Today my kids thought I was the coolest mom ever. Why? I made these Funfetti Shortbread Bites, Christmas style of course! Did I make them for my kids? Maybe. Or possibly it may have been sort of (mostly) for myself because I love all things tiny. No matter, we all absolutely loved these! And I’ve got a bag full of these so of course I’ve been popping them like they’re popcorn.
Not only are these some of the cutest cookie ever but they also taste amazing thanks to their buttery goodness and the delicious flavor the almond extract offers. These would be so fun to make for your kids on Christmas or to gift to neighbors in festive box or mug. I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t love these cookies (unless they had an almond allergy of course, then let’s go with vanilla extract)! They are some of my favorite cookies I’ve ever made and I know I will make them time and time again. I already plan on making them again for my family Christmas party and I’m certain they’ll be a hit! They are easier to make then they may appear, cutting them into long rows makes it a breeze and I love that the dough only requires a quick chilling thanks to the cold butter used in the recipe.
You can easily swap out the sprinkle color for any other color, a rainbow blend would be perfect for a birthday or you could do pastels on Easter, pink and red on valentines and so on. You can even find the sprinkles in single colors at some craft stores, kitchen supply stores, or online, so you can make your own blend of colors. Enjoy and happy holiday baking!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226g) salted butter, cold and diced into 1 Tbsp pieces*
- 2/3 cup (142g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 2 1/4 cups (318g) all-purpose flour (scoop and level flour to measure)
- 2 1/2 Tbsp (30g) nonpareils sprinkles (any color), then about 1/2 Tbsp more for tops if desired
Directions
- Butter a 13 by 9-inch baking dish and line with 2 sheets of parchment paper (one horizontally and one vertically. I also like to butter between parchment sheets so they stick) leaving a 1-inch over hang on all sides, set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer cream together butter and sugar until well combined. Mix in almond extract. With mixer set on low speed slowly add in flour and mix until combined (it will take a while and will appear dry and sandy at first but it will start to come together). Mix and fold in sprinkles. Press dough into an even layer in prepared pan (I did it with my hands first then used the bottom of a flat measuring cup to help smooth it out). Chill dough in refrigerator 20 - 30 minutes. Meanwhile preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Lift dough from pan using parchment overhang on all sides. Cut into 1/2-inch squares using a large sharp knife (it works best to just cut long rows). Sprinkle more sprinkles over the top if desired and gently press into dough. Transfer about 1/3 of the cookies to an unbuttered baking sheet (also do not line pan with parchment or silicone liners) and scatter cookies out spacing cookies 1/2-inch apart. Bake in preheated oven 8 - 12 minutes (keep remaining that aren't currently baking refrigerated). Repeat process with remaining bites, adding them to a cool baking sheet. Cool completely then transfer to an airtight container and store at room temperature.
- *Unsalted butter will work great too. Simply whisk in 1/2 tsp salt with the flour before adding if using unsalted butter.
