Ganache Shortbread Cookie Sandwiches- these are the perfect cookie. The shortbread is soft, easy to work with, and made with simple ingredients you already have in your kitchen. They are easy and impressive to serve, and they are the perfect treat to make if you have some kiddos who want to hang out with you in the kitchen!
This cookie is genuinely dreamy and a perfect treat for chocolate lovers everywhere. Have you had a Linzer Cookie? Have you had a Keebler Fudge Stripe? This is the child of the two... and it's one gorgeous child!
Tools You'll Need
In addition to the ingredients in the recipe, you'll need a few extra tools to make these ganache shortbread cookie sandwiches!
- Rolling Pin: You'll need a rolling pin to spread out your disks of dough to ¼ inch thickness. Any rolling pin will do, but here is a classic one if you are needing one!
- Round Cutter: Whether you use a cup, a cookie cutter, a pastry tool, or even just a sharp knife, you will need a round tool to cut your cookie shapes into circles that are 2.5 inches in diameter.
- Smaller, Round Cutter: To make the holes, or the donut-looking cookies, you'll need a smaller tool to cut or core the center of half of the 2.5 inch disks. I used a 1M piping tip to do this, but you could use a very small cookie cutter, a coring tool, or a knife to do this.
- Ziploc Bag or Piping Bag: In order to make the fudge stripes on top of each cookie sandwich, you'll need to add your melted chocolate to either a Ziploc bag or piping bag. You'll cut the very tip off of the bag, apply pressure, and move your hand bag and forth over each cookie to create thin stripes.
The Dough
This dough is pretty similar to a shortbread cookie, but it is a bit closer to your classic sugar cookie. A few ingredients in this dough really help to make this cookie what it is- a soft, buttery, flavorful, and thick deliciousness.
- Unsalted Butter: Unsalted butter, at room temperature, will fill this cookie with FLAVOR. I recommend baking with unsalted butter, but if you only have salted, just leave the salt in the recipe out! Make sure you are using butter sticks, not margarine or any other butter spread! You will NOT get the same results! The butter will need to be at room temperature. Leave the butter out on your counter for an hour or two before baking. It should be soft, cool to the touch, and you should be able to easily make an indent with your finger without your finger fully breaking the butter stick.
- Egg yolk: The extra egg yolk in this cookie helps to give you that SOFT cookie that we are looking for! Egg yolks help with moisture, and this cookie is NOT dry!
- Powdered Sugar: You'll notice a bit of powdered sugar in this recipe. The powdered sugar adds extra sweetness while helping to create a softer cookie. If you don't have any laying around, just add ¼ cup of flour and 2 extra tablespoons of granulated sugar. Your texture won't be quite the same, but your flavor will be pretty close!
- Baking Powder: Baking powder is most notably used in cakes. It helps these cookies to rise a tiny bit and helps them to have a puffy and light consistency!
The Ganache
Ganache can be FINICKY. I think, after several trials and tribulations, I finally have this ganache down.
You'll use either semi sweet chocolate chips or a chopped semi sweet baking bar for your chocolate base. I recommend Ghirardelli. Try not to switch from semi sweet chocolate, as the ratio of cream to chocolate is different for different chocolates.
You will heat your heavy cream over the stovetop. Though many place cream in the microwave when making ganache, it's easier to see when the cream begins to simmer if you heat it over the stove! As soon as you start to see the cream simmer and slightly bubble, remove it from the heat.
Pour your cream over your bowl of chocolate, making sure that all of the chocolate is under the cream. Cover the top of your bowl with plastic wrap or aliminum foil to trap the heat. This will help the chocolate chips to fully melt.
After 5 minutes, use a whisk to slowly start stirring in the middle of your bowl. Do not work on the outside or towards the rim of the bowl yet. It is important to start in the middle. Slowly whisk until you see the chocolate and cream come together. Be patient. Move further towards the edge of the bowl, continuing to whisk. Whisk until the whole bowl is fully combined.
The mixture should be thick but still rather runny. Let it sit for about 30 minutes to thicken.
Storing Shortbread Cookies
The dough of these cookies, meaning the prebaked dough, can be stored in the freezer for 3 months if properly stored in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.
