Rich and buttery with a hint of mint, these Chocolate Dipped Mint Shortbread biscuits will add a festive touch to your holiday baking. Dipped in melted dark chocolate and decorated with crushed candy canes, they’re an irresistible treat!
Shortbread, in all its buttery, crumbly glory, is one of the world’s most beloved biscuits, and these Chocolate Dipped Mint Shortbread bring a festive twist to a classic holiday treat.
This recipe is the third installment in our festive shortbread series, following the traditional and crumbly Shortbread Petticoat Tails and the warmly spiced Speculaas Shortbread. Each recipe in this series explores a unique variation on the shortbread dough, giving you options that range from the classic vanilla and the festive spiced delight of speculaas, to the classic flavour combos of choc mint and cranberry orange.
Made with icing sugar instead of rice flour, this shortbread dough makes a more delicate, melt-in-your-mouth biscuit, perfect for stamping out with your favourite cookie cutter shapes! Whether you’re preparing a batch for holiday gifting, a cozy tea-time treat, or a play on the after-dinner mint, these Chocolate Dipped Mint Shortbread biscuits will soon become a favourite.
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Why you’ll Love this Recipe
- Holiday-ready. Perfect for gifting, cookie exchanges, or pairing with your favorite hot drink.
- Easy to make. A straightforward recipe perfect for all bakers.
- Simple ingredients. Made with pantry staples and a hint of mint extract, these shortbread biscuits are easy to whip up.
- Chocolate dip. A simple yet indulgent touch – and an easy way to decorate!
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What is Shortbread?
Shortbread is one of the simplest and most beloved biscuits in the world. With origins dating back to medieval Scotland, it was traditionally reserved for special occasions like Christmas, weddings and Hogmanay – Scottish New Year.
Its name stems from the word ‘short’, a baking term that refers to the crumbly texture achieved by a high fat-to-flour ratio, and it’s believed shortbread evolved from ‘biscuit bread’, a type of twice-baked leftover bread dough enriched with butter and sugar. Over time, the yeast was replaced with more butter, and eventually rice flour, resulting in the crumbly, tender texture we know today.
The Shortbread Debate: Rice Flour vs Icing Sugar
It all comes down to texture and sweetness.
Rice flour is often used in traditional Scottish shortbread recipes to create a sandy, crumbly texture that melts in your mouth. Its subtle nuttiness also adds a depth of flavour that complements the butter beautifully.
Icing sugar, on the other hand, creates a softer, more delicate texture. Shortbread recipes featuring icing sugar tend to yield biscuits with a tender, almost silky crumb and a smoother texture. When baked, these types of shortbread develop a perfect balance of crisp edges with a melt-in-your-mouth centre – perfect for variations like the Cranberry Orange Shortbread and these Chocolate Dipped Mint Shortbread.
Both approaches have their merits, and this series gives you a chance to try both styles to find your favorite!
Recipe Ingredients
This Chocolate Dipped Mint Shortbread recipe uses just a handful of ingredients, each playing a key role in creating a perfect biscuit (find the exact measurements in the recipe card below):
- Butter. The soul of shortbread, what makes shortbread, well, shortbread! It imparts richness and a melt-in-your-mouth texture. Choose a high-quality, unsalted butter for best results.
- Icing sugar. Using icing sugar creates a delicate, almost silky crumb, making the biscuit tender and light. It’s a key ingredient for achieving a softer shortbread.
- All-purpose flour. Forms the base of the shortbread, providing structure.
- Mint extract. Be sure to use extract, not essence, for the best flavour, but go easy – mint extract is strong and you don’t want your shortbread to end up tasting like toothpaste!
- Dark chocolate. For dipping, use a good-quality chocolate to ensure a glossy finish.
- Candy canes. Crushed candy canes are an optional but festive decorative touch.
How to Make these Chocolate Dipped Mint Shortbread
Making these minty shortbread biscuits is quick and easy! Just follow these simple steps for the perfect batch:
- Make the dough. Using a hand mixer with the beaters attachment (or a wooden spoon and elbow grease), beat the softened – but not melted! – butter until smooth and pale. Add the salt and icing sugar, and cream until well combined and fluffy. On low speed, mix in the mint extract and flour until a shaggy dough just forms. Using your hands, bring the dough together in the bowl without overworking it.
- Chill the dough. Shape the dough into a flat disk, cover in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven and get two baking trays ready.
- Shape the dough. Roll out the dough to 1cm thick in between two pieces of baking paper – keep the baking paper to line the baking trays with! Using your favourite cookie cutters, cut out as many biscuits as you can before pressing the scraps back together and repeating the same process. If the cut out dough has warmed too much, pop it back in the fridge – tray and all – for 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can shape the dough into a log and slice it into rounds.
