Quick and Easy Funfetti Shortbread Bites {Egg-free}
These easy funfetti shortbread bites are the perfect little treat to whip up when time or ingredients are low! They are cute AND super tasty!
These colorful, EASY, and most importantly, super yummy, funfetti shortbread bites make me really happy.
Not only are they adorable, but they are totally irresistible. And I don’t think that’s just because I’ve been stuck at home for a really, really, really long time.
They’re legitimately delicious. Like a melt-in-your-mouth taste of sprinkled sugar cookie in one teensy bite. Except there’s absolutely 100% no way you can eat just one.
The dough comes together extremely fast, and they are egg-free, which is awesome if eggs are hard to find or you’re working around an egg allergy.
Let’s talk about sprinkles
The funfetti shortbread dough calls for colorful nonpareil sprinkles.
Those are the tiny, round sprinkles that wreak bouncy havoc on your floor if they get spilled.
If you don’t have these on hand, try subbing any other variety of small sprinkles. OR, omit the sprinkles completely and go straight for the mini chocolate chips or toffee bits. You could also leave them plain – the shortbread on its own is crazy delicious.
The simple shortbread dough can be mixed:
- in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment
- in a food processor (as you can see below)
- or with an electric hand mixer
Two special ingredients for shortbread
I use a combination of granulated sugar + powdered sugar in the dough for a super tender shortbread experience.
I also like to add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with the flour. It gives the shortbread that melt-in-your-mouth quality that is so yummy. But you can leave out the cornstarch if you don’t have it.
Once the funfetti shortbread dough is mixed, press it into a rectangle on a parchment lined baking sheet (the same pan you’ll use to actually bake them on).
And then add more sprinkles on top! Life lesson #58: You can never have too many sprinkles.
Refrigerate the shortbread for about 30 minutes (or longer). This keeps the shortbread bites from melting into tasty little puddles while they bake.
Cut the chilled shortbread rectangle into 1/4 to 1/2-inch squares (a long knife or bench scraper works great – aff. link). You can see from the visual below that this does not have to be exact. Or even close to exact. Haha.
They’re delicious no matter what wonky rhomboid shape they end up in.
Space the little shortbread bites out on parchment lined baking sheets and pop them in the oven for about 8 minutes. I like to pull them out before there are any signs of browning.
But if you like crispier shortbread, keep them in a few minutes longer.
If you like sugar cookies or sweet shortbread, these easy funfetti shortbread bites are a little taste of heaven.
The only downside to them being so cute and small is that it’s very easy to lose track about how many of them you’ve actually eaten. They disappear fast.
And don’t even get me started on how yummy they are kind of half crumbled up over vanilla ice cream.
If you’re looking for a fun baking project with kids (or by yourself!), these shortbread bites should make the list!
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Funfetti Shortbread Bites
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) salted butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup (106 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (29 g) powdered sugar
- Pinch table salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups (320 g) all-purpose flour (see note!)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons nonpareil sprinkles, see note
Instructions
- Line half sheet pans with parchment paper. Don’t grease. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a handheld mixer or in a food processor), combine the butter, granulated sugar, and powdered sugar, and mix until well-combined. Add the salt and vanilla and mix.
- Add the flour (read the note below first!) and cornstarch and mix until about half of the dry ingredients are combind. Add the sprinkles and mix until evenly combined and no dry streaks remain. Try not to over mix.
- On one of the parchment-lined baking sheets, press the shortbread into a 1/4-inch (or slightly thicker) rectangle. Press additional sprinkles on top of the dough, if desired. Refrigerate the shortbread for 30 minutes (or up to 24 hours).
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Using a long knife or bench scraper, cut the rectangle into small squares, about 1/4- to 1/2-inch in size.
- Spread the shortbread bites out on the prepared baking sheets. They won’t spread much but they shouldn’t be touching. Bake for 7-9 minutes until set. For crispier shortbread, bake 1-2 minutes longer.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (shortbread adapted from this favorite Scottish shortbread recipe)
Disclaimer: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
79 Comments on “Quick and Easy Funfetti Shortbread Bites {Egg-free}”
Fast, fun and fabulous! I have shared this with several people.
I’m nine years old and I am making these for a bake sale.They are very easy to make and I love to eat them.
Hi Mel! I’ve made this recipe several times and my whole family loves it! I just made it since you converted measurements to grams and my dough came out incredibly crumbly and dry. I was so confused! When I looked at the recipe again I realized that the flour weight hasn’t been converted correctly. It should be 270g, not 320g. Made it again with the proper amount of flour and it turned out lovely, as always.
Hey Rachel, I use 142 grams of flour per cup, so the flour amount is correct per those calculations. Do you happen to live at high elevation? Others have reported that using the full amount of flour at high elevation made for a crumbly dough (there’s a note at the bottom of the recipe about this) – do you think that’s why your dough might have been crumbly?
