Christmas Shortbread Sandwich Cookies

Hello there, Fall&Winter Lovers!

Christmas is upon us and tha's the best time of the year to bake some yummy treats for your family and friends.

Shortbread cookies are delicious and super easy to make, but I decided to make them extra special with some cute Christmas designs and a spicy apple filling (I also used Nutella for another batch of dough).

For the shortbread you will need:

1 cup - 230gr of softened butter

1/2 cup - 110 gr of white granulated sugar

2 cups - 260 gr of all purpose flour

1/2 tsp of salt

2 tsp of vanilla powder sugar or vanilla extract

Powder sugar to decorate

Start by whipping the butter and the sugar together until fluffy and almost white in color.

Add salt and vanilla, give it a little mix and then add the flour by hand with a spatula or a wooden spoon until you get a nice clean bowl and a soft dough.

Roll the dough and form your cookies onto baking sheets. Get creative with cute Christmas shapes and designs :)

Make sure to have an even number of cookies to make sandwiches. You'll get about 15 medium sandwich cookies with this recipe.

Bake your cookies in a pre-heated oven at 375F/180C for 8 to 10 minutes.

Let them cool compleately before dusting the top cookies with powder sugar and spreading the bottoms with jam or Nutella.

For my spicy apple jam you will need:

2 red apples

5 tbsp light brown sugar

1/2 cup water

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp fresh ginger

1 tsp nutmeg

3 cloves of allspice

3 tbsp whiskey or rhum

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 lemon (jiuce+zest)

seeds from 1 vanilla pod

a little red food coloring to give an extra christmasy touch

Wash and chop your apples (also peel them if you prefer) then add the lemon juice and stir together. Add all the ingredients in a stove on medium heat and cook for about 20 minutes. Remove the cloves, turn the heat off and then blend with an immersion blender until you get the consistency of a jam. Add red food coloring if you want to make the jam extra festive (a couple of drops will do the job). Let cool and store your jam in an air tight container.

This jam is sweet and spicy and I think it's the perfect filling for our shortbread cookies.

Let me know if you try this recipe and don't forget to follow me everyday on Instagram!