- Recipe source: inspired by Land O Lakes
Wan: I can already tell these would be completely addicting if I made them. I’d have to bag them up and give them as gifts ASAP before I ate them all! December 6, 2015 at 7:10pm
Amy: So cute! December 7, 2015 at 3:15am
Laura ~ RYG: You are most definitely the coolest mom ever for coming with this these! Food in different shapes is so much fun! Kind of like acquiring a tail ~ would be totally awesome to smack people around with it. I would never think to do shortbread this way, I guess that’s why I read food blogs all day! Ha. December 7, 2015 at 7:59am
Jess @ What Jessica Baked Next: These shortbread bites are so cute, Jaclyn! I love the festive coloured sprinkles! December 7, 2015 at 9:36am
Medeja: Simple, yet they so cute! December 7, 2015 at 1:03pm
Kayla Davila: Even a kid could cook it like me December 7, 2015 at 5:56pm
Sandra: Why do you not put them on parchment to bake them? December 8, 2015 at 8:20am
Anne: I would also like to know the answer to this question… September 4, 2016 at 12:20pm
Jaclyn: They spread less on an un-greased baking sheet. September 7, 2016 at 10:26am
tami: My cookies spread like pancakes on both an ungreased pan and on parchment. This was a waste of good ingredients. December 10, 2016 at 8:54am
Brenda: We tried this recipe yesterday. We followed the instructions step by step. They spread like pancakes and we did not greased the pan. December 19, 2016 at 4:32am
June @ How to Philosophize with Cake: Aww what adorable little cookies! I could totally devour a handful of these. Love the festive sprinkles too!! December 8, 2015 at 5:19pm
Laura (Tutti Dolci): These bites are adorable and beyond festive! December 9, 2015 at 8:35pm
Nal: Hi Jaclyn,
Would it be okay if I froze them for a few weeks? December 10, 2015 at 7:25am
Darcy: These are super cute and I am making them for a bake sale. I need to mention that my first batch got over-browned in 10 minutes. The second one did not. Just watch. It is a pity that I will have to eat the overdone ones myself. ;) December 10, 2015 at 11:02am
Jaclyn: Thanks for your feedback Darcy! Sorry that happened with the first one! I use two oven thermometers so I can get the most accurate temp there for hopefully the most accurate time, but all ovens are different and altitude and the way ingredients are measured and so forth can change things. The recipe I got the inspiration from at land o lakes (link at bottom of recipe) listed 13 – 15 minutes without chilling the dough first. But I appreciate feedback – I’ll update the 10 mins to 8 mins in the recipe. December 11, 2015 at 10:50am
Lacey: I”m not sure what I did wrong, but I didn’t quite fill the pan, did I not flatten them enough? I don’t think I got 335!
My kids love them though! They’re so easy too. New Christmas tradition. Thank you! December 11, 2015 at 10:46am
Jaclyn: It should be a pretty thin layer and it will take quite a bit of spreading. It might work best to drop clumps of the dough randomly over the pan then spread instead of trying to spread a whole big piece of it out? Also I used a pan with squared edges instead of the rounded ones like this (which might make a little bit of a difference): http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/usa-pan-traditional-finish-9-inch-by-13-inch-cake-pan/?pkey=e%7Crectangular%2B13%2Bby%2B9%7C16%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C2&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH December 11, 2015 at 10:59am
Karen: I made these today for a Christmas party. The children loved them and their mother asked me how I got such perfect little square cookies. I must say, mine didn’t turn out quite as square as yours in the photos. How did you get them so perfect? I think mine spread a little too much a the surface on the cookie sheet. I thought maybe it was because my pan wasn’t cooled, but it was the first batch too. I would agree with the other poster to watch the baking time.
Love this recipe and would try it again. Very easy. December 12, 2015 at 10:51pm
KC: Use just a tad more flour to keep the butter from spreading; experiment with different batches to find the perfect combination! October 16, 2016 at 7:14pm
Elizabeth: How long do these stay fresh? :) they are so cute, I was thinking of using star and tree shaped sprinkles for their Christmas version December 13, 2015 at 4:40am
Lindsey: Can these be frozen? December 14, 2015 at 10:47pm
