The holidays are here and when it’s time for a Cookie Exchange, be sure and whip up a batch of Easy Shortbread Cookies! Fun and festive, these shortbread cookies are drizzled with white chocolate and dunked in confetti sprinkles for the ultimate holiday treat!
Confetti Shortbread Cookies are pretty and festive!
Easy Shortbread Cookies
Hey friends, who has a sweet tooth?!! I have been sharing lots of fun cookies on the blog like 3 Ingredient Oatmeal Cookies, 4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, but today, it’s all about sweet treats because we’re having a cookie exchange!
It’s Freaky Friday Blog Hop! So today you can jump from blog to blog to blog gathering new recipes for your cookie exchange! These are tried and true favorites from the BEST bloggers I know!
You remember what Freaky Friday is, right? That’s when a bunch of us bloggers get together and share our favorite recipes from our friends’ blogs. It’s one of my favorite events! This time I was lucky enough to be assigned the Lemoine Family Kitchen blog.
On Angela’s blog, she shares amazing family recipes with an Italian flare! I love her blog because she always shares fun stories and delicious eats. AND she’s a Green Bay Packer fan – we are soul sisters!!! It’s a fun blog to browse so if you haven’t stopped by yet, be sure you do!
But this time my focus was all about the sweets and boy was it hard to pick a favorite! I was this close to picking her recipe for Grinch Sugar Cookies – so cute! And her recipe for Old Fashioned Lemon Ricotta Cookies are AMAZING – we ❤️ these cookies! And her recipe for Italian Fig Cookies is spectacular – this one has combined two of my favorite things – figs and sprinkles! YUM!!
Ultimately, I decided to make the Rainbow Shortbread Cookie Recipe because they are so festive and fun! And perfect for a cookie exchange!
What ingredients are in shortbread?
- flour
- powdered sugar
- butter
- salt
- egg
- sprinkles
Super simple, huh? Additionally, for this recipe you’ll need white chocolate chips for drizzling! I made these with and without the drizzle and honestly, Dan preferred them without and I liked them with – so you choose what works for you, just choose to make these cookies!
After baking, dunk them in melted white chocolate followed immediately by dunking them into sprinkles
Easy Shortbread Cookie Recipe
How do you make buttery shortbread cookies?
Making buttery shortbread cookies sounds easy enough, right? But here are a few tips and tricks to help you take your baking to the next level.
- use unsalted butter
- use cold butter cut into small cubes
- don’t use imitation butter
- don’t overwork the dough – a little crumbly is ok!
Pulsing the dough in your food processor just until combined will keep the cookies buttery and tender.
What is the difference between a sugar cookie and a shortbread cookie?
A sugar cookie recipe will often call for vanilla and will be a little more tender. Because shortbread cookies usually have more flour, they are crispier in texture.
Shortbread cookies are easy to make and so delicious!
Shortbread Cookies
How do you make homemade shortbread cookies?
- Preheat the oven.
- Add flour, powdered sugar and salt to a mixer with the paddle attachment and mix just to combine.
- Add the butter and egg. Mix until mostly combined. If you need to, add a tablespoon of milk for the dough to come together.
- Stir in the rainbow sprinkles.
- Remove the dough and wrap in plastic wrap then refrigerate for 20 minutes
- Next, roll the dough out into a square on a lightly floured surface to about a ¼ inch thickness. Cut into equal squares. Place the squares on a lined baking sheet.
- Bake for about 14 minutes, just until lightly golden on the edges.
- Cool on a cooling rack.
Whether it’s for a cookie exchange or a treat for your sweetie, be sure to make and enjoy these tasty cookies!
