Dark chocolate & peanut shortbread cookies

Buttery shortbread cookies with a golden, crisp demerara sugar-coated edge, studded with gooey bites of dark chocolate, crunches of roasted peanuts and finished with a sprinkling of flaky sea salt.

I’ve been baking these cookies for years and they are a firm favourite of mine. The combination of chocolate and peanut is a winning one, and in the context of a moorish, soft yet crisp shortbread cookie–it is perfect to me. They are incredibly easy to make, the dough very quick to prepare, and are the perfect treat to have on hand with the baked cookies staying fresh for 4-5 days, and the unbaked dough good in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Makes 24-26 cookies

Ingredients
butter 220g, room temperature
light brown sugar 70g
caster sugar 75g
egg yolk 1, from a large egg, reserving the egg white for egg wash
vanilla extract 1.5 tsp
plain flour 220g
fine sea salt a pinch
dark chocolate 120g, roughly chopped with pieces no bigger than 1cm
whole peanuts 75g, roasted
demerara sugar 4-5 tbsp, to roll the cookies in
flaky sea salt to finish

Add the butter and sugars to the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl and mix until combined and slightly fluffy. Scrape down the bowl, add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and mix until smooth and just combined. The egg white should be kept in the fridge in a sealed container or in a bowl covered with cling film until ready to use for the egg wash.
butter 220g, room temperature, light brown sugar 70g, caster sugar 75g, egg yolk 1, from a large egg, reserving the egg white for egg wash, vanilla extract 1.5 tsp

Add the flour and salt to the mixer bowl and mix until half way combined. Add the chopped dark chocolate and peanuts and continue mixing until the add ins are well distributed and there are no signs of flour.
plain flour 220g, fine sea salt a pinch, dark chocolate 120g, roughly chopped with pieces no bigger than 1cm, peanuts 75g, roasted

Divide the dough in two, placing each half onto separate pieces of cling film at least 20cm in length. Shape the pieces of dough into log shapes, then wrap up in the cling film, using it to neaten the log shape and pack the dough compactly. Place each wrapped log of dough into the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 160C fan and line a large baking tray with baking paper. Place the demerara sugar onto a large flat plate, remove the egg white and one of the cookie dough logs from the fridge. Whisk the egg white to loosen, then use a pastry brush to liberally brush the exterior of the dough before rolling it in the demerara sugar to coat. Use a sharp knife to carefully cut 1.5cm rounds from the dough–I find using light pressure and quick and short sawing motion with the knife works best here to prevent the dough from crumbling too much. Place the cookie rounds about 4cm apart on the baking tray, placing any rounds that didn’t fit onto the tray back into the fridge while this batch bakes. Bake for 11-14 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle each cookie with some flaky salt and let cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

The cookies keep well in a sealed container stored at room temperature for up to 5 days. Unbaked cookie dough will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days, wrapped in cling film. The baked cookies and dough can be frozen, too–allow the baked cookies to thaw at room temperature, and the unbaked dough to thaw in the fridge before baking.