Maryann: Can it be aXmas present early ?? December 15, 2015 at 5:14pm
Ruth: I used a pizza cutter to cut the dough, much easier! December 16, 2015 at 10:48am
Kim: This was the BEST idea. Thank you for making it so much easier for me! December 19, 2015 at 9:22am
Mary Ann: The original Land O Lakes recipe called for plastic wrap to line the pan and then to discard it when transferring to the baking sheet. I’m sure you could bake on parchment paper though. December 16, 2015 at 11:02am
Caroleann: Jaclyn,
These are adorable! I have two questions: 1)I’m assuming that one could not substitute a log of pre-made sugar cookie dough to do this, am I correct? Just hoping to find an even quicker route… 2)Also curious, as someone else also asked, why the notation to not use parchment paper on the baking sheet? Thanks so much! December 16, 2015 at 11:18am
Jaclyn: I wouldn’t recommend pre-made sugar cookie dough – unless you could find shortbread dough which I’ve never seen at a grocery store before. And I didn’t use parchment or grease the baking sheet because I did this with raspberry thumbprints I posted (which is nearly this exact same recipe) and the cookies spread less and they don’t stick anyway because of all the butter in them. December 16, 2015 at 5:13pm
Taylor: Can you substitute vanilla for almond extract? December 16, 2015 at 1:33pm
Jaclyn: Yes definitely. December 16, 2015 at 5:11pm
Chriss: I don’t have a stand mixer. Will a hand-held mixer work? December 17, 2015 at 6:21am
Laurie: I have the same question, but I don’t see an answer to your question. Did you use your hand mixer, and did it work ok??? December 9, 2016 at 9:09pm
Karen: I made these exactly as you directed. I served them with strawberries and blueberries with whipped cream for dessert after a rich meal of short ribs. My guests loved them!! Thank you for helping me show my friends how much I love them!! December 17, 2015 at 8:04am
Mare: can this recipe be used for a flat, no confetti shortbread cookie? I am looking for a really good shortbread recipe. December 17, 2015 at 5:27pm
Jaclyn: Yes you should be able to do classic shortbread with this recipe. December 21, 2015 at 6:56pm
Deb Leonard: I love, love shortbread and can hardly wait to make these! December 18, 2015 at 4:31pm
Terry Pucella: Thought these are so cool, but mine did not keep their shape, they spread out flat. I even froze them and popped into the oven, still spread out. ?????? December 18, 2015 at 9:12pm
Jaclyn: It sounds like you likely need more flour. How did you measure the flour? I use the scoop and level method without sifting or whisking the flour first and definitely not the spoon into cup and level method. Also if they were frozen before baking instead of just chilled in the fridge they probably spread more because they needed to thaw a bit so I’d refrigerate next time. Sorry they didn’t turn out perfect for you! December 19, 2015 at 10:52am
Patsy: Jaclyn, I wonder if Terry actually used real BUTTER. So many cooks use margarine for baking and cannot be convinced that it can make a difference in the finished product. August 18, 2016 at 8:05pm
Frankie G: These look so easy and buttery delicious, too. I can’t wait to try them. My little grandson will love adding the sprinkles to them and being a part of cooking them. Thanks for sharing this recipe with us! Merry Christmas! December 19, 2015 at 11:22am
Jaclyn: I hope you both love them :)! Merry Christmas Frankie! December 19, 2015 at 11:46am
amy: I don’t have a stand mixer and with my little hand held beat them as long as I could. They never pulled together on their own. Thought maybe they were fine, do I out then in the fridge and even after an hour they fell apart. What did I do wrong? December 19, 2015 at 12:57pm
Vanessa leal: Same happened for me. I also used a hand mixer. I’ve seen other comments asking about a hand mixer but no response. I ended up putting the 9×13 pan in the oven. Waiting t see how that works out
Does anyone have any help on this? They looked so good. Really wanted to make them for my kids. December 21, 2015 at 3:42pm
Jaclyn: I wouldn’t recommend a hand mixer as the dough is really thick and a heavy duty mixer is probably necessary to bring the dough together since you start with cold butter. December 21, 2015 at 3:45pm
pauline lenz: You can knead the dough together, that will pull the flour and butter mixture together.. That is how I do lot’s of my stiffer dough.. September 22, 2016 at 8:42pm
