Holiday Shortbread Elf Bites, an easy to make holiday cookies recipe that kids love. Bite-sized buttery cookies topped with holiday chocolate candies.YUM!
I love baking during the holidays. When it’s cold & blustery outside there’s nothing cozier than spending time baking with my kids. I grew up baking with my mom, especially during the holidays. It’s sort of in my DNA you could say. One of our absolute favorite cookie recipes to make is shortbread. The buttery goodness of a shortbread cookie is like no other. Since it IS the holidays the kids thought it would be fun to make the shortbread cookies bite-sized & top them with candy-coated chocolates in holiday colors. From that idea, these Holiday Shortbread Elf Bites were born.
Shortbread Cookies
With all the treats that happen this time of year it can get a little overwhelming. Since I am always looking for ways to add less sugar, using SPLENDA® Naturals Sugar & Stevia Blend in my holiday baking whenever possible is a good idea. It’s a great replacement for granulated sugar because it acts like sugar but with half the calories. WIN! Same sweetness & delicious flavor.
Have you made shortbread before? It’s one of the easiest recipes when it comes to cookies. Minimal ingredients & the dough comes together quickly, which is why I love it so much. Plus that beautiful golden color just brings back all those nostalgic memories of special times having cookies during the holidays as a kid.
Just 1/2 a teaspoon of SPLENDA® Naturals Sugar & Stevia Blend gives the same sweetness as a full teaspoon of granulated sugar. That makes it really easy for me to cut sugar in all my baked good, which is especially good when we are in treat overload during the holiday season.
Holiday Shortbread Elf Bites
These cute little bites of goodness make great treats to bring to holiday parties because it’s just a bite. Easy grab & go goodies that everyone loves. I love to give them away in cute little dishes like this one as gifts for the neighbors too.
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If you make this recipe- please leave a link or tag me on Instagram @KleinworthCo
Looking for more great holiday ideas?
More Shortbread Cookies
Classic Shortbread Cookies
Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies
Potato Chip Cookies
Peppermint Shortbread Kiss Cookies
Christmas Shortbread Cookies
Whipped Shortbread Cookies
Holiday Shortbread Elf Bites
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter cold and diced into cubes
- 2/3 cup Splenda Naturals
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour scoop and level flour to measure
- 1-1/2 cups candy-coated chocolate candies in holiday colors
Instructions
- Line a 9x9 square pan with parchment paper & set aside.
- Cream together butter & Splenda naturals until well combined.
- Mix in almond extract.
- Slowly mix in flour & beat until combined.
- Press dough into an even layer in prepared pan.
- 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 3/4-inch squares using a large sharp knife or pastry cutter.
- Press candies into each square of dough.
- Transfer bites to an unbuttered baking sheet (NOTE* do not line the pan with parchment or silicone liners) space cookies 1/2-inch apart.
- Bake in preheated oven 8 - 12 minutes
- Cool completely then transfer to an airtight container & store at room temperature.
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Tamar Strauss-Benjamin says
Those are so cute looking!
Natalie A says
These look so good and super cute for the holidays! I like how they are bite size. I have a party coming up, and I think these would be perfect for the party! I pinned this recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Jess says
I. LOVE. SHORTBREAD!! LOL PINNED! 🙂
I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Kathleen Blout says
We don’t use the Splenda Naturals how many cups for sugar??
Gina Kleinworth says
In that case, you might want to use the dough from my classic shortbread cookies here https://www.kleinworthco.com/classic-shortbread-cookies/ but cut & bake them as you would using this dough here for the bites.