Love shortbread, but looking for something a bit different? This chocolate and cinnamon shortbread will do the trick. It has that familiar tender texture, but with a cocoa hit and sweet spicy notes from the cinnamon. One square is never enough.
I adore shortbread in all its forms. It’s easy to make, not too sweet and has a lovely flavour and texture. Just because I’ve stated above that shortbread has a tender crumb, that doesn’t mean it can’t also be crisp.
Roll it out thinly, cut into individual shapes and bake for a little longer than you might otherwise do and you have crisp. Still deliciously short, but crisp. You can find links to some of my many shortbread recipes further down the post.
What is Shortbread?
Shortbread is a traditional Scottish bake. It was said to be a favourite of Mary Queen of Scots, though it was a little different in those days and contained caraway seeds. In its purist form, it’s made with only three ingredients: one part sugar, two parts butter and three parts flour.
As already mentioned shortbread has a lovely tender and slightly crumbly texture and is big on buttery flavour. Some prefer to add a little rice flour or semolina to the mix to give a bit more bite to the biscuits.
Despite the Scots claiming shortbread as their own, every baker worth their salt bakes shortbread. It’s a stalwart of the Women’s Institute (WI) throughout the UK. I’ve never managed to make shortbread as delicious as the oh-so-excellent biscuits you find in WI markets which literally just melt in the mouth.
Nonetheless, many have told me over the years that my shortbread is delicious. So I’ll stick to my flavoured version and leave the traditional stuff to the experts.
Head over to Farmersgirl Kitchen in order to find out how to make traditional Scottish Shortbread.
Chocolate and Cinnamon Shortbread
Despite enjoying melt in the mouth shortbread, CT likes his biscuits to be a bit more robust. So I substitute some of the flour for fine semolina. For this shortbread recipe I also added cinnamon, but not too much, cocoa powder and a pinch of salt.
Well you can’t have chocolate and cinnamon shortbread without adding something extra. And well salt just enhances the flavours and marries well with chocolate in any case.
The beauty of this recipe is that you need very little equipment. It’s quick to make and you end up with little in the way of washing up.
You bake the shortbread in a large round, which you shape free-form. The crucial thing to remember is to lightly mark out the shapes in which you wish to cut your shortbread as soon as it comes out of the oven. If you cut it whilst it’s still warm, it’s likely to fall into pieces, so be patient and wait for it to cool.
I’ve cut my chocolate and cinnamon shortbread into squares, but it could just as well be fingers or triangles. The choice is yours.
We took this particular batch of shortbread to friends the same day I baked it. Everyone loved it. It had a proper shortbread texture with the added bonus of a cocoa hit. The sweet and spicy notes of cinnamon rounded the flavour off most beautifully.
Other Shortbread Recipes You Might Like
- Almond rye shortbread with whisky raspberry cream
- Chilli shortbread biscuits
- Coffee & white chocolate shortbread
- Crystallised ginger shortbread biscuits
- Matcha cocoa-nibbed shortbread
- Wholemeal clotted cream shortbread
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this chocolate and cinnamon shortbread, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate it. Have you any top tips? Share photos on social media too and tag me @choclette8, so I can spot them.
For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?
If you’d like even more biscuit recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.
Choclette x
Chocolate Cinnamon Shortbread. PIN IT.
Chocolate and Cinnamon Shortbread – Get The Recipe
Chocolate and Cinnamon Shortbread
Ingredients
- 175 g unsalted butter softened
- 75 g caster sugar
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 20 g cocoa powder
- 60 g semolina
- 170 g plain flour (all purpose flour) (I used white spelt flour)
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugar together along with the salt until it’s light and fluffy.175 g unsalted butter, 75 g caster sugar, 1 pinch sea salt
- Sift in the remaining ingredients and mix together. Form the mixture into a ball with your hands and roll it out in a round until it’s about 1 ½ cm thick.20 g cocoa powder, 60 g semolina, 170 g plain flour (all purpose flour), ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- Place on a buttered baking tray and bake in the centre of a preheated oven at 150℃ (300℉, Gas 2) for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and mark the surface into squares (or your preferred shape) whilst still warm, then leave to cool on tray.
- Once cool, dust with caster sugar and cut along the marked lines.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Sharing
I’m sharing this recipe for easy homemade pizza from scratch with Recipes Made Easy for #CookBlogShare.
Nic | Nic's Adventures & Bakes says
Thanks for sharing, this shortbread looks amazing and perfect with a cup of tea 🙂
Nic | Nic’s Adventures & Bakes
Choclette says
Thanks Nic. I do agree a cup of tea is the perfect accompaniment to shortbread.
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie says
YUM! I love chocolate shortbread and great idea to add cinnamon! Eb 🙂
Choclette says
Spices and chocolate go so well together and the house always smells so good whilst it’s baking.
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
They sound so yummy!
Choclette says
Love a piece of shortbread and the cocoa and cinnamon makes a really nice change.
Joanna says
I love home-made shortbread but have never made chocolate shortbread. This sounds delicious especially with the cinnamon spicing.
Choclette says
Oh do give it a go Joanna. As you know homemade shortbread is fabulous stuff, but it’s really nice to vary it a bit and cocoa and cinnamon is a lovely combination.
Jacqui - Recipes Made Easy:Only Crumbs Remain says
Like you I adore shortbread in all forms. I have had chocolate before but not with cinnamon. sounds delicious. Than you for sharing with #CookBlogshare
Choclette says
Thanks Jacquie. Chocolate, with cinnamon, with cardamom and with chilli – you name it, I’ve probably tried it.
Beth Sachs says
I don’t think I’ve ever made chocolate shortbread but this looks great. I might just give this a go at the weekend…it’s definitely going to be the weather for baking by the looks of it!
Choclette says
Ooh Beth, you’re missing out. I’ve made various chocolate shortbreads over the years and they’re all good.
Choclette says
I’ve always used semolina, but I know most use cornflour. Not tried making it with flour only, but I suspect it would be fine – it’s all to do with the texture. Would be interested to hear your report if you do try them both.
Mostly About Chocolate Blog says
If I don’t have semolina can I swap it out or do I have to pop off to the shops and get some?
I have to try this after I try the recipe my mom gave me and compare. Mom’s has 3 ingredients (no salt – sugar, flour & butter)
Choclette says
Kath it was good – one of my favourite recipes so far!
Kath says
Just spotted this under your latest post and blimey it looks good, I have never tried chocolate shortbread before, will be making this soon.
Choclette says
I love this combination too. Perhaps If you do give it a go, you could add more cinnamon – I felt it could have done with a bit more. If you want a real cinnamon hit, try the cinnamon and chocolate chunk cake I made back in February.
cinabar says
Chocolate and cinnamon are two of my favourite things, so I am going to have to give this recipe a go!