No.82 The 100 Most Popular Recipes Ever · October 2026

Salted Butter and Chocolate Chunk Shortbread (The Cookies)

Made famous by Alison Roman

Photo: Neil Conway, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From Dining In, 2017. Alison Roman is No. 19 on the Hot 100.

Known online as just "The Cookies," they sold out chocolate and salted butter in some shops in 2017 and are still one of the most baked cookies on Instagram.

Written in our own words and tested in a home kitchen. Get the original in Dining In.

Ingredients

• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp (255 g) cold salted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (55 g) packed light brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups (280 g) all-purpose flour
• 6 oz (170 g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chunks (not chips)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Demerara or other coarse sugar, for rolling
• Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

Steps

1. In a stand mixer with the paddle (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and both sugars on medium-high until very light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.
2. With the mixer on low, add the flour, then the chocolate, mixing just until combined. Knead it a few times with your hands to bring it together.
3. Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a log about 2 inches (5 cm) across. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until very firm, at least 2 hours or up to 5 days.
4. Heat the oven to 350F (175C) and line two baking sheets with parchment.
5. Brush the logs with the beaten egg and roll them in demerara sugar. Slice into 1/2-inch (1.25 cm) rounds. If the chocolate makes them crumble, press them back together.
6. Space them about 1 inch apart on the sheets and sprinkle with flaky salt.
7. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until the edges are just golden. Cool on the sheets.

Chef's tips

• Use good salted butter; it's most of the flavor.
• The logs freeze for months. Slice and bake straight from frozen, adding a minute or two.

This is Chef Amazing's write-up of the dish, tested for a home kitchen. The original is in Dining In by Alison Roman: get the book, No. 56 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks.

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