Salted Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies

These sweet and salty shortbread-style chocolate chip cookies are buttery and delicious with crunchy edges.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 14

Chill 2

Total Time 2 29

Servings cookies

Calories 201kcal

Cost $4-$6

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2¼ sticks) salted butter cut up & softened to room temperature (see note)
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar sub:dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
6 ounces dark chocolate chopped into small chunks (see note)
1 egg lightly beaten (see note)
½ cup turbinado sugar for rolling (see note)
1 teaspoon flaky salt for sprinkling

Cream butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, and vanilla extract over medium-high speed until light (pale yellow) and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
On low speed, slowly add flour and chocolate. Mix until just combined.
Place the dough on a clean work surface and divide it in half.
Wrap each half in plastic and roll it on the counter to form a log. It should be about 6 inches long and 2 inches in diameter.
Refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or until firm. You can also freeze it for about 30 minutes.
Brush the egg on the outside of the log and roll it in turbinado sugar.
Using a sharp knife, carefully slice the log into ½-inch thick rounds. Press them back together if they break apart.
Arrange them about an inch apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You will need a baking sheet for each log. Sprinkle them with flaky salt.
Bake in a preheated oven of 350° F (177° C) for 12 to 14 minutes until the edges start to brown. Let them cool on the baking sheet.

Dark chocolate: Use chocolate with a high cocoa percentage - semisweet at around 60% and bittersweet at 70%. I've also chopped them finer, so they are evenly distributed and make slicing easier.
Salted butter: According to Alison Roman, you may use unsalted butter and ¾ teaspoon kosher salt (about ½ teaspoon fine sea salt or ¼ teaspoon table salt).
Turbinado sugar: Also called raw sugar, you can substitute it with sanding or demerara sugar.
Egg: It binds the sugar to the dough for crunchy edges. If you need to substitute, use milk or oil.