Chocolate-Dipped Whole Wheat Shortbreads

While I love a good sugar-laden treat (as evidenced by the 50 posts tagged “desserts” here), some days I want something more subtle on my weekend mornings. My go-to breakfast, of oatmeal with almond milk, bananas, peanut butter, cinnamon, walnuts and a touch of honey, toes the line neatly between breakfast and dessert, cloying and wholesome, and provides more than enough fuel to get me through Saturday morning hot yoga sessions.

But sometimes, breakfast need be a lighter affair, a quick bite to tide me over until my most favorite of weekend traditions: brunch. For those days, or for the days that require a slight afternoon pick-me-up or a barely sweet treat after dinner, there are these chocolate-dipped whole wheat shortbreads.

Sweetened with honey and made entirely with whole wheat flour, these cookies remind me a bit of the digestive biscuits that I often eat when I’m at home. (Related note: was there ever a more unappetizing name for a cookie than “digestive biscuit”? Takes what is a very delicious, crumbly, wheat-y cookie and aligns it with prunes in the “sounds like something old people eat” category.) They are sandy and earthy, with little dark chocolate bottoms that offer the slightest hint of sweetness.

If you like your coffee/tea accompaniments to be a little less wholesome, you might do half whole wheat flour, half all-purpose flour, or add a wee bit more honey. But for me, these are perfect, made for dipping into coffee on quiet spring mornings.

Chocolate-Dipped Whole Wheat Shortbreads
Adapted from London Bakes
Makes 20 cookies

– 1-1/4 sticks (5 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

– 2 tablespoons honey (I used Leatherwood honey, a dark amber honey from Australia — any honey should work here, though I’m unsure about using raw honey)

– 1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour

– a hefty pinch of salt

– 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks

1) In a large bowl, beat together the butter and honey until well combined. Stir in the flour and the salt and, using your hands, gently gather the ingredients into a ball of dough (do not overwork the mixture; it will be very crumbly).

2) Butter a 11-x-7-inch baking dish, and press the dough into the dish. Chill in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.

3) Preheat the oven to 325F. Cut the chilled shortbread into “fingers” — 1 inch wide and 3 inches long. Use a fork to score the shortbread so that it doesn’t puff up in the oven.

4) Bake for 15-20 minutes until firm to the touch and golden brown. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before recutting the pieces on the scored lines, then transfer the pieces to a wire rack to cool.

5) Dip the shortbreads in chocolate: line a baking sheet with wax paper. Once the shortbread has cooled completely, melt the chocolate in a shallow bowl either in the microwave or in a double boiler. (Here‘s a useful guide on both methods.) When the chocolate is smooth, dip each shortbread piece in the chocolate and set it on the wax paper to cool. After all of the pieces have been dipped, place the shortbreads in the fridge to cool completely before serving.