Scottish Shortbread

Ingredients

10 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

For the chocolate (optional):

6 oz semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 Tbsp shortening

Method

Mix first four ingredients with an electric mixer. Sift the flour over the mixture and mix in. If the dough is too dry to hold together, add in a few teaspoons of water at a time until it does. Knead until smooth.

Press the dough into an 8x8 pan or mold; pierce with fork in a decorative pattern. Bake at 300F for 45-50 minutes, until just golden around the edges. Let cool before cutting into bars.

For the chocolate:

Melt the chocolate and shortening in a double boiler. Dip the bottoms of the cooled shortbread and place on wax paper. Refrigerate until chocolate has hardened.

Adapted from the Joy of Cooking recipe "Scottish Shortbread."