These 1-inch square Christmas Shortbread Bites are fun and easy to make. These mini cookies melt in your mouth and will have you coming back for more! You can enjoy them plain or with a light glaze. They're the perfect addition to a plate of Christmas cookies!
Don't let the small size of these cookies fool you into thinking they're finicky to make! They're not! Using a pizza cutter, you can whip these up in no time.
If you love shortbread, we have some lovely shortbread cookie recipes to try. The Whipped Lemon Shortbread is light as a feather and filled with lemon, vanilla and white chocolate flavors. For the fruitcake lover, our fruitcake shortbread cookies have a light glaze that softens and seems to melt right into the fruit-studded shortbread.
Not only are they cute-as-a-button but they're so tasty!! Adapted from my shortbread cookie recipe that is really popular, this is a fun way to present them on a plate with other cookies, scattered about.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Cornstarch - cornstarch gives this cooke its melt-in-your-mouth texture that we love in a cookie.
- Powdered sugar - adds a little sweetness, but not too much.
- All purpose flour
- Butter - use butter softened at room temperature. It should be soft but not melted. Take the butter out of the fridge 30 to 60 minutes before you start the recipe.
- Almond extract - you can also substitute pure vanilla extract if you prefer.
- Sprinkles/Non pareils - use your favorite sprinkles!
Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (I was able to fit 56 on one cookie sheet).
In a large mixing bowl, sift together all purpose flour, cornstarch and powdered sugar. If you don't have a sifter, you can mix well with a whisk or wooden spoon.
Use a wooden spoon, or clean hands to blend in the butter and ¼ teaspoon almond extract until a soft, crumbly dough forms.
Stir in the sprinkles and gather dough into a ball.
On a lightly floured surface, or on parchment paper, roll out dough into a rectangle approximately ¾" to 1 " thick. The shape does not have to be perfect. You can trim the edges with a pizza cutter and re-roll the scraps of dough.
Use a pizza cutter to cut into 1" wide strips. Carefully move the strips, one at a time off to the side and cut each strip into 1-inch squares.
Re-roll any scraps and cut into squares.
Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet and add a few more sprinkles, if desired.
Bake in 325°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet and drizzle with glaze if desired.
Glaze: The glaze is optional. I like to glaze half of them for a nice variety. You can also tint the glaze with a drop of red or green food coloring as well.
In a small mixing bowl, mix together powdered sugar, milk, and almond extract until desired consistency for drizzling over cookies. You may need to add a little more powdered sugar or milk. You can drizzle with a fork or place glaze in decroator bag with small piping dip.
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Christmas Shortbread Bites
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 56 cookie bites
Description
These 1-inch square Christmas Shortbread Bites are fun and easy to make. These mini cookies melt in your mouth and will have you coming back for more! You can enjoy them plain or with a light glaze. They're the perfect addition to a plate of Christmas cookies!
Ingredients
½ cup cornstarch
½ cup powdered sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
¾ cup butter, softened at room temperature
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 to 2 Tablespoons sprinkles or non pareils
Glaze (optional)
1 and ½ cups powdered sugar
1 to 2 Tablespoons of milk
¼ teaspoon almond extract or vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. (I fit 56 on one cookie sheet).
- In a large mixing bowl, soft together all purpose flour, cornstarch and powdered sugar.
- Use a wooden spoon, or clean hands to blend in the butter and almond extract until a soft, crumbly dough forms.
- Stir in the sprinkles and gather dough into a ball.
- On a lightly floured surface, or on parchment paper, roll out dough into a rectangle approximately ¾" to 1 " thick. The shape does not have to be perfect. You can trim the edges with a pizza cutter and re-roll the scraps of dough.
- Use a pizza cutter to cut into 1" wide strips. Carefully move the strips, one at a time off to the side and cut each strip into 1-inch square. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet and add a few more sprinkles, if desired. Reroll any scraps and cut into squares and transfer to cookie sheet.
- Bake in 325°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet and drizzle with glaze if desired.
- Glaze: In a small mixing bowl, mix together powdered sugar, milk and almond extract, until desired consistency is reached for drizzling over cookies. You may need to add a little more powdered sugar or milk. You can drizzle with a fork or place glaze in decroator bag with small piping dip.
Notes
Store cookies in airtight container for up to five days or in refrigerator to up to seven days. These cookies freeze well in an airtight container for up to two months. Thaw completely before serving.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven Baked
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 shortbread bites
- Calories: 51
- Sugar: 4.2 g
- Sodium: 0.9 mg
- Fat: 2.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 7 g
- Fiber: 0.1 g
- Protein: 0.3 g
- Cholesterol: 6.5 mg
Keywords: Christmas Shortbread bites, holiday shortbread cookie bites
Liza
The perfect Christmas cookie recipe for gift giving! Everyone loves these, and I love that the recipe makes more than four dozen melt-in-your-mouth cookies. Thank you for the tip about cutting the dough with a pizza cutter! That made the recipe so easy.
★★★★★
Tim
A must have for any Christmas shortbread lovers. Such a fun delicious bite that looks great as well! Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★