Sugar Plum Shortbread Cookies
Sugar Plum Shortbread Cookies are delicate shortbread treats infused with cinnamon, cloves, orange zest, and pecans, then brushed with plum jam and finished with sparkling sugar for a truly festive holiday bite.
Calories:
Ingredients
For the Orange Pecan Spice Shortbread
- 2½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1½ tablespoons freshly grated orange zest
- 1 cup salted butter room temperature, cut into small pieces
For the Jam and Sparkling Sugar Topping
- Plum raspberry, or strawberry jam (homemade or prepared)
- Granulated sugar for sprinkling
- Sparkling white sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Combine flour, cinnamon, cloves, nuts, sugar, and orange zest. Cut in the butter until the mixture looks like fine crumbs, then knead until a smooth dough forms.
- Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to ½ inch thickness and cut into shapes. Place cookies 2 inches apart on parchment lined sheets.
- Brush a thin layer of jam onto each cookie with a small paintbrush, keeping the edges clean to prevent spreading.
- Bake at 325°F for 18 to 22 minutes until the edges lightly brown and the centers are set.
- While still warm, sprinkle with granulated sugar and sparkling white sugar, then cool completely on racks.