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Funfetti Christmas shortbread cookie bites are little bites of buttery shortbread packed with red, green and white sprinkles for a fun holiday treat. Drizzle these crave-worthy melt-in-your-mouth cookie bites with coloured white chocolate to make them even more festive. These are the perfect cookies to spread some cheer with this Christmas.

Funfetti Christmas shortbread cookie bites are little bites of buttery melt-in-your-mouth shortbread packed with festive sprinkles for a fun holiday treat. | aheadofthyme.com

Christmas shortbread cookie bites are the perfect item to add to your holiday baking list. My favourite tradition is making cute holiday cookie boxes to gift to family and friends, and there always has to be shortbread in some form. Some of my other favourite shortbread cookies to bake during the holidays are linzer cookies, cranberry orange shortbread cookies, jam-filled thumbprint cookies, pecan snowball cookies, and gingerbread shortbread linzer cookies.

Ingredients

To make this festive Christmas shortbread bites, you will need the following ingredients (full quantities in the recipe card below):

butter
Confectioner's sugar - this is the key ingredient for melt-in-your-mouth cookie bites. Granulated sugar works to get the same taste, but the texture won't be the same.
all-purpose flour
pure vanilla extract
salt
sprinkles - you can use any kind of Christmas-coloured sprinkles that you want. You could use make these bites any time of the year, just switch up the theme with the sprinkles that you use.

You will also need measuring cups and spoons (or a kitchen scale for the most accurate measurements), mixing bowl, large half sheet baking pan, and wire cooling rack.

Make the shortbread dough: Cream the butter and sugar together using a stand mixer or hand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla and salt and beat until incorporated. Add flour and sprinkles and beat until mixture forms into a shaggy dough.
Shape the dough: Use your hands to shape the dough into a ball. The dough will be slightly dry, but it will soften up as you work with it. Then, divide the dough into 2, and place each dough ball into a sandwich-sized ziploc bag and seal. Use a rolling pin and roll the dough inside the sealed ziploc bag to spread it out. It will be roughly ½-inches thick when rolled.

Chill the dough: Refrigerate for 2 hours, up to overnight.
Slice and bake: Take one of the flattened doughs at a time and cut off the ziploc bag. Chop the dough into small ½-inch squares, and place on the baking sheet about ½-inch apart. Transfer back to the refrigerator while you wait for the oven to preheat. Bake for 8-10 minutes until just starting to brown on the edges.

Cool: Allow cookies to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. OPTIONAL: Once cooled, melt ½ cup of white chocolate and green food colouring to half, and red food colouring to the other half. Then, use a piping bag and fine round tip or a spoon to drizzle over the cookies.

How to Store Christmas Shortbread

How to store: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to one week.
How to freeze: To freeze, arrange them in a single layer in an airtight container. Then add a layer of parchment paper and place another layer of shortbread cookies on top. You can also transfer them to a freezer bag once frozen.

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