S'sK Ninja/Martial Arts Shortbread Cookies

*A Sebastian’s Kitchen Original

 
One of my batches makes about 40 medium sized cookies. These cookies can be shaped with cookie cutters or just by spoonful (remember to flatten with your hand) if you want round cookies. I use Ghirardelli dark chocolate for the chocolate design. It really compliments the rich buttery taste of the cookie.

S'sK Ninja/Martial Arts Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients:
Cookie dough:
2 cups butter softened to room temperature
1 cup sugar

4 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups all-purpose flour

Topping:

10 oz Ghirardelli 60% cacao baking chips (dark chocolate)

Step 1: Cookie

1.    Add butter to a large bowl and beat it with a mixer until white and creamy about 2 minutes.

2.    Add sugar to butter and beat until fluffy. It should look thick like buttercream frosting.
3.    Add egg yolks and vanilla extract and continue to mix with electric mixer until batter is very thick.

4.    Add flour a little at a time and mix with mixer until mixer struggles. Continue incorporating batter by stirring and mashing with a fork until batter is doughy.

5.    Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for about an hour or until dough is firm.
6.    Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
7.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
8.    Add cookie dough to baking sheet.
    a.    If you are going to be shaping the cookies with cookie cutters do so now, if you want round cookies: add a spoonful of dough to your hand, roll the dough in a ball and flatten on the parchment paper.

9.    Bake for 8-10 minutes until slightly golden brown. Time varies based on how thick you rolled out your cookie dough, the shape, and overall thickness of the cookie. Check the bottom of the cookies if you are unsure.
10.    When cookies are done baking, remove from oven and let sit until cool.
    a.    Let cookies sit until completely cooled to avoid them falling apart.
    b.    I slide the parchment paper full of cookies off of the hot baking sheet and let the cookies cool on the counter (on a dish towel if the counter is heat sensitive). Don’t try to pick up individual cookies as they are fragile and can break apart when warm.

Step 2: Decorate

Ingredients:

10 oz Ghirardelli 60% cacao baking chips (dark chocolate)

1.    Melt Ghirardelli chocolate according to package instructions.
    a.    I microwave mine in 20-30 second intervals stirring between each microwave session until melted.

2.    Add melted chocolate to a piping bag or piping bottle.
    a.    I use a piping bottle.
3.    Draw Ninja/Martial Arts stick figures on each cookie.

4.    Let decorated cookies sit out for about an hour until the chocolate sets.
5.   Once cookies have set, I usually put them in the refrigerator so the chocolate hardens before stacking them in a Tupperware container.
5.    Store most of the cookies in the refrigerator in an air-tight container. If you are going to be eating them all soon, you can leave them all in an air-tight container at room temperature. I usually store most of my cookies in an air-tight container in the refrigerator and then get a few cookies out for the day and let those sit at room temperature in an air-tight container.