Chocolate Swirled Shortbread

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CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
			12	Servings

INGREDIENTS

2	c	All-purpose flour
1/2	c	Sugar
1	pn	Salt
16	T	Cold unsalted butter, cut
		into chunks
1	t	Pure vanilla extract
4	oz	Semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2	c	All-purpose flour
1/2	c	Powdered sugar
2	T	Unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8	t	Salt
12	T	Unsalted butter, softened
1	t	Pure vanilla extract
		combined with:
2	T	Instant coffee crystals
		optional

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with baking
parchment.  Make the vanilla shortbread: In a large bowl, whisk
together the  flour, sugar, and salt. With a pastry cutter, cut the
butter into the  dry ingredients until it is evenly distributed and the
size of small  crumbs. Stir in the vanilla and mix the dough, shaping
it with your  hands until it comes together to form a ball. Transfer
the dough to a  lightly floured work surface and roll it out until 1/4
inch thick.  Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.  Make the chocolate
shortbread: In a ceramic or glass bowl covered with  plastic wrap, heat
the chocolate in a microwave oven on High for  30-second intervals,
stirring after each interval, until smooth. Let  cool to lukewarm. In a
bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa,  and salt. Put the butter
in a bowl and whip until light and fluffy  using the electric mixer on
medium speed. Add the melted chocolate  and beat until smooth. Beat in
the vanilla and instant coffee, if  using. Add the dry ingredients and
combine until a dough forms.  Gather the dough into a disk and flatten
it slightly. On a lightly  floured surface, roll it out until 1/4 inch
thick. (Should the dough  be too soft to roll, wrap it in plastic wrap
and chill until firm.)  Place the chocolate dough on top of the plain
shortbread dough and  with your hands gently but firmly roll the doughs
into a log. Wrap  the log in plastic wrap and chill for about 1 hour,
or until firm.  With a sharp knife, cut the chilled dough into slices
about 1/2 inch  thick and arrange them on the prepared cookie sheet,
leaving 1 inch  between. Bake the cookies for about 20 minutes, or
until golden  around the edges. Remove the cookies with a spatula to
wire racks to  cool. Store in any sealed container, such as a tin or
jar. The  cookies can also be frozen, wrapped first in plastic wrap and
then in  aluminum foil.  Make 2 dozen cookies  Formatted and Busted by
Carriej999@AOL.com 3/6/98  Recipe by: Tante Marie's Cooking School in
San Francisco  Posted to MC-Recipe Digest by Carriej999
<Carriej999@aol.com> on Mar  7, 1998

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Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients) ---------------------------------------------- Calories: 346 Calories From Fat: 128 Total Fat: 14.8g Cholesterol: 30.5mg Sodium: 52.1mg Potassium: 56.5mg Carbohydrates: 51g Fiber: 1.8g Sugar: 16.8g Protein: 4.5g