Jaclyn: That would probably work okay here. I hope you love them! September 22, 2016 at 11:44pm
Laura G: How long would these keep for? I want to make them as Christmas gifts today, but I’m worried they won’t hold up in 4 or 5 days. December 20, 2015 at 9:41am
Zoe: I’ve done this recipe three times and the dough never comes together. It remains very flaky and crumbly. I honestly don’t know what I’m doing wrong. When I bake it taste great but the initial dough is just very hard to work with December 25, 2015 at 10:58am
Stephanie: This is what happened to me. The “dough” never came together. I added a little more butter to bind it, but it was still a crumbly mess. They taste ok, but probably won’t make again. December 17, 2016 at 1:36pm
Sue: I made these once! They never came together was crumbly & dry even though I did exactly like recipe said to use cold butter! Threw them out! Will not try again in bless someone tells me what went wrong! Too many other easier cookies to make like with Cool Whip or cake mixes December 20, 2016 at 3:45pm
Karen: Use a high power mixer and once it looks crumbly crank up the speed a notch or 2. Shouldn’t take 1 minute for it to come together properly. Not sure a hand mixer will do the job. December 19, 2016 at 8:11am
Jackie: Mine didn’t come together either. So I mixed it with my hands and it came together. Still tastes great, but they are flat, like others have mentioned. December 22, 2016 at 5:58pm
Diana: I used a hand mixer, it’s all I have. They turned out great! Can you freeze them after they are baked? December 25, 2015 at 11:38am
Traci: I can’t wait to try these but does one 9×13 pan really yield over 300 of these? I find that hard to believe! They look delicious! March 1, 2016 at 10:47am
Jaclyn: They are so tiny that it actually does! ;) March 1, 2016 at 10:58am
Jennifer: For those inquiring about the yield: a 13×9 pan, with cookies cut to 1/2″ exactly, would yield 468 cookies in theory. Consider a ruler and a pan with straight, squared corners for a precise number of cookies.
For those commenting about crumbly dough: try less flour. Everyone measures flour differently by volume. Only weight measurements are precise. July 25, 2016 at 4:43pm
Linda Leone: For those of you who don’t have a stand mixer, RELAX, my grandmother didn’t have one either. This is a classic shortbread recipe, you can cut in the butter with a pastry cutter first and then stir/cream the butter and sugar by hand, add the flour and mix.
As far as spreading, reduce oven temp by 25° do not use a non stick cookie sheet, chill before baking at least 20 to 20 min. Try using a bench scraper to cut your cookies. Make them the size you want, enjoy! July 30, 2016 at 11:00pm
Tiffany: Thank you for answering the unanswered as I do not have a stand mixer either. Now I need a pastry cutter, but definitely cheaper! August 29, 2016 at 4:33am
Amie: I noticed a comment that said they used a pizza cutter to cut the cookies! :) December 18, 2016 at 1:16pm
Dawn: I used to always make shortbread with a pastry mixer, and old recipes actually tell you to use it not a mixer…. :) November 13, 2016 at 5:18pm
Chris Holmes: I made these today. The taste was excellent but didn’t bake up. They spread out like a chocolate Chip. What did I do wrong. I made sure not to over beat, ect. I’m at a loss. August 23, 2016 at 3:28pm
melissa: hi chris! i havent tried these yet, but based off the previous answers, when they spread out it is probably because you used too much butter (or too little flour). good luck next time! November 13, 2016 at 12:05pm
CYnthia: These are in my oven right now – and I didn’t see the oven temp in the recipe, so I have mine at 350. I’m also at 6,000′ so we’ll see what adjustments high altitude requires. And I didn’t even use a mixer, just my hands, but made sure the dough was chilled. Then I made a ball, flattened it out, and rolled to about 1/2″ thick. Instead of the red and green bits, I added chopped sweetened cranberries. The dough sure tastes good! August 25, 2016 at 6:00pm
Amy Ratcliffe: Thanks Cynthia, for the cranberries addition. I wanted to make cranberry/orange shortbread cookies, but all the recipes I found either seemed too difficult or wanted an item I didnt have… I am making nut horn cookies and wanted something easy and fast while my nut horn dough is being refrigerated.
