Shortbread Cookie Bites

 

It all started because I wanted a cup of tea. We had snow today -- the only real snow of this winter -- receiving about 4 inches. I got a fire going first thing in the morning, and by afternoon I was ready for tea. The trouble is, I didn’t have any cookies. In this house, you can’t have tea unless you have cookies. I had been curious about a Christmas shortbread cookie recipe, so decided to change it up for winter by swapping out the Christmas colored sprinkles for chocolate jimmies, and changing the method to make them simpler. They are quite tasty, alarmingly so. They can beckon you from across the room. Be strong!

 

Shortbread Cookie Bites

 1 c. cold unsalted butter

¾ c. powdered sugar

1 t. pure vanilla

1¾ c. flour

3-4 T. chocolate jimmies

 In the work bowl of an electric mixer beat together, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy, scraping down the bowl as needed. With the mixer, set on low, add the flour, ¼ cup at a time, mixing until it forms a dough. Add the chocolate jimmies, and beat to combine. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or a Silpat; set aside.

Form into a ball with your hands, and transfer it to the prepared baking sheet. With a rolling pin (or your hands), roll (or pat) it into a 10” x 12” rectangle that is 3/8” – 1/4” thick. Place in refrigerator and chill for one hour.

 After one hour, remove dough from refrigerator, and preheat oven to 325° F. As oven is preheating, cut the dough into bite-size squares and separate on the baking sheet leaving a half-inch space between each. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes (or longer depending upon the size of your squares) until the bottoms just begin to brown. Allow cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

 If desired, melt some chocolate chips in the microwave or over boiling water and drizzle on top of the cookies.

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