Save yourself a total waste of 2 sticks of butter by making sure you DO NOT bring the butter to room temp. Cold butter only. I now have over 300 tiny “cookies” that Marnie, our elf on the shelf, made.
This is the worst shortbread cookie I’ve ever made. After 20 minutes the cookies still were not cooked and they tasted like they had never been cooked. I’m gonna try with my next batch at 375 with no SIL pat and hopefully that will solve a problem, if not never again
This is a standard shortbread recipe ratio…
If they dont turn out, its on you.
I want to make these but I HATE nonpareil, they taste little little rocks. Any I can swap it out for?
You can leave them plain or use coarse sanding sugar or another type of sprinkle.
These are great. My husband is allergic to dairy and eggs. I made them with Melt, a plant based butter. Hubby and grandkids loved them. I thought they were yummy too. I think I need to restock my sprinkle supply.
We LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe- I’ve eaten way more of these cookies than I will divulge! Here are a few adaptations we’ve made…
~Use a PIZZA CUTTER to make the squares!
~Personal preference… we use fewer sprinkles and none on top, just so you get more of the delicious buttery shortbread flavor- but still the adorable funfetti look! (I never make a white cake or rice crispies without sprinkles! Life’s too good for plain white!)
~I was out of sprinkles once *gasp* so I added almond flavoring, and crumbled up some sliced almonds I had on hand. Tasty! I’ll do that again on purpose!
~I divide the dough into two before cooling it, pressing it on two cookie sheets lined with parchment before going in the fridge. I’m fortunate to have a large enough fridge to do that.
~Making a double batch is NEVER a bad idea! They last for a long time, and people won’t be mad if you share with them! =)
THANK YOU for this recipe, Mel! I love shortbread cookies and have often thought I need to find a recipe so I can just make my own. This is it!
I made these for all of our neighbors for Christmas. Everyone LOVED them! Thanks.
Can these be frozen once baked?
Yes
My batter was very dry and crumby I had to add more butter to make it stay together. They did spread out on the cookie sheet. But they taste great
These were SO good! I made them for my daughter’s birthday (I saved making a cake for her party with grandparents a few days later) and added even more sprinkles by dipping the bottom in melted white chocolate and the dipping that in a dish of sprinkles! I think I’ll make a Christmas version with red, green, and white sprinkles 🙂
What a cute idea to dip the bottoms!! Love that!
These are really tasty- my brothers loved them. They just melt in your mouth and are so heavenly. Thanks for the awesome recipe, we haven’t found one from your blog that we didn’t like
These were a hit at my Memorial Day bash…so I resisted the urge to apologize for their appearance. Mine flattened out almost completely and I was disappointed about that. I love the little square bite shape! I adjusted the flour (per the notes) for my Utah location, perhaps I didn’t need to do that and I would have had a better result with the whole amount?
Sounds like you might have needed the full amount of flour, Sarah – that will definitely help them keep their shape.
My daughter and I made these a couple of weeks ago. Let’s be frank, she was there for the sprinkle-action. We had a lot of fun, and they were a lot of fun to eat!
Haha, thanks, Heather!
My kids and I made these to deliver to some friends last weekend. Wow! so easy and so delicious. Thanks as always Mel!
Thanks so much, Emilie – what a great idea to take them to friends!
I made these today exactly as stated in the recipe and they are fantastic! I used three pans and had them in the oven one at a time to see which length of time was best. For me, nine minutes in the oven and then cooled on the pan left them perfectly crisped and the most flavorful. These are the perfect easy, adorable and delicious treat 🙂 Thank you for another great recipe, Mel!
Thanks for the comment, Marissa!
Mel,
These are great. I did bake them a couple minutes longer because I like crispier cookies. I used normal sprinkles and they turned out just fine. Next time I might try some lemon extract or almond extract just for fun. You are right, they are addictive and it is hard to keep track of what you have eaten!
Thanks for the review, Ann!
Hey there I can’t wait to make these. How far in advance can I make them and how long do they keep fresh for?
Thanks Sarah
They can be baked, cooled and frozen for several months. Or you can bake them and keep them covered in a container for a day or so.
Hi! How long will these last all week? Or can you freeze the raw dough? Thank you!
Yes, you can freeze the dough! Well covered, they should last for several days.
I didn’t see the note about the flour until after my dough was crumbly. I added a couple more tablespoons of softened butter like one of the other commenters suggested and it helped the dough come together. Yum!
Thanks for the review! I’ll try to make the note about flour more obvious. 🙂
Made these and they were a hit! And super easy too. I used all the flour (I’m at sea level in Seattle) and I used jimmy sprinkles with no issues (all I had). Yum! These were a bright spot in my family’s day. Thank you. ❤️
Thanks so much for the review, Stephanie!
Could I use a gf flour in the funfetti shortbread recipe?
I believe others have with good results!
Yum! I made these with a butter substitute, and GF flour (lots of food allergies over here) and they still turned out great. Thanks for the recipe.
That’s awesome – thanks, Lynn!