I think I am going to try this recipe with finely chopped pecans, cranberries, and orange. Hope they turn out!! December 20, 2016 at 8:52am
Teresa Scruggs: My little guy has a sprinkle addiction. I showed him these and he was really excited! We’re going to make them tomorrow. Thanks for the recipe!!! October 25, 2016 at 6:32pm
Jaclyn: I hope you both love them! October 26, 2016 at 12:41pm
Varvara Zubkova: Hello, Jaclyn!
My name is Varvara
I from Russia.
I do not know much English and it’s hard to translate your great recipes that I can not translate, and Google translator translates unclear.
Zaklyuchaetsyach my request is that I want you to ask at the entrance to your site foreign people used the site transfer function for a specific language
Thank you in advance!
Thanks. November 11, 2016 at 4:01am
Tina Williams: i bet they would be good with some cruched up candy cane and a little peppermint extract. Cant wait to try them both ways November 11, 2016 at 8:49pm
Jaclyn: Great suggestions! November 17, 2016 at 9:39am
McAuley: Just made these, and they’re awesome!
I only got around 180 bites, perhaps mine are a bit larger.
I measured all of the ingredients except for the butter, and my dough was super crumbly. I ended up adding about 1-2tsp of cold water to help it come together. Then I put the dough between two sheet pans and pressed super hard to get them to hold.
Excellent recipe, thanks for the idea!! They’ll be great for Christmas! Perhaps I’ll try them with cinnamon next time. November 15, 2016 at 7:25pm
Jaclyn: Thanks for the feedback McAuley! November 16, 2016 at 11:05am
Megan: My dough was very crumbly at first, but I found that just setting the mixer and leaving it going for a little while helped it come together. December 3, 2016 at 5:17pm
Kelsey: I’m so happy to come across this cute, delicious looking and festive shortbread cookies recipe. Thank you for sharing!! November 17, 2016 at 12:29pm
Jaclyn: You’re welcome Kelsey! Thanks for leaving a comment! November 17, 2016 at 1:38pm
Kelsey: Jaclyn, made them today and yes addictive and delicious. Almost gone now…. LOL. A winning recipe. November 23, 2016 at 1:14pm
Sarah: Has anyone tried freezing these? DO they freeze well? November 19, 2016 at 11:28am
Lee: Has anyone tried baking these cookies with the convection feature on their oven? November 19, 2016 at 5:15pm
Jaclyn: I wouldn’t recommend using the convection feature, it works best when you are roasting something (like a whole chicken etc) but it tends to dry out baked goods so I don’t recommend it. November 20, 2016 at 11:42am
Bethany: Are these soft or crunchy? November 22, 2016 at 12:34pm
Jaclyn: They are a crisp but deliciously tender cookie :). November 22, 2016 at 7:43pm
Brickey: Why no parchment on baking sheet? I always use parchment. November 22, 2016 at 2:20pm
Jaclyn: Just so the spread less, plus it’s not needed with all the butter in the dough. November 22, 2016 at 7:41pm
Nancy: Has anyone tried freezing the bites? November 22, 2016 at 9:37pm
Jaclyn: Yes I have, they freeze really well! November 22, 2016 at 9:43pm
Ashley Smith: Can I use my own sugar cookie recipe? November 22, 2016 at 11:38pm
Jessica: Jessica: Hi Jaclyn! Do I have to add in almond extract? Any subs? Thanks! November 23, 2016 at 4:46pm
Jaclyn: You can also use vanilla extract. Hope you love them! November 24, 2016 at 8:47am
Vanessa L: Mine turned out just as shown. I did 1 inch cubes instead of half inch. I would definitely recommend putting more sprinkles on top. I didn’t and they don’t look as good as they would have. Mine didn’t spread or anything. Make sure your cookie sheet is cool and you cut and bake right away. Don’t leave them out of the fridge for more than a few minutes. Mine took 8 minutes on a dark cookie sheet and 12 minutes on a silver cookie sheet November 25, 2016 at 4:04pm
