Chocolate Shortbreads

"Granny Boyd's Cookies"
From How to be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson
Yield: almost 3 dozen
10 minutes preparation time, 15-20 minutes baking time

Ingredients

• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons soft unsalted butter
• 7 tablespoons sugar
• 2 baking sheets, greased

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. Mix flour and cocoa in a bowl.
3. Cream the butter and sugar until pal and soft, then work in the flour/cocoa mixture. It might look like it needs liquid, but keep working the ingredients in and it will form a dough.
4. Roll into walnut-sized balls and arrange them with a decent space between them (as they'll spread) ont he baking sheets, then press down on them with the back of a fork.
5. Bake for 5 minutes, then turn the over down to 300F and bake for a further 10-15 minutes. It's hard to tell by looking when the cookies are ready since the dough starts off so dark, but they should feel firm on top, although not hard; they will continue to cook and harden as they cool.
6. Remove from the oven and transfer immediately to a wire rack to cool.

Notes

She calls for self-rising cake flour, but we've never been able to find that. These are still buttery and delicious with self-rising non-cake flour, plus then Oli makes biscuits from that too.

Sara 04:02, 16 September 2010 (UTC)