Shortbread Cookie Recipe
Take a Look at all of our Freaky Friday Virtual Cookie Exchange Recipes:
- An Affair from the Heart – White Chocolate Cherry Cookies
- Hostess at Heart – Peanut Butter Pretzel Puppy Chow
- LeMoine Family Kitchen – White Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies
- Life Currents – Chocolate Marshmallow Moonpies
- Lisa’s Dinnertime Dish – Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles
- Mildly Meandering – Cheesecake Bars
- Plattertalk – German Pfeffernusse Cookies
- Seduction in the Kitchen – Chewy Chocolate M&M Cookies
- Take Two Tapas – Turtle Wonton Kisses
- The Foodie Affair – Easy Cut Out Cookies
- West Via Midwest – Mini Eggnog Cakes with Praline Topping
- Who Needs a Cape? – Copy Cat Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars
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Cooling Rack – this is the cooling rack I use. I like it because they are not HUGE and don’t take up the entire counter. They store easily also!
Easy Shortbread Cookies
You're going to love this recipe for Easy Shortbread Cookies! Fun and festive these shortbread cookies are drizzled with white chocolate and dunked in confetti sprinkles for the ultimate holiday treat!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup flour divided
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 stick butter cold and small diced
- pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cups sprinkles plus additional for dunking
- 1/3 cup white chocolate chips
- 1-2 tbsp milk as needed
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Add the 1 1/4 cup flour, powdered sugar and salt to a standing mixer with the dough attachment or into a food processor. Mix just to combine.
Add in the butter and egg. Miix until just mostly combined. If you need to, add a tablespoon of milk or two until combined. The texture will be a little crumbly. Remember, a little loose flour is good!
Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the rainbow sprinkles with a spoon and incorporate the remaining flour.
Remove the dough and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator and chill for at least 20 minutes.
Remove from the fridge and roll the dough out into a square on a lightly floured surface to about a ¼ inch thickness. Cut into equal squares.
Place the squares on a lined baking sheet along with the rough edges {those are for snacking!} Bake for about 14 minutes, just until lightly golden on the edges.
Cool on a cooling rack.
Place the white chocolate in a bowl and microwave 10 seconds at a time until melted. Be sure to stir as you go. Dip an edge of the cookie into the melted chocolate, dunk into the sprinkles then place the cookie back on the rack to harden. Continue with remaining cookies.
I love how bright and colorful these cookies are! Shortbread cookies are the best!
Aren’t they though? I think Santa will really like them! 🙂
I love the colorful sprinkles. They just add a festive touch to an already delicious cookie. Sparkling wine comes to mind when I look at these shortbread cookies to share at a New Year’s celebration!
Sparkling wine, yes!! What a perfect idea – Happy New Year 2019, let’s ring it in!!!
I love how you use the silver candy dish to display these. Im so going to use that for our Christmas Cocktail party! Merry Christmas Debra! Its been such a joy meeting you this year and getting to know you through your love of food!
Merry Christmas to you Michelle! I’ve loved the opportunity to get to know you and laugh and chuckle together! Life is definitely better with you in it! Enjoy the holiday season!!!
Merry and bright! That’s what I think of when I see these! They will be perfect for the cookie exchange!
I’d love a couple of those cookies and maybe a few for my cookie tray too! I love sprinkles. They’re like happiness in a jar!
Yes, I completely agree – happiness in a jar – so true!
I love shortbread cookies and the white chocolate and sprinkles take them over the top!
Yes, a girl needs a little sparkle! 😉
These look so fun and festive and for the record, I’m definitely a drizzler when it comes to chocolate of any creed!
I love a good shortbread cookie. They are so tender and buttery and the perfect thing to dunk in my coffee!!
You did such a beautiful job with the recipe and photos! It makes my heart smile that you chose these because they are one of my favorites! I love shortbread and wanted a simple and fun way to make stick out on a platter. Thank you for your sweet words friend! And Go Pack Go {despite a disaster of a season}
We have a slight sprinkle obsession at my house, I love how festive these are! Shortbread is always welcome at my house, can’t wait to try this recipe!
Sprinkles are happy, right?!!! Obsession? I think not! 🙂
These are like happiness on a plate!! So festive and cheery – they are sure to give my holiday platters some festive fun this season! Thanks!
Festive fun – love that! Happy Holidays Michaela!!
LOVING this recipe! It must come out SO yummy and so festive! Just in time for the Holidays!
Thank you Liza! Happy Holidays to you!!!