Peppermint Chocolate Shortbread Bar – Perfect for a Christmas Cookie Exchange #ChipitsHoliday

Recently I was approached by Hershey’s Canada who asked if I’d talk to you all about my Christmas baking using Hershey’s products and of course I jumped at the chance because it’s a no-brainer for me. Every year I make a list of goodies which I’d like to bake and inevitably I turn to Hershey’s products because..well they’re the BEST. Over the years I’ve gone from baking with entirely prepackaged ingredients to building the confidence to make recipes from scratch, changing them to become my own.

Part of the confidence I’ve built (through some massive fails) is attributed to buying quality ingredients. I’ve learned that those quality ingredients and taking things slowly really works better in the end. I can recall a day when I had some cheaper, lower quality chocolate which completely crystallized as I tried to melt it….becoming a hard rock and utterly useless. That day taught me NOT to choose my chocolate by the cost but to find the BEST for my baking. Hershey’s has ALWAYS provided a variety of high quality ingredients, my Mum swears by them and I do too!

Hershey’s has a fantastic website where they bring us into their kitchen, you can find recipes which are organized by your need! They make it really easy to find what you’re looking for by using categories such as recipes by type, occasion, by product, holiday ideas and even “how to”.

Today I’ve chosen a recipe which I feel is perfect for Christmas baking exchanges, I use my whipped shortbread cookie recipe as a base and topped it with delicious Hershey’s peppermint chocolate chips!

Peppermint Chocolate Shortbread Bar

INGREDIENTS

•  2 cups of room temperature unsalted butter
• 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup of cornstarch
• 3 cups of all purpose white flour
• 2 bags of Hershey’s Chipits Peppermint Chocolate Chips
• 1/2 bag of Hershey’s Chipits White Chocolate Chips
• Green food colouring

PREPARATION

Prepare the shortbread base:

Place 2 cups of room temperature unsalted butter in your mixer & turn your mixer on high for 10-15 minutes. Your butter will be perfectly creamed and will be white rather than yellow. While the butter is mixing, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Once the butter is creamed, add in 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar and 2 cup of cornstarch. Mix together for a minute or two before adding in 3 cups of all purpose white flour. Pour the batter into a 9×13 baking pan, smoothing using your hands so it’s level.

Bake for 10 minutes. Now you want to allow it to cool fully in the pan.

Peppermint Chocolate Layer:

Melt the Hershey’s Chipits Peppermint Chocolate Chips in a double broiler, stirring continuously.

Pour the Peppermint chocolate on top of the cooled shortbread base int the pan. Use a spatula to smooth out the chocolate. Place in the fridge and allow to set fully. Once set, remove from the pan and cut into equal squares.

White Chocolate decoration:

1. Melt the Hershey’s Chipits White Chocolate Chips in a double broiler, stirring continuously.
2. Add in a few drops of green food colouring.
3. Place a small circle of the green chocolate onto each square.
4. Using a toothpick, swirl the circles around to create a pretty little decoration on each square.

 This is a recipe which the family here loves, I’m happy to share it with you and would love to hear how it turns out for you if you make it.

If you’re looking for a cookie recipe, check out my Whipped Shortbread Cookie recipe which I use as the base for this bar.

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5.0 from 2 reviews

Peppermint Chocolate Shortbread Bar

Author: Julie Elsdon-Height

Serves: 24 bars

Prep time:  20 mins

Cook time:  10 mins

Total time:  30 mins

Ingredients

• 2 cup of room temperature unsalted butter
• 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar
• ½ cup of cornstarch
• 3 cups of all purpose white flour
• 2 bags of Hershey's Chipits Peppermint Chocolate Chips
• ½ bag of Hershey's Chipits White Chocolate Chips
• Green food colouring

Instructions

1. Prepare the shortbread base:
2. Place 2 cups of room temperature unsalted butter in your mixer & turn your mixer on high for 10-15 minutes. Your butter will be perfectly creamed and will be white rather than yellow
3. While the butter is mixing, preheat your oven to 375 degrees
4. Once the butter is creamed, add in 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar and ½ cup of cornstarch
5. Mix together for a minute or two before adding in 3 cups of all purpose white flour
6. Pour the batter into a 9x13 baking pan, smoothing using your hands so it's level.
7. Bake for 10 minutes.
8. Allow to cool fully in the pan.
9. Peppermint Chocolate Layer:
10. Melt the Hershey's Chipits Peppermint Chocolate Chips in a double broiler, stirring continuously.
11. Pour the Peppermint chocolate on top of the cooled shortbread base int the pan. Use a spatula to smooth out the chocolate.
12. Place in the fridge and allow to set fully.
13. Once set, remove from the pan and cut into equal squares.
14. White Chocolate decoration:
15. Melt the Hershey's Chipits White Chocolate Chips in a double broiler, stirring continuously.
16. Add in a few drops of green food colouring.
17. Place a small circle of the green chocolate onto each square.
18. Using a toothpick, swirl the circles around to create a pretty little decoration on each square.

3.5.3226