Christmas Marathon: Day Two!

For day two I decided to re-create one of my favorite snacks in chocolate bark form. I love Snyder's Pretzel-Peanut Butter Sandwiches dipped in chocolate. So I pressed broken pretzels, as well as peanut butter chips into my semi-sweet chocolate bark. The result: a wonderfully salty sweet treat!
I tried a new cookie recipe for Mexican Chocolate Shortbread from the Food Network Magazine. It seemed a little dry to me, but I think I just over cooked it. I also tried doubling the recipe instead of making two separate batches and I think that might have affected the outcome. The taste is wonderful tho, and I will be trying this one again!

Mexican Chocolate Shortbread

12 Tblsp unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan
1 1/2 cups flour
3 Tblsp sliced almonds, plus more for topping
6 Tblsp Dutch process cocoa powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tblsp raw sugar

Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 inch square baking pan, then line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on all four sides. Pulse the flour, almonds, cocoa powder, cinnamon, salt and cayenne in a food processor until the almonds are finely ground.
Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture and beat until just combined (dough will be crumbly). Press the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan.
Prick the dough all over with a fork, then use a sharp knife to cut into 18 strips. Top with almonds, lightly pressing them in. Sprinkle with raw sugar. Refrigerate until the dough is firm, about 10 minutes.
Bake until the shortbread is slightly puffed and firm, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately retrace the strips with a knife; cool completely in the pan on a rack. Lift up the parchment paper to remove the shortbread from the pan, then separate into bars. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.