Jaclyn: Great tips! November 28, 2016 at 12:27pm
Kathy: Can I make the sheets of dough ahead of time, wrap and freeze to cut and bake at a later date? November 26, 2016 at 6:44am
Bio-tech1: I made these and they were good. Very buttery. But not necessarily in a good way. I am from Scotland where shortbread cookies are quite popular. And I can tell you that they do not make them with butter. November 27, 2016 at 12:38pm
Karen: They don’t make shortbread with butter? With what do they make it with?? December 19, 2016 at 8:09am
Kelsi: Can you make these bites with the whipped shortbread recipe?? November 28, 2016 at 8:56pm
Tracey theofileds: can I use vanilla extract instead of almond extract? November 29, 2016 at 4:38pm
Jaclyn: Yes that would be fine. November 29, 2016 at 9:53pm
Jess: Jaclyn…can I freeze the dough or should I bake them first then freeze? November 30, 2016 at 6:52am
Sue: Help! I did recipe just like you said & when I went to cut them they crumbled big time! Plus I even tried putting some in my hand and making a ball but still they crumbled! Help! ASAP! I need these by tomorrow what did I do wrong? How can I fix them? Please quit ck ly tell me November 30, 2016 at 10:18am
Jaclyn: You could try to use less flour next time or soften the butter. It sounds like the flour was over-measured maybe. November 30, 2016 at 5:56pm
Sue: My flour may have been old. But it was in lock & lock so it should have been OK! November 30, 2016 at 6:32pm
Athena Contarino: These are truly delicious, made them for a bake sale at my kids school, what a hit! December 2, 2016 at 2:32pm
heather: Any thoughts on another extract? I have a nut allergy in the house (I’m assuming almond extract actually has almond?). December 3, 2016 at 10:28am
Jaclyn: Vanilla extract would be fine. I’d actually use 1 1/2 tsp which is what I recently added to a similar shortbread. December 4, 2016 at 12:16am
Twila: Make them! These are so easy and fun to make and eat. I am going to make them for Christmas and put in mini cupcake cups and put on cookie trays. Well that’s the plan if I can stop eating them. Thanks for sharing the recipe.. December 3, 2016 at 2:11pm
Tina Aubrey-Lilly: Love these!! Sometimes a girl doesn’t want to commit to a whole cookie, “sometimes”…highly recommend- they are a big hit at Xmas 🎄 December 5, 2016 at 4:29pm
Amanda: I’m planning on splitting the dough so I can still make almond ones, but also another flavor for my brother-in-law who’s allergic to tree nuts. I also do not have a stand mixer or pastry cutter, so I’ll let you know how that turns out. Lol. December 6, 2016 at 11:14am
Kathie: I just finished baking my first try at these fun looking cookies. My problem was spreading the dough to an even thickness. The middle cookies were nice little cubes, those on the edge were thin and flat…but they held together, didn’t spread unduly, (the thin ones did a bit.) This was a practice run…the real run will be Saturday. I used the hint of cutting them with a pizza cutter, thank you, it worked great! I alternated 3 silver cookie trays, keeping two tays in the fridge while one tray was baking. I find them to be very sweet, has anyone used less sugar successfully? And I think I am going to use vanilla instead of almond extract. December 8, 2016 at 7:16pm
tami: I was disappointed in how these turned out. I followed the recipe exactly- yes I used real butter. Yes I chilled the dough before cutting. I used a pizza cutter. They look like flat discs. December 10, 2016 at 8:57am
Holly: Made these today. Needed to add sprinkles before baking but did not have extras. Some of the cookies are thin on the outside of the original 13 x 9 pan. I think you could use less of the pan to get cookies a little thicker.
