Mini Shortbread Cookie Bites
These buttery shortbread cookie bites are filled with colorful sprinkles, cut into tiny squares and baked to perfection so you can just pop them into your mouth! They are easy to make and delicious like a traditional shortbread with the added fun of sprinkles. Everyone will love these, so go ahead and make them for you Christmas party and watch them disappear.
Just like regular shortbread, these mini bites only require a few basic ingredients and a bit of time. They’re delicious and addictive and you’ll love to just pop one of two in your mouth!
The star of the show is shortbread. This classic Scottish cookie is beloved for its rich, buttery flavor and crumbly texture. The simplicity of shortbread makes it an ideal canvas for creative embellishments, and what better way to enhance it than with a generous sprinkle of nonpareils?
Nonpareils (or 100s and 1000s if you are in the UK), are the tiny round sprinkles which add a playful and colorful touch to any treat. The word “nonpareil” is French for “without equal,” and once you experience the burst of sweetness and crunch they bring to these mini bites, you’ll understand why. I’ve used red and green for the Christmas holiday season, but you can absolutely change up the color of the sprinkles to reflect other holidays or seasons. Pastels for Easter and orange and black for Halloween are a couple of holidays that come to mind.
What you need to make Mini Shortbread Cookie Bites:
These fun Christmas cookies only require 5 ingredients:
- Butter
- Sugar
- Almond Extract (or vanilla if you prefer)
- All purpose flour
- Colored Sprinkles (Colored for the season/holiday)
Other Christmas Baking you might like:
Shortbread Bites
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter, cut into 1 Tbsp dices *if you use unsalted butter, add ¼ tsp salt to the flour
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp Almond extract (highly recommended) *you can use vanilla extract if you don't have or don't like Almond.
- 2¼ cups All purpose flour, scooped and levelled
- 3 Tbsp nonpareils or sprinkles *change the color to match the occasion
Instructions
- Line a 9×13" baking dish with parchment paper. Spray the pan to help hold the parchment in place. You can also use 2 sheets one horizontally and one vertically to make it fit better.
- in the bowl of your electric stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until well combined. Add almond extract, mix in.
- With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in the flour (and salt if using unsalted butter), and mix until combined (it does take a while and will appear dry and sandy at first but it will start to come together, if it doesn't you can add milk, 1 teaspoonat a time, mixing between additions, until it comes together. This will only take 1-2 tsp, so don't add too much too soon.
- Once the dough comes together add in 2 1/2 Tbsp sprinkles. Using your hands press the dough into an even layer in the prepared pan ( if you can't get it smooth then use the bottom of a flat cup to help smooth it out).
- Chill the dough in the pan for 30 minutes, remove from refrigerator, then sprinkle more nonpareils over the top if desired and gently press into dough.
- Lift the chilled dough from the pan using the parchment as handles. Then cut the dough into 1" cubes (I like to cut long strips 1" wide, then cut into 1" individual pieces).
- In batches of about 1/3-1/2 of the mini cookies, place them on an unbuttered baking sheet (also do not line pan with parchment or silicone liners) and space cookies 1/2-inch apart
- Bake in preheated oven 8 – 12 minutes (keep remaining cookies that aren't currently baking refrigerated). Repeat process with remaining bites, adding them to a cool baking sheet.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet, once cooled add to a air tight container and freeze or eat within 3 days (stored at room temperature).