cookie calendar - day 9: spiced butter shortbread bites

Amanda is fun and funky and her blog is full of pretty things that I LOVE. I love browsing around and getting ideas for things I need to buy (or ask someone to buy for me - LOL).

Besides being able to bake wicked cookies, Amanda is a talented artist - basically, this girl is Creative with a capital C. I was so happy that she submitted these shortbread bites for the Calendar!

Here's a quick bio about Amanda:

Amanda is a lover of cookies, stationary, stockings and romance. She's the girl behind the Heartless Girl blog and likes to write about Toronto, food and travel. She also draws stuff.

You can follow her @hrtlesgirl or like her on Facebook.

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I like experimenting and trying out new recipes, even in crucial times like before potlucks or when throwing a dinner party. You know, times where you should rely on tried and true recipes instead of throwing it all to the wind.

Like today. What can I say? The holidays make me adventurous.  Shortbread is my #1 fav cookie, so I decided to make spiced butter shortbread bites. (and they turned out awesome!) Here's how I did it.

spiced butter shortbread bites
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ingredients:

1 cup of unsalted butter, softened
3 tbsp of cornstarch
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1 tbsp of nutmeg
1 tbsp of cinnamon
1 tbsp of vanilla
a pinch of cloves

directions:


In large bowl, beat butter until fluffy; gradually beat in cornstarch, then sugar. Using a wooden spoon, beat in flour 1/4 cup at a time. (So far so good.)

On lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Roll into 2 inch balls.  Dough will be really sticky and hard to work with. Add more flour if needed. Freeze dough balls in layers of parchment paper until firm, about 30 minutes.



This bit is tricky. Bake in the middle of your oven at the low, low temperature of 275°F. Rotate the pans halfway through, and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until firm. The cookies will spread a bit and may look a tad wonky, but they are so buttery delicious with just enough spice that you will forgive them. And make them again.

Here is the original recipe that I based mine on.

The recipe and all photos used in this blog post belong to Amanda of Heartless Girl Blog and should not be reprinted without her express permission.