These Ultimate Christmas Shortbread Cookies are about to change the shortbread game for the better! Everyone already loves crumbly, crunchy, buttery cookies, but Ultimate Christmas Shortbread Cookies add more to each little treat by incorporating rich, sweet cherries, creamy white chocolate, and fragrant almond into each bite! Dipped in more white chocolate and crunchy nonpareils, Ultimate Christmas Shortbread Cookies are really the end-all, be-all of the holiday dessert table! Dive right in!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup sugar, plus more, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1/2 cup maraschino cherries, drained and finely chopped, cherry liquid reserved
- 12 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 drops red or purple food coloring
- 2 teaspoons shortening
- white nonpareils, to taste
- colored sanding sugar, to taste
Directions
Step 1 –Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Step 2 –In a large bowl using a pastry blender, add the flour, 1/2 cup of the sugar, the salt, and the butter, cutting the mixture together until it resembles fine crumbs.
Step 3 –Add the cherries, 2/3 cup of the white chocolate, the almond extract, and the food coloring to the flour mixture and stir until mixed.
Step 4 –Knead the dough until it forms a ball, adding the reserved cherry liquid a little at a time, if the mixture is too dry and crumbly.
Step 5 –Shape the dough into 3/4-inch balls and place them on ungreased cookie sheets about 2 inches apart; you should have enough dough to make a total of about 60 cookies.
Step 6 –Flatten the balls into 1 1/2-inch rounds using the bottom of a drinking glass dipped in the extra sugar.
Step 7 –Transfer the cookie sheets to the oven and bake until the centers are set, about 10-12 minutes.
Step 8 –Transfer the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the cookie sheets, about 1 minute.
Step 9 –Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely, about 10 minutes.
Step 10 –In a double boiler, add the remaining white chocolate and the shortening and cook, while stirring gently, until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is combined.
Step 11 –Dip half of each of the cookies into the white chocolate mixture and then immediately roll the dipped edge into the nonpareils and the sanding sugar, alternating between the two or adding both to the same cookie.
Step 12 –Place the cookies on waxed paper until the chocolate sets, about 15 minutes.
Step 13 –Serve.
