Peppermint Bark Shortbread

Shortbread is a great cookie anytime of the year but top it with peppermint bark and, suddenly, it is on top of the make-now list for Christmas cookies. Peppermint Bark Shortbread! What could be better?

This theme for this month’s Creative Cookie Exchange is peppermint so I decided to make one of our family’s favorite Christmas candies, peppermint bark, and combine it with another favorite, buttery shortbread cookies.  Surely, this is what the Christmas angels eat. :)

Ingredients
For the shortbread:
2 cups or 255g flour
3/4 cup or 130g cornflour or cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup or 130g sugar
1 cup or 240g butter

For the peppermint bark:
4.6 oz or 130g peppermint sticks (or about 3/4 cup once shattered)
12 oz or 340g good quality white chocolate
Pinch salt

Method
Preheat your oven to 325°F or 163°C and line your 8x8in or 20x20cm pan with parchment paper.

Melt your butter in a small saucepan and allow to cool.

Combine your flour, cornstarch, baking powder, sugar and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl.  Stir well.

Pour in the melted butter and mix until you have a soft dough.

Press the dough into your prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Put your peppermint sticks in a Ziploc bag and shatter gently with a small hammer.  You don’t want to crush them completely.

Meanwhile, put your white chocolate in a microwaveable bowl and melt in the microwave by zapping 15-20 minutes each time and stirring well in between.  Once the white chocolate has softened mix in the pinch of salt and all but a small handful of the crushed peppermint sticks and stir well.

Spoon the white chocolate/peppermint mixture on top of your almost cooled shortbread, spread it around and smooth it out.

Sprinkle on the reserved small handful of peppermint shards.  Allow to cool completely and almost harden before cutting into squares.

Enjoy!

If you love peppermint like we love peppermint, this is going to be your favorite Creative Cookie Exchange month:

• Chocolate Peppermint and Chocolate Chip Cookies from Karen at Karen’s Kitchen Stories 
• Chocolate Peppermint Cookies from Kim at Ninja Baking
• Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies from Holly at A Baker’s House
• Cocoa Peppermint Cookie Bark from Laura at The Spiced Life
• Mint Chocolate Cookies from Jill at Made with Love
• Peppermint Bark Shortbread from Stacy at Food Lust People Love
• Peppermint Dark Chocolate Drizzled Coconut Macaroons from Felice at All That’s Left Are the Crumbs
• Peppermint French Macarons from Miranda at Cookie Dough and Oven Mitt
• Peppermint Mocha Cookies from Sophia at If I Ever Owned a Bakery 

To join in the fun, just complete the steps below:

1. Write a blog post with recipe and original photo. The theme this month is peppermint!  We would like the recipe to be one you’re making for the first time, and photos must be original.
2. Post the Cookie Exchange badge somewhere on your blog so others can join in the fun.

3. Make a good faith effort to visit and comment on the other cookies in the Linky party. We all love cookies so that should be easy!
4. LIKE the Creative Cookie Exchange Facebook Page
5. FOLLOW the Creative Cookie Exchange Pinterest Board:
6. LINK your blog post below using the Linky tool

You can also just use us as a great resource for cookie recipes--be sure to check out our Facebook page, our Pinterest Board, and our monthly posts. You will be able to find them the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month!