Description
These Christmas Shortbread Bites are buttery, tender, and festively decorated with colorful nonpareil sprinkles. Perfect for holiday parties or gifting, these bite-sized cookies are easy to prepare with simple ingredients and a quick baking process.
Ingredients
Scale
Shortbread Dough
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Topping
- 3 teaspoons Christmas colored nonpareils
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Pan: Heat oven to 325°F. Line an 8 or 9-inch baking dish with plastic wrap or parchment paper and set aside.
- Cream Butter Mixture: In a bowl of an electric mixer, combine softened butter, powdered sugar, and almond extract. Beat until creamy, scraping the bowl often. Turn off the mixer.
- Add Dry Ingredients: Very gently add the all-purpose flour and kosher salt a little at a time. Beat slowly until the dough just begins to form. Be patient during this process to avoid overmixing.
- Incorporate Sprinkles: Stir in the Christmas colored nonpareils evenly throughout the dough.
- Form Dough and Chill: Knead the dough a few times until it forms a smooth ball. Spread the dough evenly into the prepared pan and gently press down. Refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes to firm up.
- Cut Dough: Remove the pan from the refrigerator. Use the plastic wrap or parchment paper to lift the dough out onto a cutting board. Cut the dough into ½-inch squares carefully.
- Arrange and Bake: Place the shortbread squares onto ungreased cookie sheets, spacing them slightly apart. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes or until the edges are slightly browned. Watch carefully as they can brown quickly.
Notes
- You can substitute almond extract with ½ teaspoon vanilla extract if preferred.
- If using salted butter, omit the additional kosher salt from the recipe.
- To make a larger batch, double all ingredient quantities and use a 9×13 inch baking dish.
- For extra festivity, sprinkle additional nonpareils on top of the dough before baking.
- Scoop and level flour using a tablespoon and butter knife for accurate measurement to ensure consistent results.
- This recipe is versatile for any occasion; change the sprinkle colors to match holidays like Hanukkah, Valentine’s Day, or St. Patrick’s Day.
- Try adding chocolate chips by using a chocolate chip shortbread recipe variation for extra flavor.
- If short on time, you may skip chilling the dough, but chilled dough is easier to cut into neat squares.
- Refer to the blog post for more baking tips and tricks related to this recipe.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 45 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 30 mg
- Fat: 3 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 5 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 0.5 g
- Cholesterol: 8 mg