The baked cookies, before being turned into a sandwich, can be stored in the freezer for 3 months as well! Make sure to carefully layer them in a freezer-safe container with parchment paper between each layer to protect the cookies.
The baked and assembled cookies should be stored at room temperature for up to three days or up to a week in the fridge. The cookies will actually get softer over time, so they are perfect to make ahead of time!
More Ganache Recipes
Print Ganache Shortbread Cookie Sandwiches
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Chill Time: 1 hour:
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
- Yield: 20 cookie sandwiches 1x
- Category: Cookies, Shortbread, Fudge, Ganache
- Cuisine: American
Description
Meet the child of the Keebler Fudge Stripe and Linzer Cookie. These are the perfect cookie. The shortbread is soft, easy to work with, and made with simple ingredients you already have in your kitchen, and the ganache filling is fudgy and rich!
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
For the Ganache
- 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
- 4 ounces heavy whipping cream
For the Stripe
- 4 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
For the Cookies
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until smooth on medium speed. Add vanilla extract, egg, and egg yolk one at a time. Beat until fully combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing on low and making sure not to overmix. Batter will be soft and sticky.
- Divide the batter in half, smoothing each half onto a piece of cling wrap to form a disk of dough. Thoroughly wrap each dough disk in more cling wrap before placing them in the fridge for one hour.
- Preheat your 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. You’ll be baking about 40 disks of dough in total, and they need to have room to between them on the sheets.
- On a clean, lightly floured surface, roll out one dough disk to be about ¼ inch thick using a rolling pin. You do not want to go any thicker than this unless you are planning to increase the amount of filling you make. The cookie will be too dry.
- Using a 2.5 inch round cup, cookie cutter, or pastry cutter, cut as many circles as you can from the dough, transferring them to a parchment-lined baking sheet. You will need to form the leftover dough into a ball and use a rolling pin to reroll the dough into a ¼ inch thick slab.
- Repeat the process with the second dough disk, rolling to ¼ inch thickness and cutting into 2.5 inch rounds.
- With these dough disks, use a 1 inch round cookie cutter, piping tip, or core tool to create a hole in the center of these rounds. By the end, you should have about 20 full rounds and 20 donut rounds.
- Make sure your donut rounds are on separate baking sheets from your regular rounds, as the donut rounds cook for about 1-2 minutes less.
- Bake the full rounds at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-12 minutes. The edges should just be starting to turn a light gold in color, but it might be difficult to see. The tops of the cookies will be light in color and look dry.
- Bake the donut rounds at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-10 minutes. Just as the full rounds, the edges should just be starting to turn in color, but the tops will be light, puffy, and dry looking.
- Allow the cookies to fully cool before assembling.
For the Ganache Filling
- Place semisweet chocolate chips or chopped semisweet bar into a medium bowl.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the heavy whipping cream until it JUST starts to simmer. It should NOT boil. You are simply looking to heat it enough so that it will fully melt the chocolate chips.
- Remove the heavy whipping cream from the heat, and pour it over the chocolate. Ensure that all of the chocolate is either covered by the cream or has been touched by the cream.
- Cover the bowl with cling wrap for five minutes.
- Using a whisk, start whisking in small circles in the middle of the bowl. Be patient, as the cream and chocolate will slowly come together. Begin moving your circle outwards, continuing to whisk towards the edge of the bowl. The ganache will be thick but slightly runny.
- Allow the ganache to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. This will help to thicken it.
For Assembly
- With a full disk (round cookie with no hole), spread about 1-1.5 tablespoons of ganache using a knife or spoon.
- Place a donut cookie (round cookie with hole) on top of the ganache. Place to the side.
- Repeat this process with remaining cookies.
- Melt remaining chocolate chips in 30 second increments in the microwave. Repeat until the chocolate is smooth.
- Transfer chocolate to a piping bag or Ziploc bag, cutting the very tip off of the bag to allow the chocolate to come out.
- Run your hand back and forth over each cookie, applying pressure to the bag to release the chocolate. This will create the stripe.
- Allow the cookies to set for at least an hour before serving. The ganache in the center will thicken and set over time, making the shortbread cookies softer. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Keywords: Cookie Sandwiches, Shortbread Sandwiches, Fudge Cookies, Ganache Cookies
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