Chocolate Shortbread Cookies with Sea Salt

These chocolate shortbread cookies are rich, tender, and deeply cocoa-flavored, with a delicate crumb that melts in the mouth. Made with brown sugar and dark chocolate chips, they balance sweetness with a subtle bitterness from unsweetened cocoa and a final touch of fleur de sel on top. Thanks to a resting step in the refrigerator, the dough slices cleanly, giving evenly shaped cookies that bake uniformly and develop their signature shortbread texture as they cool.

Yield: about 20 cookies

Ingredients

• 150 g flour
• 30 g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 100 g soft semi-salted butter
• 70 g brown sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 100 g dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate
• 1 pinch fleur de sel (for topping)

Instructions

1. Create the creamy base. In a mixing bowl, work the soft butter together with the brown sugar using a spatula until you obtain a smooth, creamy consistency. The mixture should look like a soft pomade, with the sugar evenly blended into the butter. Add the egg yolk and mix again until fully incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure an even texture.
2. Add the dry ingredients. Sift the flour and unsweetened cocoa powder together directly over the butter mixture. This step helps prevent lumps and ensures the cocoa is evenly distributed throughout the dough. Mix gently and briefly, either with your hands or a spatula, just until the dough comes together. Avoid overworking the dough to preserve the characteristic crumbly, “shortbread” texture. Fold in the dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate so they are evenly dispersed.
3. Rest the dough. Shape the dough into a log about 5 cm in diameter, smoothing the surface as evenly as possible. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. This chilling time firms up the butter, making the dough easier to slice cleanly and helping the cookies hold their shape during baking.