Christmas Shortbread Bites

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 with fun Christmas sprinkles or with a light glaze.

They're the perfect addition to a plate of Christmas cookies, if they last that long!

this recipe!

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.

I used to have a business making food gifts and one of my favorite things is still to package up a box of christmas cookies as a fun thoughtful gift. These Christmas shortbread bites are perfect to package for gift giving.

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 for tiny Christmas shortbreads.

• 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.

Variations for Christmas shortbread bites

You can customize these delightful bites of shortbread using your favorite sprinkles, funfetti or even sanding sugar.

You can drizzle on some icing or enjoy them with no icing.

You could also put some peppermint extract in the dough and shave some candy canes on top for a fun peppermint version.

Top tips for making the best Christmas shortbread bites

• Use butter at room temperature for best baking resluts
• Pure vanilla extract is best to use for the best flavor
• It is important when measuring the flour to level off the top with knife and do not pat or shake to get the correct amount
• The glaze is optional but we recommend doing half of the batch
• Using a pizza cutter makes cutting these into bites a breeze

Storage & freezing instructions for shortbread bites

You can store in an airtight container for 3 - 5 days or in the fridge for 7 days.

Freeze in a freezer-safe container for 2 -3 months.

Thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature before serving.

You might also enjoy these cookie recipes

• Funfetti sugar cookies
• Cherry shortbread cookies
• Ricotta sprinkle cookies
• Mini Christmas Fruitcake
• Candy cane cookies
• Key lime cookies

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