third cup of toffee bits? Exactly. I dumped them all in. Merry Christmas!
I want this crispy corner piece…
After 15 minutes, I cut the shortbread into bars. I got 24 little squares out of the pan. Half will go to the party, a quarter will go to a neighbor and a quarter (less one, because I’m going to eat it right this second) will go in a little baggie for me to snack on during my Here Comes The Bride Road Trip this weekend.
Ruling: These shortbread cookies will literally melt in your mouth. The butter and sugar just fall apart, meaning the only texture comes from the toffee bits, which are gooey, sticky, and delicious. If you don’t want something “too sweet” but still want something for dessert, you cannot lose with this recipe. What the cornstarch did, I have no idea.
Becoming Mrs. McCully 