Salted Butter Chocolate Chunk Shortbread, my way

So, apparently this recipe broke the Internet. Not by my hand, mind you. I first came across it on Smitten Kitchen, but the original is made by Alison Roman, from her book Dining In. I could totally have followed the instructions - they're easy - but as it was I decided that a shortcut was fine and I skipped the last step of eggwashing and sugaring the outside of the cookie. For the original recipe please follow the links above. This is just my way.

I really like how fast this is to make. I really appreciate when you can make the dough in advance and  keep it in the fridge - or even freezer - until you're ready to bake. And this is definitely one of those. I made my rolls a little smaller than the original I think, since I got over 40 cookies where the recipe said 24. But this is a good size. (And as the famous saying goes, if they're small you can have two!)

The cookie itself is crumbly and a little sandy, like the very best shortbread. I used a few different types of chocolate and found that to be a good way, but whatever you use make sure you really like it. The flavor of the chocolate makes a big impact.

Salted Butter Chocolate Chunk Shortbread, my way
about 40 cookies

255 salted butter, directly from the fridge, in small pieces
100 g granulated sugar
50 g brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
295 g all-purpose flour
170 g chocolate, mostly dark (I used about 30 g milk, and two different kinds of dark), cut into chunks
for sprinkling: sugar and flaky sea salt

Beat butter and both sugars together, I use my Kitchen-Aid for this. Add vanilla. Add flour and mix until just mixed in, and then finally the chocolate.

Shape into logs, about 5 cm in diameter, and wrap in plastic. Let them rest in the fridge for at least a few hours.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 175°C.

Slice the cookies onto a lined baking sheet, sprinkle with a little bit of granulated sugar and flaky sea salt if you so wish. (My six-year old was very into this)

Bake until the edges are lightly golden - about ten minutes in my oven.