Chocolate Dipped Shortbread

As I've mentioned previously, I unfortunately am not a massive sweet tooth, I am however a massive fan of baking which leaves my household in a conundrum when it is just Mr M & I and he is left with all the sweets to eat. This all changed however when I made some Chocolate Dipped Shortbread over Christmas for friends - I ended up having to make 2 more batches as everyone loved it so much, including myself. It's so so simple to make so I thought I'd share it with you if your ever in the mood for a little baking.

YOU NEED:

1. Rolling Pin
2. Cut out shape (I used a heart but you could use whatever you wish)

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups (260 grams) plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (226 grams) salted butter* - room temperature
1/2 cup of pure icing (powdered) sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 block of your plain chocolate (I used Cadburys which worked fantastic)

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a separate bowl whisk the flour with the salt & set aside
Place butter in electric mixer & beat until smooth & creamy (hand whisk if you don't have an electric mixer) approximately 1 minute
Add the sugar and beat until smooth (approximately 2 minutes)
Beat in the vanilla extract
Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated
Flatten the dough in to a shape disk on a smooth bench
Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in fridge for a minimum of 1 hour

... Dough has now been chilled for minimum of 1 hour...

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F)
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper
On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough in to a 1/4 inch thick circle
Cut in to shapes using a floured shape cutter (i.e. heart/animal/circle/)
Place on the prepared baking sheet & put back in fridge for about 15 mins (VERY important, this will firm the dough and make sure the biscuits maintain their shape when baked)

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until shortbread is lightly browned**

CHOCOLATE DIPPING

Fill large saucepan with hot water and bring to boil on stove
Place chocolate in a heat proof bowl and place above boiling water in saucepan
Stir constantly until all chocolate has melted
Dip shortbread in to chocolate until desired coverage and place on baking sheets
Place back in fridge until set

The result??

* The higher the quality of butter, the better the shortbread turns out I have been told, I used higher quality (i.e. more expensive) butter and was happy with my taste/aesthetic results so that is my little tip to you too.