Taste was yummy! Will add nice color to a cookie platter. December 10, 2016 at 2:53pm
Jen: Hi All,
Just wondering what temp. to bake the cookies? I am going to make them now! December 11, 2016 at 10:27am
LClark: I made these last night and they came out so so good. I am a baker and do a ton of baking and these came out just as the picture looked. Too bad I can’t upload a picture of my finished product. Thank you for sharing!!!! December 11, 2016 at 11:08am
Jaclyn: Thanks for the great feedback! December 13, 2016 at 2:35pm
Diane: Mine came out flat, measured ingredients per recipe. I made the second batch thicker and they still cooked flat. December 11, 2016 at 12:48pm
Jaclyn: The cookies won’t rise much because there is no leavening in the recipe (i.e. Baking soda/powder or eggs). If you want to make them thicker next time I recommend pressing them a smaller baking dish, chilling probably twice as long as listed then cut. And just bake a little longer since they’ll be thicker. Hopefully that helps! December 11, 2016 at 8:13pm
Diane: They came out paper thin they spread everywhere. December 12, 2016 at 7:46pm
Amrita Nagle: Thanks for the great recipe! Came out delicious, I just added some more flour than mentioned here. To all those asking about not having a stand mixer, I don’t have a stand mixer or hand mixer or a pastry blender. I just used a fork to cut through the butter (butter was cold but not too firm, had left in on the counter for about an hour after removing from the fridge). Worked fine for me.. December 13, 2016 at 1:31pm
Jaclyn: Thanks for the great input Amrita! December 13, 2016 at 2:03pm
Kellie: I’ve made 2 batches of these today. I did make some changes as my son is anaphylactic to dairy, so I made them with dairy free margarine (and salt), and added extra flour to firm up the dough as I’ve found the marg makes the dough more moist. My first batch definitely held their shape really well, but I had chilled them for signicantly longer than the second batch. This wasn’t intentional, I just made the mix before basketball practice and cooked them when I got home. The second batch I chilled for 30 min and they were squarish, but they just didn’t hold their shape as well. They still looked and tasted great. And I’m sure my four boys will demolish them tomorrow! Thanks for sharing. December 15, 2016 at 2:05am
Sissy: They came out great & addicting! I made mine into sticks to dip into chocolate w/Christmas sprinkles and use peppermint instead of almond extract. Sooo Yummy! Thank you December 16, 2016 at 2:00pm
Jaclyn: Great idea! Glad you loved them! December 20, 2016 at 2:58pm
Claudia: Making them right now, hopefully it comes out okay. Really worried about it being too crumbly because right now it seems that way, and I’ve been mixing it with a hand mixer for a while. I’m going to mix it a little bit longer, and if that doesn’t get better, I’ll add 1 teaspoon of water like someone suggested above.
Wish check back in later :) December 17, 2016 at 3:40am
Kim vd Linden: These are sooo cute and sooo delicious! I can’t stop eating them! also I had a little question about the flavor. Is it possible to swap the almond extract with some (cooled down) coffee? or some chocolate maybe? Thanks so much for this amazingly good recipe! <3 December 18, 2016 at 11:35am
Jaclyn: I don’t know about the coffee because it would make the dough sticky and make them spread maybe some cocoa powder and espresso powder (while reducing flour also), like this recipe https://www.google.com/amp/amp.timeinc.net/myrecipes/recipe/dark-chocolate-espresso-shortbread-0%3Fsource%3Ddam?client=safari December 18, 2016 at 5:04pm
Kim vd Linden: Thank you so much for the reply. I’m going to try that out! :) December 20, 2016 at 11:14am
Kimberly: My batter was way too dry and my cookies didn’t hold shape at all. They tasted awesome but I’m wondering what I did wrong… December 18, 2016 at 7:50pm
Karen: I took these out of the oven and YUM they are so tender and delicious. Too bad I had to eat the misshapen ones, tehe.
After reading some of the comments I want to make a few suggestions. Mine did not come out perfect. I cut my bigger so they didn’t look mini like the picture but just a slightly larger version.
