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Strawberry Shortbread Bites

You’d be wise to assume that my house is swimming in desserts. I’ve always got a few laying around. So, every now and then, I go on a mission to give away all the desserts. And before I make a new dessert, I often find a victim to give it away to before the oven is even preheated. It keeps me accountable. It also keeps the calories in check.

I find my victim and commit to them via the almighty and ever-binding text message that I will deliver a dessert to their house by 5pm.  But sometimes, I mess up. Sometimes I taste-test something and then discover that I don’t want to give it away. It’s so good. Too good. That’s how I felt with my honey shortbread. I stole one cookie out of the batch for taste-testing, and it wasn’t enough. I was blown away by their deep, toasty flavor that reminded me of graham crackers. But, I made a commitment. I (reluctantly) passed them off.

I haven’t stopped thinking about them. I wanted another batch. I needed another batch. But I also wanted to give you a variation on the recipe so you can make and enjoy both. I halved the recipe to make 12 shortbread bites. And then I did what every human being is doing right now, and filled my grocery cart with strawberries because Spring is finally here!

Strawberry shortcake cookies

So, what we’re working with here is a shortbread cookie, a dollop of whipped cream, a few bites of strawberry and a gratuitous sprinkling of lemon zest on top.

Don’t give these away. Not even one.

Yield: 1

Strawberry Shortbread Bites

Strawberry Shortbread Bites
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

For the cookies:

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling

For the topping:

  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • handful of fresh strawberries
  • fresh lemon zest

Instructions

  2. Preheat the oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  3. In a medium bowl, add the butter. Please ensure that the butter is softened, not all the way at room temperature. Softened butter will hold a fingerprint, but still feel cool to the touch.
  4. Add the powdered sugar, honey, vanilla extract and salt to the butter, and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well-combined and creamy.
  5. Add the flour and beat until combined.
  6. Flour a surface and add the dough on top. Flour the rolling pin, and begin to roll out the cookies to 1/4" thickness. You want an even, uniform thickness so they cook at the same time.
  7. Using a tiny 2" biscuit cutter, cut out as many circles as you can. Re-roll the scraps to get a total of 12 cookies.
  8. Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges are starting to turn golden. Don't underbake--the golden edges are the best part.
  9. Let the cookies cool completely.
  10. Meanwhile, slice the strawberries.
  11. Whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form, and then add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat again.
  12. Top each cookie with a dollop of heavy cream, a few slices of strawberry, and a sprinkling of lemon zest.
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