Spiced Christmas Shortbread does exactly what it says on its Christmassy tin: It’s delicious, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread with a wonderful blend of spices that screams Christmas!
On top of all of this, our Christmas Shortbread is genuinely simple to make!
Why mess with a classic? Well, sometimes you have to add a little dash of this and a little sprinkle of that to see what happens, and that is exactly what we did to create our Spiced Christmas Shortbread.
Where does Spiced Christmas Shortbread come from?
We’re not going to lie; this shortbread was made more for our family as opposed to a recipe we thought we’d share, but we got such great feedback from everyone who had a bite that we decided to share it with you find out what you thought, too!
Shortbread, however, has a much longer history. You can find out more about it on our Petticoat Tails Shortbread recipe. Shortbread was first made in Scotland in the 12th Century, so we’re expecting you to have heard of it!
It’s a staple Christmas cookie in our home. Most people will have a shortbread tin at the back of a kitchen cupboard somewhere, and many people make shortbread at Christmas to share with friends.
We love this, and it’s a reason why this simple biscuit has lasted as long as it has. With our Spiced Christmas Shortbread, we decided to take this classic recipe, add a little spice and make it the ultimate Christmas biscuit!
Things you’ll need to make Spiced Christmas Shortbread
- Baking tray
- Baking paper
- Mixing bowl
- Wooden mixing spoon
- Cookie cutter in your chosen shape
Ingredients for Spiced Christmas Shortbread
This recipe makes 35 Shortbread Biscuits. You can halve the recipe if you don’t want that many!
- 280g (10oz) Plain Flour
- 60g (2oz) Corn Flour
- 225g (8oz) Butter (we prefer salted for shortbread)
- 113g Caster Sugar (4oz)
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
- 1 tsp Allspice
Why Two Types of Flour?
Traditionally, shortbread is made of just three ingredients measured in a 3:2:1 amount. However, we have opted to change some of the plain flour for corn flour to help the shortbread hold its shape when cooking in the oven.
Some recipes mix in rice flour, so you could use this if you prefer, or they use half icing sugar and half caster sugar, which is also an option.
How to make Spiced Christmas Shortbread – Step-by-Step Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/356F
Mix the softened butter and sugar together with a hand mixer. You do not want to cream it as you would for a cake, just mix until combined.
Add the flour, corn flour, and spices.
Stir together using a wooden spoon, and then use your hands until it forms a dough.
Place the dough in the fridge for half an hour to allow it to firm up.
Roll the dough out until it is about 5mm thick.
Use a cutter to cut your preferred shape. We like stars for Christmas!
Place the shortbread on a lightly greased tray or one lined with baking paper. The shortbread does expand a little, so you will need more than one tray, and you want to space them out so they won’t touch as they bake.
If the rolling and cutting took a while, refrigerate them for another 30 minutes to help them keep their shape, or you can bake them immediately.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until they just start to colour slightly on the edges.
Sprinkle with caster sugar once they’re out of the oven, or decorate once they’re cooled.
Allow them to cool on the tray. They will still be soft but will harden up as they cool.
Enjoy!
What Temperature is Best for Shortbread?
Usually, you would bake shortbread at a lower temperature, like 150-160C/300-320F. This allows an even bake without browning the outside.
However, shortbread can spread very easily in the oven and lose its shape, so we bake these at a slightly higher temperature to help avoid that. If you find the biscuits browning too quickly, you can turn the temperature down to the lower one after the first 5 minutes.
Decorating Your Christmas Shortbread
While a dusting of sugar is a classic way to “decorate” your shortbread, you can also make them a bit more special! Sometimes we like to melt white chocolate to drizzle over them and even add silver chocolate balls. You can be creative about how you decorate your shortbread biscuits!
Spiced Christmas Shortbread Recipe
These Spiced Christmas Shortbread Biscuits (or Cookies, if you prefer!) are the perfect Christmas treat. Easy to make but always a crowd-pleaser!
Ingredients
- 280g (10oz) Plain Flour
- 60g (2oz) Corn Flour
- 225g (8oz) Butter (we prefer salted for shortbread)
- 113g Caster Sugar (4oz)
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
- 1 tsp Allspice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/356F
- Mix the softened butter and sugar together with a hand mixer. You do not want to cream it as you would for a cake, just mix until combined.
- Add the flour, corn flour, and spices.
- Stir together using a wooden spoon, and then use your hands until it forms a dough.
- Place the dough in the fridge for half an hour to allow it to firm up.
- Roll the dough out until it is about 5mm thick.
- Use a cutter to cut your preferred shape. We like stars for Christmas!
- Place the shortbread on a lightly greased tray or one lined with baking paper. The shortbread does expand a little, so you will need more than one tray, and you want to space them out so they won't touch as they bake.
- If the rolling and cutting took a while, refrigerate them for another 30 minutes to help them keep their shape, or you can bake them immediately.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, until they just start to colour slightly on the edges.
- Sprinkle with caster sugar once they're out of the oven, or decorate once they're cooled.
- Allow them to cool on the tray. They will still be soft but will harden up as they cool.
Notes
What Temperature is Best for Shortbread?
Usually, you would bake shortbread at a lower temperature, like 150-160C/300-320F. This allows an even bake without browning the outside.
However, shortbread can spread very easily in the oven and lose its shape, so we bake these at a slightly higher temperature to help avoid that.
If you find the biscuits browning too quickly, you can turn the temperature down to the lower one after the first 5 minutes.
Enjoy!
Phil and Sonja x