Spicy Shortbread Bites Recipes

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat butter and powdered sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. On low speed, beat in flour and peppermint extract.
• On ungreased cookie sheet, pat dough into 6-inch square, about 3/4 inch thick. Cover; refrigerate 30 minutes.
• Heat oven to 325°F. On cookie sheet, cut dough into 8 rows by 8 rows, making 64 squares. With knife, separate rows by 1/4 inch.
• Bake 28 to 35 minutes or until set and edges are just starting to turn golden. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix crushed candy and granulated sugar. In small resealable food-storage plastic bag, place melted candy coating. Seal bag; cut tiny hole in corner of bag.
• Do not remove cookies from cookie sheet. Pipe candy coating over cookies. Before candy coating sets, sprinkle candy mixture over cookies. Place cookies to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a bowl. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles small crumbs. Pack the crumbs into a ball, then knead by hand until smooth.
• Lightly flour a work surface. Roll dough out into a thick disc, 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick. Cut out desired shapes using a cookie cutter. Place cookies on the prepared baking sheet. Gather scraps together, roll out, and repeat.
• Bake cookies in the preheated oven until edges are lightly browned, about 20 minutes.

Steps:

• Beat butter with sugar until fluffy. Blend all seasonings well with flour, and add all to the butter mixture. Mix with until just combined.
• On a lightly floured surface, knead about 8 times with hands, until dough comes together. Add ice water as needed if dough is too crumbly. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. On a sheet of wax paper, roll each piece of dough into a 3/4"-thick log. Sprinkle lightly with a dusting of cayenne, or a mix of all the above spices if you like.
• Wrap each log in wax paper and freeze for about 20 minutes, until fairly firm.
• Slice about 1/2" thick and bake for 15 minutes at 350.
• (The logs can be frozen a week or more ahead of time, but you will want to let them soften a bit before slicing, to prevent crumbling.).