These eggless shortbread balls with chocolate drizzle are buttery, crisp and melt in your mouth, made without eggs and without condensed milk. A simple baked shortbread recipe with seven pantry ingredients ready in under an hour.
Equipment
- Electric Mixer or Hand Whisk
- Mixing bowl
- sifter
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Spatula
- Cooling Rack
- Microwave safe bowl
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 500 g Unsalted butter
- 2 cups (500ml) Icing Sugar
- 2 cups (500ml) Cornstarch (Maizena)
- 1 cup (250ml) Vegetable Oil (sunflower oil)
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 6 cups (1500ml) All Purpose Flour
- 150g Dark or milk chocolate for drizzle
- Chopped Nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Start by preheating your oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or use a non-stick baking tray and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl beat the unsalted butter and icing sugar together until smooth, light and creamy. This step incorporates air into the dough which gives you a lighter melt in your mouth texture so do not rush it.
- Mix in the cornstarch until fully combined with the butter and sugar mixture. This is what gives the shortbread its signature crumbly texture.
- Stir in the sunflower oil and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined. The oil adds extra moisture while the vanilla enhances the overall flavour.
- Sift the all purpose flour and gently fold it into the wet mixture two cups at a time until a soft dough forms. Do not overmix, stop as soon as the dough comes together. Overmixing will make the biscuits tough rather than crumbly.
- Fold in chocolate chips or chopped nuts if desired, ensuring even distribution without breaking the dough.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 15 minutes. Chilling is essential, it prevents the balls from spreading in the oven and makes the dough much easier to roll.
- Remove the dough from the freezer and roll into small evenly sized balls using your palms. Place on the prepared baking tray leaving a small gap between each one.
- Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden. The centres should remain soft as they will firm up as they cool. Keep a close eye on them as they can brown quickly, you want them pale golden not dark.
- Transfer the biscuits to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before adding the chocolate drizzle. Adding chocolate to warm biscuits will cause it to melt and slide off rather than set properly.
- Finely chop dark or milk chocolate and place in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 10 second bursts stirring between each interval until fully melted and smooth. Use a spoon or small piping bag to drizzle the chocolate over the cooled biscuits in a back and forth motion. Allow the chocolate to set completely before serving.
Notes
- Always sift flour, cornstarch and icing sugar for the lightest texture.
- Do not skip chilling. It prevents spreading when baked in the oven.
- Do not overmix once the flour is added, stop as soon as the dough comes together otherwise it will become too tough.
- Keep a close eye on the oven from the 10 minute mark as these brown quickly.
- Allow biscuits to cool completely before drizzling chocolate otherwise it will slide off.