Salted butter and chocolate chunk shortbread, or why would I make another chocolate chip cookie ever again? from Dining In: Highly Cookable Recipes (page 261) by Alison Roman

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Notes about this recipe

  • LeahBoBeah on May 25, 2026

    Good shortbread - but no sub for a real deal chocolate chip cookie.

  • jessica_e8w974 on March 29, 2026

    Meh

  • jessica_me21zm on February 16, 2026

    Make them every year. 10/10 cookie.

  • mfsimmons on February 14, 2026

    I made these again this morning after several years, and I still really like them. I used a mix of chocolate bars I had in our pantry and rolled them in red, pink, and white sanding sugar for Valentine’s Day. They do spread a bit more than the photo and the recipe alludes to, but they are still delicious.

  • skvalentine on January 13, 2026

    Perennial favorite!

  • mimisingh on December 28, 2025

    First baking flop I have had in a while...My cookies spread a lot and did not have a shortbread texture. The edges especially looked strange and melted. I wish the measurements were given in grams since Australian cups are different than American. I used gram estimations online. The recipe leaves a little to be desired, ie on her website she states cold butter but this is omitted from the book. I did use butter from the fridge but I might have let it sitting out a few minutes too long before I actually beat it with the sugar, or maybe I beat the butter and sugar a little too long. Additionally, it doesn't state anything about how to cool them (leave them on the pan, cooling rack, etc...). I did like the flavor so I would attempt this recipe again but maybe cube and then chill the butter in the mixing bowl prior to beating with the sugar to prevent repeating the same mistake. I think I also coated the logs with too much egg

  • nadiam1000 on March 24, 2025

    Really like these and have made them several times now. The shortbread texture with the dark chocolate makes a very nice cookie. The sugared edges are nice but a bit messy to execute - I have brushed the logs with milk in place of egg in a pinch and that works too. I like them with a little less chocolate and I think a higher percentage chocolate works great here. I do not think they replace a well made standard chocolate chip cookie but definitely a delicious variation,

  • Pandan on November 16, 2024

    Somehow mine spread quite a bit and didn’t have a shortbread texture. I weighed all my ingredients and my logs were in the fridge for over two hours. Not sure why they didn’t turn out as pictured. But anyway, they tasted great. My husband and son really loved them (there were even tears because my toddler son wasn’t allowed more than two at a time). I found rolling the logs in sugar a bit messy but the crust did taste good.

  • DKennedy on April 12, 2024

    These are outstanding. Probably my all time favorite chocolate chip cookie, but I am partial to shortbreads so that makes sense. This is the best of both worlds.

  • julesamomof2 on April 11, 2023

    These were good, and very good the next day. Next time, I would definitely make them a day in advance (a plus in my book). I had a hard time telling when these were done, at 15 minutes they seemed very soft and underdone so I kept them in a full 18-20 minutes until they were brown. In retrospect, probably best to remove from the oven when still quite underdone. Better instructions would have helped here.

  • TBipp on September 05, 2022

    This was my second time baking these and I made a few tweaks based upon my first attempt. Instead of 2 1/4 cups flour, I used 2 cups + 3 Tablespoons cornstarch. I used half bittersweet and half milk chocolate (the Endangered Species milk chocolate is excellent). Before slicing, I removed from the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. I baked at 425 degrees for five minutes, rotated the cookie sheet and lowered the temperature to 225 for another ten minutes. I consider these shortbread with chocolate chunks and not really traditional chocolate chip cookies

  • anya_sf on October 24, 2021

    Despite being in the chewy cookie camp, I really liked these. I found it easier to slice the dough (really the chocolate chunks in the dough) more cleanly with a serrated knife. Baking time was a bit over 15 min. I accidentally forgot the flaky salt on the second batch I made. Both batches were good, but the saltier ones were better.

  • skvalentine on October 08, 2021

    These are one of my top 5 favorite cookies. Everyone asks for the recipe!

  • mzgourmand on August 15, 2021

    Love, love, love these cookies - as does everyone who ever eats them! Regular part of my holiday cookie gift packages and usually the favorite! Edging the cookies as directed before baking with special, crunchy sugar - as opposed to regular sugar - really adds to the cookies general deliciousness and texture, especially if you are using dark chocolate that is more normal than usual, or a mix of unsweetened and sweetened chocolate.

  • ChelseaP on August 05, 2021

    A house favourite!! Always happy to find the dough in the freezer ready to go.

  • Rodrigaba on May 13, 2021

    I chopped the chocolate very fine and really liked the results.

  • Mlr5 on April 07, 2021

    So much hype. They’re fine. Not spectacular.

  • lindydorfman on March 26, 2021

    Butter needs to be cold. And definitely salted. I didn't love them the first night but they were good the next morning.

  • IvyManning on January 04, 2021

    Mine fell apart when slicing them. I am so annoyed by the hyperbole, too. You'll make Toll House again, trust me.

  • Dannausc on December 20, 2020

    I used turbinado sugar in place of the Demerara sugar. They were good, but I prefer regular chocolate chip cookies.

