These melt-in-your-mouth Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies are unlike your classic chocolate chip cookie! They're thick, buttery soft cookies loaded with semi-sweet chocolate chips and topped with a sprinkling of sea salt flakes. They are a must-make this holiday season!
Adjust oven rack to the 2nd level position (just above center), preheat oven to 300ºF, and line large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Set to the side.
1 ¾ cup All-Purpose Flour, ½ teaspoon Baking Powder, ¼ teaspoon Salt
Using your hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar on medium-high speed until well blended. Add in the vanilla extract.
1 cup Unsalted Butter, ¼ cup Granulated Sugar, ¼ cup Light Brown Sugar, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Reduce the mixer speed to low, gradually adding in the whisked dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
With a spatula, fold in the semi-sweet chocolate chips.
1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Using a spoon or a 1 ½ tablespoon-size cookie scoop, roll the cookie dough into balls. Place roughly 1 ½ inches apart on the parchment paper lined cookie sheet. You can also use a 1 tablespoon-size cookie scoop which will yield slightly more cookies.
With the bottom of a glass, gently press down on the tops of each cookie to flatten slightly. If needed, you can lightly coat the bottom of the glass so the cookies won't stick.
Sprinkle the tops with some sea salt flakes.
2 tablespoon Sea Salt Flakes
Bake for 15-20 minutes at 300ºF or until the edges are a light golden brown.
Allow the cookies to cool slightly on the cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.
Store cookies at room temperature in a sealed container for up to 5 days. Chocolate chips shortbread cookies can also be stored in the freezer for up to 4 months. Place them in a well sealed container separating cookies with a layer of wax paper.
Notes
Softening your unsalted butter to room temperature will help blend it well with the granulated and light brown sugars.
Your two best options for making this easy shortbread cookie recipe are using either a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer and a large mixing bowl. I used my ALDI Finds Crofton 5 quart Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl and hand mixer. What sets this mixing bowl apart from the other ones I own is it has a non-skid bottom. No slipping or sliding around when you're using your hand mixer—I love it.
I always recommend folding chocolate chips into your dough using a spatula versus using the mixer. You can end up with chopped-up, broken chips if you choose the latter option. I used the ALDI Finds holiday spatula from the 8-piece baking gift set, which worked really well. I love the handle on that spatula!
This is an optional step, but adding sea salt flakes to the top of each chocolate chip shortbread cookie—is THE BEST. I highly recommend it.
Use a small glass or jar to flatten the cookies out a little. No hulk strength is needed; just a gentle press to flatten them out will do the trick.
These are fairly soft cookies once they come out of the oven. Let them cool for about 5-10 minutes before you transfer them to a wire cooling rack. I used the wire cooling rack that came in the 8-piece baking gift set from ALDI.