-use butter, not margarine. This should be standard in all baking recipes but I know there are still margarine users out there. Shortbread IS butter though so no substituting here.
-Try raising the oven temp to 375 and using the shorter time. I almost did this but followed the recipe at 350. I think it’s too low but my cookies did come out fine so whatever you feel comfortable with
– Don’t use a nonstick pan. A heavy stainless baking sheet is best.
– These look small and cute when you lay them on the cookies tray but don’t be deceived. LEAVE THEM ROOM. They will spread a bit and the closer the cookies are on the sheet the more they will spread. I don’t have a reason for this phenomena but I see it time and again when I try to squeeze another row onto a sheet.
– Don’t wait for these to brown in the oven. If you do it will be too late and the cookies are ruined. Shortbread is tender soft cookie, it’s supposed to be light color so don’t overbake! December 19, 2016 at 8:07am
Jaclyn: Great tips! December 20, 2016 at 2:44pm
DOROTA: I made these for an office holiday party and the year were a HUGE hit! I didn’t cut them up abs small as you did so there were definitely less even though I double the recipe; but again they were a hit. I was going to leave with some and ended up leaving the rest for the night shift who were on. December 21, 2016 at 12:37am
Jaclyn: Thanks for reporting back – I’m so glad they were loved! December 22, 2016 at 1:38pm
Pam S: I made following the directions to a tee. Soo easy to make. I also thought I would mention that I baked them on a stone and I had no problem with them spreading. I simply scattered them on the pan, didn’t worry about lining anything up and they came out perfect. December 21, 2016 at 11:26am
Jenn: These are GREAT!!!! I really hope I don’t eat them all by myself! December 21, 2016 at 4:25pm
Jaclyn: I’m happy to hear you like them Jenn! I have the same problem – especially since I froze a few batches and eat them straight from the freezer :l. December 21, 2016 at 5:13pm
jen lodge: i followed the recipe exactly and they turned out perfect!! the kids love them. thanks! December 21, 2016 at 6:44pm
Jaclyn: i’m so glad they love them Jen! Thanks for the great review! December 22, 2016 at 1:36pm
S. Winter: So, was looking for an easy snack to take to Christmas family gathering, and these looked cute. These are AWESOME! The taste is great & they were super easy to make. I used my big rocker-pizza-cutter to make the sizes uniform. Even my picky 6 yr old was loving them! December 21, 2016 at 8:34pm
Jaclyn: I’m so glad they were enjoyed! December 22, 2016 at 1:35pm
Teri M: I just made these and they turned out absolutely perfect! Although I didn’t cut them in very straight lines. LOL I added just a tiny bit more flour after reading the comments about spreading. Using the pizza cutter was a great tip from someone!
The trouble will be my hubby and I not eating them before Christmas Eve! 😉 December 22, 2016 at 2:35pm
Chelsea: This was a disaster. December 22, 2016 at 7:31pm
Sue: STOP emailing me all of you! They didn’t turn out so STOP emailing me December 23, 2016 at 2:19pm
Jaclyn: Sue – I think you must have clicked “notify me of additional comments”. No one is emailing you personally, you are just getting a notification anytime a new comment is posted. To unsubscribe, go to the bottom of the comment section and click “unsubscribe”. Sorry these didn’t work for you! December 23, 2016 at 2:31pm
Henley: Thes came out fone for me and YES they are addictive. Every ti e i go in the kitchen im eating one. I’m taking them to my moms house tonight thought, so hopefully i wont have to subject myself to them to much longer lol.
I acvidentally used only two cups of flour instead of the 2-1/4. They came out pretty much perfect. December 24, 2016 at 11:52am
Jesika: I don’t have parchment paper!! Is that okay to do without? Thank you! December 24, 2016 at 1:38pm
Jaclyn: It just makes it easier to lift them out of the pan and cut them but you could possibly do it without. December 24, 2016 at 1:44pm