  • averythingcooks on July 15, 2020

    Just an additional comment to echo Sparkles75...........I absolutely agree that these ARE better on the 2nd day!

  • averythingcooks on July 14, 2020

    I am a shortbread fan and I finally made these! I halved the recipe and used a chopped mix of 1/3 semi-sweet & 2/3 dark chocolate (covid pantry). I refrigerated the log overnight and yes.....some sections sliced cleanly and some (in chunkier sections) fell apart but as others said, I just pushed them together on the pan. I did bake them for the full 15 minutes and I do quite like them as they are not overly sweet; however, I don't think I would like them at all without the sugared edges. Make again?? Probably. Different from our usual "go to" chocolate chip cookies? Definitely. But...BETTER than those chosen recipes? Neither of us think so.

  • hbakke on June 19, 2020

    Pretty good cookies. Next time I'll bake them a little longer (or slice thinner) to get a more shortbread like texture. I would make these again.

  • celesteprevost on March 21, 2020

    The steps can be simplified if using a food processor. Put all ingredients in bowl, and mix until dough sticks together. Remove + knead in chocolate chips (I use cocoa nibs or mini chips; so no chopping needed). Instead of logs, roll the dough into balls + roll in demerera sugar (no egg needed!). Refrigerate, and when ready to bake flatten with something flat; glass cup, meat pounder, etc.

  • meggan on January 28, 2020

    I also ran into the problem of these falling apart when sliced. I think my chocolate chunks were too big ( I chopped up a Toblerone). They taste good but would never replace a chocolate chip cookie in my heart.

  • Sparkles75 on August 01, 2019

    I will chime in too and say that these turned out as well as the previous reviews would suggest. I already have a family favourite chocolate chip cookie recipe however these are definitely going into keeper file as they offer a more sophisticated alternative for adult tastes. I followed recipe exactly however I used 70% dark chocolate. When I first tasted them still warm out of the oven I thought perhaps they weren't quite sweet enough however the next day they were great. I will try them with a slightly less bitter chocolate next time just to see the difference.

  • hirsheys on September 07, 2018

    I didn't have too much trouble with them, though they did spread a LOT more than the picture. I cut up the butter while it was still cold, but let it sit a minute or two before whipping it with the sugar and vanilla. Otherwise, the recipe went smoothly, though I absolutely did NOT like rolling the logs of dough in egg and then sugar. Something about the texture of raw egg on cookie dough... Yuck. On the other hand, I didn't have much trouble with the dough crumbling, which is good. I didn't have space for both baking sheets in the oven at the same time, so I froze the waiting sheet of raw cookies before baking - that tray spread less and probably had a nicer texture. If I were to make these again, I'd do that purposely. All in all, these are good, though they aren't as earth-shattering as the internet made me think they would be. On the other hand, I brought them to work/school and while everyone liked them, a few people went bananas over them. They are certainly worth trying.

  • Rutikazooty on September 01, 2018

    Yes— make these. They require thinking ahead due to 2 hour time in fridge. I froze half a batch for later. I thought first batch was better but my son and my friend (DKennedy who comments frequently in EYB) disagreed. They both wanted more.

  • sdutton on July 31, 2018

    Wow! I made these once (today) and I am totally addicted. I don't know I would make another chocolate chip cookie ever again. The best!!!

  • stockholm28 on July 22, 2018

    These fell apart when I was slicing them, but nevertheless they were quite addictive.

  • Tweedles81 on July 15, 2018

    Very good! I would strongly suggest only baking one sheet at a time. I tried two, and even though I rotated them halfway through, only one sheet caramelized and browned and that set of cookies tasted much better. Do not skip the Demerara sugar!

  • khopkins1012 on July 12, 2018

    Followed recipe as written with success. Family liked these best as the cookies for ice cream sandwiches.

  • Skamper on July 05, 2018

    These were really good. They really fell apart while I was slicing them, but I just shoved them back together on the cookie sheet and they baked up fine. I let them bake for about 13.5 minutes. I baked the second log without the added turbinado sugar and found I prefer them that way.

  • EmilyR on March 02, 2018

    Seriously good. I made them while a guest at a friend’s home and he said he was dreaming about them through the day. Mine made more than 24 and they were better when taken out a touch early. I also used convection. All who sampled them truly enjoyed them...and they are very low effort. I also skipped the extra sugar.

  • Jane on February 05, 2018

    These are great cookies. Plan ahead as they need to chill for 2 hours. Next time I’ll try them without the demerara sugar edges as I don’t love a hit of sugar. A couple of the cookies spread on one side - maybe the roll ends where the dough wasn’t a consistent thickness?

  • Lepa on January 28, 2018

    Wow, these are really good. Take them out at about 15 minutes, when they are barely brown on the edges. After they sit and firm up, they are fantastic. Everybody at the dinner party went crazy over these.

  • Jenny on January 24, 2018

    These cookies are everything - check out more here: https://www.eatyourbooks.com/blog/2018/1/24/the-cookie-that-is-taking-over-the-world,-or-at-least-mine

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