Shortbread Cookies with Chocolate Filling!


Burr it's cold (for California) and yes, its less than 50F degrees thank you! Actually last night got down to 29F, it was frosty in the morning and so were the pipes, yikes!

So what do you do when it's cold outside? Well after the small stroll around the neighborhood - so we don't feel like complete couch potatoes - caveman and I settled down to a nice free afternoon movie thanks to Google Play (yay holiday promotions), we decided on Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children since I'm currently reading through the book series.

** insert movie review**
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children || Ever since the Twilight series and how those movies were so horrifyingly inaccurate from the books, I've become quite reserve when it comes to being excited for books turned movies, so that being the case, I kept an open mind on what I'd expect. Well, darn it, they actually got my hopes up in the first half of the movie in which they stuck pretty closely to the original story line from the book but then came the second half and I wasn't sure what movie I was watching anymore because it was kind of rushed to the finish with a splash of Pirates of the Caribbean. The story line got a little out of whack and completely strayed from the books altogether. I suppose overall it was an okay Tim Burton production, actually pretty light compared to some of his other works. If you've never read the books, I think for the most part the movie story line will work for you, although caveman has never read the books and questioned some of the less logical scenes. At the end of the day, I was so glad it was free. Actor performances were questionable at times, movie effects and scenes were not bad. Something to pass the time. If you don't mind reading, go read the books instead, it's a much more interesting story to follow! I'm surprised it got 68% rating on Rotten Tomatoes...

Of course what's movies without some treats? So caveman whipped up some hot cocoa and we munched on some yummy shortbread cookies I had made a couple of days ago. I had no desire of any sort for shortbread cookies until it was recently mentioned in conversation and then I couldn't stop thinking about them! Don't you hate that?! After that it was just wrong not to make any AND it gave me the perfect excuse to use this adorable doggie cookie cutter! Small confession: cookies pictured here were the product of a cookie cutter (featured here) + shortbread cookie mix combo set BUT they came out just like the shortbread cookies I've made in the past (featured here and here) so I thought this would be the perfect time to finally share my go-to the shortbread cookie recipe :) 
 
Shortbread Cookies with Chocolate Filling
adapted from Hersey's Kitchen
Ingredients:
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
**for other versions, try/substitute:
  •  almond extract instead of vanilla + 1/4 cup of almond flour + nutella filling
  •  1 tbsp lemon zest + lemon curd filling instead of chocolate
Procedures:
  1. Beat together butter+sugar until creamy. Add in egg yolks + almond extract >beat. Slowly add in flour until well blended, refrigerate for about 1 -2 hours or until dough is firm enough to handle
  2. On a well floured surface, roll out dough to about 1/8" thick, cut with cookie cutter and place onto greased cookie sheet
  3. Bake at 350F for about 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cookies will be soft out of the oven, cool slightly before transferring them to a cooling rack. Cool completely before making cookie sandwiches
  4. FOR FILLING: in a small sauce pot over low heat combine chocolate chip +heavy cream and heat while stirring until melted and smooth. Cool to spreadable consistency before use. 
  5. Spread a light layer of chocolate onto one side of cookie, place another cookie on top to make a cookie sandwich >> enjoy!

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