Ruby Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

These ruby chocolate shortbread cookies have a buttery and crumbly shortbread base, speckled with chunks of both ruby chocolate and dark chocolate, and sprinkled with flaky salt.

These are the kind of cookies I dream about weeks after eating them. Ruby chocolate might be a little gimmicky to some but clearly the marketing and pretty pink colour has gotten the best of me but I'm not mad about it at all.

I love the light fruity taste of ruby chocolate paired with the deep taste of dark chocolate in the same way I've always loved chocolate oranges. Shortbread is the perfect vessel for these chocolate chunks. The way this shortbread is cut from a log, "reveals" the chocolate chunks and brings them to the surface of each cookie. Once the salted, crumbly shortbread melts away in your mouth, you get a bite of both dark and fruity chocolates. It really has everything!

What is ruby chocolate?

Ruby chocolate is millennial pink-hued chocolate, made with a shortened processing technique, patented by Callebaut, that causes cocoa beans to retain their natural red-purple colour after being fermented and treated with an acid.

Ruby chocolate has a mild, fruity, sweet and sour taste. It's similar to the taste of raspberries mixed with white chocolate, although there are no fruit or flavourings added to true ruby chocolate.

How to make ruby chocolate shortbread cookies

Beat the butter and sugars: In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in the brown sugar and powdered sugar until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add in the vanilla extract and do a quick mix to combine.

Mix in the dry ingredients: Add in the flour and salt and mix at low speed to combine.

Mix in the chocolate: Before the flour is completed mixed in, add the chopped ruby chocolate and dark chocolate and finish mixing at low speed.

Roll cookie dough into logs: Turn the cookie dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Press the dough together with your hands to form a cylindrical, log shape with flattened ends. Loosely fold over the plastic wrap and roll the log against the countertop with your hands until your log is about 12" in length and 2" in width (diameter). Cut the log in half for easier storage and wrap both logs in plastic wrap.

Chill dough until solid: Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight until they are solid throughout. 

Slice cookie discs: Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a serrated knife to cut the log into ½" thick discs by grasping one end firmly and sawing the knife back and forth. Place cookies on the baking sheet ½"-1" apart.

Bake cookies: Bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges become golden brown. Sprinkle cookies with flaky salt while they're still warm. Let cookies cool completely before enjoying them as they need time to set.

Tips for making the best shortbread cookies

• Use a high quality butter. Butter is the main ingredient in shortbread cookies and it's also what makes them taste so delicious, buttery, and crumbly. You'll want to use a quality butter made from milk of grass-fed cows.
• Chill the cookie dough logs until they are solid throughout. This will make it easier to cut through. Chill them standing up vertically on one end to prevent warping the round shape.
• Use a sharp, serrated knife to cut the cookie dough in a sawing motion. Just be patient and go slowly to make a straight cut.
• If your cookie discs crack or break apart after slicing, just press them back together or use excess bits of dough to patch up uneven areas.
• Bake the cookies straight from the fridge. No need to thaw the cookie dough after chilling or freezing. This helps the cookies retain their shape. Keep the cookie rounds in the fridge while waiting for your first batch to bake.

How to store shortbread cookies

Shortbread cookie dough (either the whole log or cut cookies) can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

Baked shortbread cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about 1 week or frozen for 3 weeks.

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Other cookie recipes to try

• Hazelnut Linzer Cookies
• Fig & Speculoos Cookie Butter Cookies
• Toasted Pistachio Dark Chocolate Cookies