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Home » Holidays » Cupid Bites - Valentine's Shortbread Cookies

January 28, 2021

Cupid Bites - Valentine's Shortbread Cookies

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These tiny Valentine's shortbread cookies are perfect to gift for a Valentine's Day treat. We call them Cupid Bites because you'll easily fall in love with these munchies!

These tiny Valentine's shortbread cookies are perfect to gift for a Valentine's Day treat. We call them Cupid Bites because you'll easily fall in love with these munchies!

Click here to PIN this Valentine's shortbread cookie recipe!

These Valentine's shortbread cookies are another variation of my festive shortbread cookie bites.  You saw them first as "BOO! Bites" during Halloween, then "Jingle Bell Bites" for Christmas. We even have Leprechaun Bites now!

shortbread bites in a valentines mug

Table of Contents
  • 🧾 Grocery List
  • 👩🏽‍🍳 How to Make Cupid Bites
  • 🍪 Variations
  • Recipe Card

I absolutely love making these because they are super quick and totally fun to gift when you bag them up and stuff them into a cute mug. We gifted these to Judah and Simon's teachers in years past.  (Picture the cookies in clear baggies inside the mugs.)

We love to gift sugar cookies. Have you tried my sugar cookie hearts decorating tutorial? Follow me on Instagram (@seededtable) for more family recipe inspiration!

shortbread cookie bites in pink cupcake liner

🧾 Grocery List

You will need the basic ingredients for sugar cookies, plus nonpareils (the hard beady kind of sprinkles). I do not recommend using jimmies because the color sometimes bleeds into the dough -- but others have had success with them.

Ingredients for Valentine's Shortbread Cookies:

  • All-purpose flour (1 ¼ cups)
  • Unsalted butter (½ cup)
  • Granulated sugar (¼ cup)
  • Vanilla (or almond) extract (¼ teaspoon)
  • Salt (¼ teaspoon)
  • Nonpareils (4 tablespoons)

Make sure your nonpareils are Valentine's Day colors. Grab all pink, all red, or a combination of both. A mixture of pinks and purples and whites will work, too.

Click here for full recipe ingredients and instructions.

shortbread cookie bites in a red valentines coffee mug

👩🏽‍🍳 How to Make Cupid Bites

  • Preheat the oven to 325°F. Prepare 8-inch pan.
  • Beat butter, sugar and extract at until creamy.
  • Add the flour and salt.
  • Mix on low speed until a dough forms.
  • Stir in the nonpareils until evenly distributed.
  • Transfer dough to prepared pan and press evenly into the bottom.
  • Slice the dough into ½-inch square pieces.
  • Place the squares on baking sheet.
  • Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until bottoms just begin to brown.

Scroll to the recipe card at the end of this post for full detailed instructions.

shortbread bites with red sprinkles in pink cupcake liner

🍪 Variations

  • BOO! Bites
  • Jingle Bell Bites
  • Leprechaun Bites

PRINT this recipe or PIN it to save for later. Made this recipe? Leave a star rating and tag me on Instagram @seededtable so I can see.  I love hearing from you!

This recipe was originally published February 11, 2015.

Recipe Card

shortbread cookie bites in red mug
Print Recipe
4.84 from 6 votes

Cupid Bites - Valentine's Shortbread Cookies

These tiny Valentine's shortbread cookies are perfect to gift for a Valentine's Day treat. We call them Cupid Bites because you'll easily fall in love with these munchies!
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time15 mins
Total Time35 mins
Course: Cookies
Cuisine: American, Scottish
Keyword: Cupid Bites, Shortbread Cookies, tiny shortbread cookies
Servings: 12 to 18 servings
Calories: 139kcal
Author: Nikki Gladd

Ingredients

  • ½ cup unsalted butter , at room temperature (plus more to butter the pan)
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 4 teaspoons Valentines colored nonpareils

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter the bottom and sides of an 8-inch pan, then line with parchment paper, pressing the sides and corners to stick.
  • In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar and extract at medium speed until creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Add the flour and salt. Mix on low speed until a dough forms. It will be crumbly at first, but keep beating. Stir in the nonpareils until evenly distributed.
  • Transfer the dough to the lined pan and press evenly into the bottom. Use the parchment paper to lift the dough from the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut the dough into ½-inch square pieces (a pizza cutter works well). Place the squares ½-inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet; discard parchment paper. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until bottoms just begin to brown.

Notes

  • Make sure your butter is at room temperature. Too soft, and the cookies will spread. Too cold and the dough will be too dry.
  • Mix the dough until it JUST holds together.  If it doesn't hold together within a few minutes, add a little more liquid -- milk or water, 1 teaspoon at a time.
  • Do not over mix -- more than 5 minutes might be too much.
  • These are teeny tiny bites, only ½-inch squares.  You can make them bigger without much of a difference in baking time.  Just watch it until they start to turn golden, then they're done.
  • Nutrition information is an estimate only.

Nutrition

Calories: 139kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 50mg | Potassium: 14mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 236IU | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Take a pic and tag @seededtable or #SeededAtTheTable to be featured!

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About Seeded At The Table

Thanks for visiting! We’re the Gladd family! We love donuts, Disney, LEGO and Jesus. Not in that order, of course. 🙂 Ben shares DIY wood-working projects and Nikki shares delicious recipes. You’ll also find a sprinkling of travel adventures and other family fun ideas!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Amanda says

    April 04, 2015 at 10:35 am

    Hi!! Thought I would make these for Easter using spring colored sprinkles. I followed the recipe exactly, but the dough remained powdery...it never solidified. I'm not sure what to do.....

    Reply
    • Nikki Gladd says

      April 04, 2015 at 2:39 pm

      Hi Amanda, It takes a while for the dough to combine but if it just never did for you, add just a drop of vanilla or milk and keep mixing until it comes together. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop says

    February 14, 2015 at 9:06 pm

    These are so sweet! Love the way you put them in the cute mugs too.

    Reply
  3. sheila says

    February 13, 2015 at 10:25 am

    I am not so sure I would be up for binging on Parenthood. I watched a couple times and could not get into it....there I said it. I feel like such a freak. Now Downton Abbey on the other hand, I live for that show. That and American Idol. LOL!

    Reply
    • Nikki Gladd says

      February 13, 2015 at 1:17 pm

      haha! Thanks for being honest, Sheila! xoxo

      Reply
  4. Sue Gladd says

    February 11, 2015 at 7:45 pm

    Cute and delicious!

    Reply
  5. Emily @ Life on Food says

    February 11, 2015 at 12:19 pm

    These are so cute!! I thought they were little chocolates at first but am even more thrilled with little shortbread.

    Reply

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