These turned out so yummy! We didn’t have sprinkles, so I used 1/2 t. almond extract instead. It wasn’t overpowering, but those bites were delicious! The shortbread was so tender and buttery. They would definitely have looked more exciting with sprinkles though 🙂 They will definitely get made that way once I get my hands on some nonpareils!
Thanks for the feedback! I’ll add a note to the recipe that higher elevations should start with 2 cups flour and only add more if it is super sticky. Thank you!
These were so cute and delicious – my kids loved them!
So happy to hear that!
Made these. Used my fancy pants Williams Sonoma sprinkles and they are perfect.
They are also gone…thanks to my kids being home from college/high school.
🙂
I think you have a hit on your hands!
Thanks, Stacy!
Hi Mel!
I made these today and they were JUST the thing for another day locked up in the house. They are ridiculously cute and SO delicious! One questions, my dough turned out really dry. It was so crumbly I had a difficult time getting it onto the parchment paper to chill the dough. Do you have any idea what I might have done wrong? I would love to make these again 🙂
Hey Tiffany – do you measure your flour with a measuring cup or use a scale (or both)? Sounds like maybe the dough was a little bit overfloured so try not to pack too much flour into the measuring cup (fluff it up before measuring) and just use a bit less flour. Should help!
Mel, these were the perfect treat for my little girls’ tea party today! They were so tasty and cute. My dough was crumbly like Tiffany’s though, and I did weigh my ingredients with a scale…perhaps because it’s just so dry here in Utah? Would you suggest just using less flour next time? Thanks for sharing this fun recipe!!
Hi Moriah – yes, it could be the dryness or elevation – I would suggest cutting the flour back to 2 cups if you try them again.
Yep, I live in Utah, weighed my flour with a scale as well, and I had the same problem. Super crumbly dough. I just threw in an extra tablespoon or so of softened butter and mixed again so it was more manageable. Next time I will use less flour and only add more if I need it. Still tasted yummy though!
Hi. I live in Michigan and my dough was also super dry and crumbly. I’m about to put them I. The oven so we’ll see how they turn out!
Hey Sarah – how did they turn out?
They were dry and crumbled a lot when I cut them, but I persevered and baked them. They turned out good – they are still a bit dry and crumbly but the flavor is great. I will try them again and use less flour. My boys have no problem eating them.
AMAZING! Not that I doubt any of your recipes anyway!! Me and my son made these today and he pressed mini chocolate chips into his half. I prefer to enjoy the butter flavor myself. Point of the story is we couldn’t just stop at one, or two, or 5. Yum! Thank you for another great recipe!
Yay! Thanks so much for letting me know!
The shortbread is amazing! So tasty. We only had jimmy sprinkles, and I think they were not the best choice.
Oh darn it – sorry the other sprinkles didn’t work out (but glad you liked the shortbread part!)
These are exquisite melt in your mouth cookies.
The recipe calls for salted butter (the shortbread sprinkle recipe). If I only have unsalted butter can you share how I would best modify the recipe?
Thanks!
Hi Brooke! If you have unsalted butter, try increasing the salt to 1/2 teaspoon.
Do you think almond exact would be good to add? My family loves almond in sugar cookies. Thanks for all your awesome recipes ❤️
Yes! If you like almond extract, I think it could be added and taste amazing.
That sounds delicious! Would you just substitute the almond extract for the vanilla extract (same amounts)?
I made these yesterday with almond extract. I still used a teaspoon of vanilla and added a 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. They were really delicious! The flavor was subtle, but there. If you love a more pronounced almond flavor, I would do 1 teaspoon. I would still add the vanilla though, because I like the combination.
Thanks for the report back, Kat!
Could you use margarine? Or would it not work/have a weird taste or texture?
I’m not sure?? I don’t keep margarine on hand so I haven’t tried it…I don’t think the flavor will be as buttery and delicious. 🙂
I’m without a kitchen right now (Worst timing ever for a reno!) so I think I could try to make these in the toaster oven for an Easter goodie my kiddo will enjoy. If I don’t have any powdered sugar, will they still work if I sub in more granulated sugar? Trying not to go to the store…
Look up grinding your granulated sugar into powdered sugar. Then use that. 🙂 Good luck!
Like Trisha said, you can finely grind granulated sugar into powdered sugar but if that’s too much work with a renovation going on, just sub the powdered sugar for more granulated sugar. The texture won’t be quite the same, but it’ll still be tasty.
Can’t wait to try these!! You really are waaaay too good to us!! Thanks for being SO AMAZING and GENEROUS!!! xoxox
Thank you, Helen!
I sent them to my mom to make for me and leave on her porch, lol. I offered to drop her some things off, too 🙂
Haha. 🙂
I can’t wait to make these with my kids. I sure appreciate all the work you put into sharing everything that you do.
Thank you so much, Stacy!
These are so ridiculously cute! I have a feeling I’ll be making them this week!
Thanks, Anna – hope you enjoy them if you try them!