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A crispy red velvet shortbread dunked in white chocolate and sprinkled with cheer.
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Cover and pulse until combined. Add butter and red food coloring. Pulse until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Then continue to process until mixture begins to clump together.
2. Scoop dough onto a lightly-floured surface and knead lightly until nearly smooth. Roll or pat dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Using a floured 1-1/2-inch round cutter, cut out dough. Place cutouts 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press scraps together and re-roll.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until centers are set. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool.
4. In a heavy small saucepan, melt white chocolate and shortening over low heat, stirring constantly. Dip half of each cookie into melted chocolate. If desired, sprinkle with festive sprinkles, nonpareils or chopped pistachios. Let stand on waxed paper until set.
Yields about 24 cookies.
Cooking tips:
I made the dough using a food processor, which was easiest because it takes a bit of processing to allow the crumbs to clump together and become the proper consistency for rolling. If you’d like to try the hand-mixing method: in a medium bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter and food coloring until mixture resembles fine crumbs and starts to cling together (it will take a while for the dough to come together). Form mixture into a ball, kneading until smooth.
I used gel paste food coloring to color my cookies (instead of the liquid food coloring). It’s more concentrated, and you can add more of it to get a deeper color without adding liquid to the mixture. Don’t overdo it though, or you’ll end up with red stained fingers as you eat your cookies!
To store, place cookies in a single layer in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
15 Comments
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nickjuly on 8.7.2010
Made them and they did not turn out well, too dry.
chupieandjsmama on 12.29.2009
I saw these cookies and they looked so festive that I knew I had to make them. But my son has multiple food allergies and the original recipe wouldn’t work for him. I reworked it so it was safe and made them and they were delicious! Thank you for posting this recipe. We’ll be adding these to our Christmas cookie arsenal from now on. My reworked recipe can be found here: http://zumfamily.blogspot.com/2009/12/red-velvet-shortbread-cookies-reworked.html
Thanks again!!
christinamackie on 12.27.2009
turned out pretty, but I had to add a lot of butter to get these to the right consistency to roll out. And my husband thought they tasted like play-doh, although I thought they tasted good, just not like your typical shortbread.
LucyRicardo on 12.22.2009
I think these definitely require a Cuisinart (or other food processor with a blade) or a good pastry cutter like the one from Pampered Chef (it’s safe to say my PC consultant loves me-LOL). A mixer won’t produce the right consistency. It took longer than I expected in the Cuisnart to get the right texture, but it was really obvious when it was ready. Of course by using the pastry cutter, you can burn some calories before indulging (if your arm doesn’t fall off first-LOL)!
mrsnurse on 12.21.2009
I made these last night and they were dry for me too. I added 1/2 cup extra softened butter to the dough and that “glued” it together enough to finish making them. I think the key MUST be to use a Cuisinart. I just used a standard mixer.
Aside from that, these cookies are very pretty!