A Cure for your Winter Blues: Snacks and a Movie

Now that the holiday season is winding down, but the weather outside is still chilly, hibernation season is in progress. This is a time when we’re licking our financial wounds from spoiling our loved ones over the holiday season, so going out tapers off as we give our pocketbooks a rest. January also tends to be a month where the cold weather rears its ugly head, making our desire to spend any more time than we have to outside pretty limited. I’ve got a cure for your January blues! 

How about a good movie, a bag of popcorn, and a yummy sweet snack to munch on?  You only need 6 ingredients for this easy-to-execute recipe. Make yourself a batch of these chocolate chip shortbread cookie bites and see just how quickly they disappear! These addictive little bite-sized nuggets are the perfect sweet treat to pop into your mouth alongside a salty, buttery bowl of popcorn. 

As my husband dipped a couple cookie bites in his coffee this morning, I then realized they have a biscotti-like taste, without the tougher texture. It’s the perfect small sweet treat when you’ve got a morning sweet tooth.  They would also pair quite well with a nice glass of bubbly. 

Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookie Bites

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup powdered sugar

1 stick cold butter, cut into small pieces

½ tsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp milk

½ cup semisweet chocolate, rough chopped

Preheat the oven to 325ºF.  Mix together the flour and powdered sugar. 

Cut in the cold butter using a fork, two butter knives, or a pastry blender. 

Once the mixer is crumbly, add the vanilla extract and milk. 

Once the dough holds together, mix in the chopped chocolate. 

Scoop out tablespoon-sized scoops of the dough. 

Form each scoop into small cubes by pinching the top, bottom, and sides between your fingers. 

Place the cubes ½ inch apart on a parchment-lined sheet tray. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the bottom of the cookie bites are lightly browned.  The low and slow baking temperature allows the cookies to maintain their elegantly pale appearance. This recipe yields approximately 32 cookie bites. 

Interested in using these hibernation months to better your baking skills? Join us for The Chopping Block’s Baking 101 class on January 14^th at the Merchandise Mart! 

Can't wait to get baking? Download our 12 Days of Holiday Cookies for our favorite recipes. Even though the holidays are over, these will become your new go-to cookies this year.