Started!

I finally started my Christmas baking!!

Anyone who's friends with me on Facebook, Twitter, or chat regularly with me on online forums, know that I have been suffering the last month or so from some pretty severe insomnia (only 1 night with more than 5 hours of sleep in more than 4 or 5 weeks now).

I've come around to using that time for productivity lately..... so this morning, at 1 am, I started my christmas baking. Yup. It's chilling in the fridge right now.

Today's recipe is a new one! I don't know who linked me this recipe, but it's been open in my browser for more than a week now.

The recipe can be found HERE at Reader's Digest.


Brown Sugar Chocolate Shortbread Dipped in White Chocolate


Ingredients

1 cup (250 mL) salted butter

¾ cup (175 mL) brown sugar

1¾ cup (425 mL) all-purpose flour

½ cup (125 mL) cocoa

Topping:

8 oz (250 g) chopped white chocolate, melted


1. Cream butter and sugar together until light, about 5 minutes. Sift flour with cocoa.

2. Beat into butter mixture. Divide dough into four square pieces. Wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

3. Roll out one piece of dough on a lightly floured surface and cut into 12 squares of about 2 in (5 cm) each. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough. Arrange cookies on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. (Cookies will not spread too much, if at all, as they bake.)

4. Bake in a preheated 275°F (140°C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven then, after 15 minutes, transfer to a cooling rack.

5. Melt chocolate in a 2-cup (500-mL) measuring cup. Dip cookies in the chocolate on the diagonal so that half are covered from one corner to another in white chocolate. Allow excess white chocolate to drain off and arrange cookies on rack. Refrigerate until set.

Makes 48 cookies

I'll post to let you know my review on them once they're baked (later today). One sample (for each of us), then in the deep freeze to prevent over indulgence.


On a somewhat related note... I started a weight loss challenge with some friends to keep us in check over the holidays. We started last week, so yesterday was our first weigh in. I LOST 7 POUNDS IN 1 WEEK!!! Go me!