Icing, Frosting, Glaze

With its cloak of pure chocolate, a buttery shortbread cookie is sublime. And this one-ingredient recipe is so easy. The chocolate makes shortbread especially delicious while adding a touch of elegance. I used it to dip these shortbread cookies that I gave to a friend as a thank-you gift.

This glaze/icing dries hard so you can stack the cookies without damaging the embellishments. You can divide it into several cups and color each differently, then use wet-on-wet decorating techniques for stunning effects.