Holiday Shortbread Funfetti Bites

Colourful and festive, these Holiday Shortbread Funfetti Bites are prepared with a whipped shortbread cookie dough base which is flavoured with vanilla extract. Loaded with sprinkles and topped with candy-coated chocolate, these are not only cute, but also the perfect one-bite holiday confection!

It shouldn’t be a big surprise to you by now to learn that I love to bake with sprinkles.  Any chance I get to gussy something up and make it just a little bit more festive, I’m going to go for it!  Lord Byron’s Kitchen has sprinkle recipes galore! Today, I’m sharing my Holiday Shortbread Funfetti Bites recipe with you. It has sprinkles baked into the cookie dough and has a single M&M Candy pushed right into the center.

I’m practically obsessed with sprinkles!  I’m so tempted to join a sprinkle-of-the-month club, but it would take away from the fun.  You see, both John.e and I love to pop into HomeSense, Marshalls, or Winners with the sole purpose of finding sprinkles. At this point, it’s become almost like a game. My kitchen is well stocked with sprinkles at all times, but it’s still fun to shop for different colours and shapes.

I’m going to tell you all about this cookie recipe and how you can make it in your home this holiday season, but first, I want to tell you about what you can expect from Lord Byron’s Kitchen this Christmas. I know we’re getting closer to the big day, so it’s time to get to the cookie recipes! Before I get into today’s recipe, let me make mention of the three previous holiday confection countdowns that I just finished up this year.

Back in October, I kicked off the holiday season with a holiday recipe series called Lord Byron’s 12 Holiday Trifle Series and followed that up with a second series called Lord Byron’s 12 Holiday Breads and Loaves. Next was my 12 Squares and Bars Series, which was Volume 2 of that particular series.  

And now, I’m starting on this new series, which is the seventh annual instalment! I cannot believe that this is the seventh year in a row that I’ve shared Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas! But, before we get to a list of ingredients and instructions for today’s recipe, let me tell you about this series and more!

LORD BYRON’S 24 COOKIES OF CHRISTMAS SERIES

Another holiday series, Lord Byron? Yes – why not!? Welcome, Dear Reader, to the fourth of my annual holiday recipe series for this season! This one is called Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas – Volume 7! I will try to keep the recipes in this series quick and easy, just like in previous years. Even if a recipe looks complex, I promise you that it is not! My goal, as always, is to share recipes with you that are not too complex to whip up as a holiday treat for your family. 

Like every other holiday series I’ve shared over the years, this series will share a new recipe every day for the next 24 days – even on Saturday and Sunday! You might be asking yourself, how many Christmas recipes could one possibly have or need? Well, I say you can never have too much of a good thing. And, I love having lots of choices. Who wants to prepare the same holiday recipes year after year?

SUBSCRIBE NOW SO THAT YOU NEVER MISS OUT ON NEW RECIPES!

So, welcome, Dear Reader, to Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas series! Even though this is the fourth series for this holiday season, you can always look back at previous years if you just cannot wait until the next recipe is published. Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! Like in previous holiday recipe countdowns, I like to mix up the recipes in the series so that there is something for everyone. Are you ready!!??

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Butter – Make sure your butter is at room temperature! You can use salted or unsalted butter here.
• Cornstarch – It helps to create a crumbly and tender dessert-like texture.
• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Confectioner’s Sugar – You might call it powdered sugar or icing sugar.
• Vanilla Extract
• Sprinkles – You will need those elongated sprinkles like you see here in the photos. They are most often called jimmies.
• M&M Candy – I’m using these blue and white M&Ms. They are pretzel-filled M&Ms. You can use regular, peanut or almond M&Ms too.

HOW TO MAKE HOLIDAY SHORTBREAD FUNFETTI BITES

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside. Add the butter to a bowl and beat until light and fluffy – about 3 minutes. Add the flour, cornstarch, confectioner’s sugar, and vanilla extract. Blend until fully incorporated – about 2 minutes. Add in the sprinkles and fold into the cookie dough.

Portion 1 teaspoon of the dough and roll it into balls. Place them on the lined baking sheet. Leave a good 2 inches of space between each ball. Next, push one M&M candy into the center of each ball to flatten. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Allow to cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to continue cooling.

NOT ALL SPRINKLES WILL WORK

If you’re like me, you have a big stash of sprinkles. Honestly, Dear Reader, I have a small wooden crate full of jars and bags of sprinkles. For this recipe though, not all types of sprinkles will work. You really do need to use what are most commonly referred to as jimmies.

I never call them jimmies to be honest. To me, all sprinkles are called sprinkles. For this recipe, you will need sprinkles that have an elongated shape – like a miniature rod! The non-pareils (small balls) will not work very well at all. The are too small to hold up the heat and won’t look as pretty or distinctively separate in the finished product.

There are hundreds of different sprinkles out there. You might be tempted to use little chocolate balls, or little candy cane or Christmas tree shapes. Please be advised that you are risking a not-so-good cookie. I’m not endorsed in any way, and you can buy your sprinkles anywhere, but this type from Sweetapolita are what you need.

STORING, PACKAGING, & FREEZING

When it comes to most cookies, they taste best at room temperature, but they don’t hold up well to being left out on your countertop for a long time. Cookies will stay fresh in a cookie jar or food-safe container with a lid for 3-5 days if left to sit on your kitchen countertop. You can store them in a food-safe container in your fridge. When you want one, two, or half a dozen, take them out of the container and place them in a single layer on a plate. Let them sit at room temperature for 5 minutes and they’re ready!

If you plan to freeze your Holiday Shortbread Funfetti Bites, you certainly can! Pile them into a clean, food-safe container. The container must be freezer-friendly! You’ll want to ensure a very tight-fitting lid too. I use these quite often when freezing baked goods. I like to place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the container before pushing the lid on. This helps to create a better seal. The goal is to keep all of that freshness locked in!  

You can freeze these cookies for up to three months. If you plan to give previously frozen cookies as a gift, I would lay them out on a wire cooling rack to thaw completely. Once thawed, pile into cellophane bags and tie with a ribbon, or stack in a cookie tin/box.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!

Finally, as I stated previously, every day I will be posting a new recipe. If you miss one, don’t fret. You can find my entire collection of Christmas Recipes right here! There are over 200 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!