- Bake shortbread. Place the biscuits onto the baking-paper lined baking trays, spaced about 5cms apart, and bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are a pale golden brown and quite blonde on top still, with no shiny sheen. Make sure to switch the trays around at the halfway mark.
- Decorate the shortbread. Let the biscuits cool on the tray, shortbread sets as it cools, and it might crack if moved while still warm. Once the biscuits have cooled completely, dip one side into melted dark chocolate. Lay them on a wire rack or back on the baking paper tp set. For a festive touch, sprinkle crushed candy canes over the chocolate before it sets.
Once baked and dipped in chocolate, these biscuits will keep for up to a week in an airtight container.
Recipe Tips and tricks
Use softened butter. Ensure butter is softened but not melted for the best texture and for easier beating and creaming. If your butter feels greasy, it’s too soft and will make handling the dough difficult.
Handle gently. Overmixing the dough can make the biscuits tough. Stop mixing as soon as as shaggy dough forms and use your hands to bring the dough together.
Chill before baking. Resting the dough is essential to maintain its shape and for that signature crumbly texture.
Cool completely before decorating. Shortbread is delicate when warm, and trying to dip warm shortbread into melted chocolate will lead to a lot of cracked and broken biscuits.
Chocolate Dipped Mint Shortbread Recipe FAQs
Can I use peppermint extract instead of mint extract?
Yes, but use sparingly, as peppermint extract can be even more intense than mint!
Can I use regular sugar instead of icing sugar?
Icing sugar is what gives these biscuits their delicate texture, so substituting with regular sugar may result in a biscuit with a different consistency. If you don’t have icing sugar, try one of our Shortbread Petticoat Tails or Speculaas Shortbread recipes, which use caster sugar instead of icing sugar.
What if I don’t have cookie cutters?
Simply roll the dough into a log before chilling, then slice into thin, even rounds before baking.
Why Did My Shortbread Biscuit Dough Turn Out Too Soft?
If your dough is too soft and difficult to handle, it’s likely due to either using too much butter or not chilling the dough long enough. Butter-softened dough should be firm enough to roll out without sticking to the counter. Chilling the dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling helps firm it up and makes it easier to work with.
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Ready to Bake? There’s nothing quite like the rich, minty aroma of these Chocolate Dipped Mint Shortbread biscuits fresh from the oven. Perfect for gifting, sharing, or savouring with a warm drink, they’re sure to become a seasonal favourite. If you give this recipe a try, let me know how it turns out in the comments below or tag me on Instagram @food_daydreaming. Happy baking!
Recipe
Chocolate Dipped Mint Shortbread
Ingredients
- 230 g unsalted butter, softened
- 70 g icing sugar
- ½ teaspoon mint extract
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
- 100 g dark chocolate, for decorating
- Candy canes, for decorating, optional
Instructions
- To make the shortbread dough, you can use either an electric hand mixer with the beaters attachment or a wooden spoon and elbow grease. In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened – not melted! – butter until smooth and pale. Add the icing sugar and cream until well combined and fluffy.230 g unsalted butter, 70 g icing sugar
- With the mixer on low speed, mix in the mint extract, flour and salt until a shaggy dough forms. Then use your hands to bring the dough together in the bowl, making sure to not overwork the dough.½ teaspoon mint extract, 250 g all-purpose flour, Pinch of salt
- Form the dough into a flat disk, wrap it in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 160C and set aside two baking trays.
- Roll out the dough to 1cm thick in between two pieces of baking paper – keep the baking paper to line the baking trays with!
- Using your favourite cookie cutters, cut out as many biscuits as you can before pressing the scraps back together and repeating the same process. If the cut out dough has warmed too much, pop it back in the fridge – tray and all – for 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can shape the dough into a log and slice it into rounds.
- Place the biscuits onto baking-paper lined baking trays, spaced about 5cms apart, and bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges are a pale golden brown and quite blonde on top still, with no shiny sheen. Make sure to switch the trays around at the halfway mark.
- Let the biscuits cool on the tray, shortbread sets as it cools, and it might crack if moved while still warm.
- Once the biscuits have cooled completely, melt the dark chocolate in a saucepan over low heat, or in the microwave is short bursts. Then dip one side of the shortbread biscuit into the melted dark chocolate. Lay them on a wire rack or back on the baking paper to set. For a festive touch, sprinkle crushed candy canes over the chocolate before it sets.
- Store your shortbread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
