Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

It's November! That means more hail in Ontario, the first Christmas-themed commercials of the year, and pre-Christmas Christmas baking. I've got a few recipes for Christmas in mind. I want to make these, these, and maybe a cheesecake (now taking suggestions for what kind to make. So far I've just made the pumpkin, and Christmas calls for something different).

Last week in the mail, the Current Resident at our house received a little magazine of recipes that is really an advertisement for things made by Kraft.






















In an effort to forget about the hole in kitchen floor that spat up gross dirt and water on Saturday, after I had just finished sweeping the entire apartment, when our landlord (who I'm mad at anyways, I'll post about that soon, I'm sure) was in Toronto and unreachable by phone, and to take my mind off the total 25 pages in papers that I have to write for class this week, I decided to try these chocolate short breads. I figured that if I liked them, I could make them again for the actual Christmas baking.



















It's been a long 2 and a half months with our landlord. It's too long a story for this post, I'll just say that John and I have seen 3 awesome apartments in as many days and we're really excited about our new plan of attack. I'll write about it after the fact, since I'm not sure exactly what will happen yet.

















I'd like to re-name these cookies "dinosaur eggs" or something, since they don't look too much like cookies when they're done. I think my mom's mom, Grandma Madge, used to bake these years ago when she would make an assortment of Christmas cookies for us to eat at her house. Mmmm buckeyes. Hers were the best.


















These cookies were...good. Not outstanding, and not the short bread that I love dearly. But they're better than no cookies, or a sharp stick in the eye. John thinks I was too hard on them, that they were really good.

Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
from Kraft Foods "What's Cooking," Festive '09.

2 cups butter, softened
1 3/4 cups icing sugar, divided
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 pkg. (6 squares) baking chocolate*

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Beat butter and 1 cup sugar in a large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Add flour and cornstarch; mix well. Stir in chocolate.
Roll dough into 1-inch balls; place, 2" apart, on baking sheets. Flatten slightly with bottom of glass.**
Bake 13 minutes or until centres are set; cool on baking sheets 5 min. Add warm cookies, 1 at a time, to remaining sugar; turn to coat evenly.*** Cool on wire racks.


*(I think this recipe is an ad for Baker's bittersweet baking chocolate, which I happened to have on hand. I'm sure any semisweet chocolate would do).
** Mine were way to dry for this, that's why they look like eggs.
***This makes the sugar melt and kind of turn into a glaze...it worked perfectly.