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–+ servings

Spiced Chocolate Shortbread Buttons

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Christmas, North American
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 42 minutes
Servings: 24 cookies
Calories: 121.93kcal
Author: Lord Byron's Kitchen
Chocolate that has been spiced with the heat of chilies is a popular confection, which makes these Spiced Chocolate Shortbread Buttons a must have! Punching holes to make buttons in the cookies before baking is cute, but not a must!!
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Ingredients

For the Cookies:

  • 3/4 cup salted butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup dark cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (ancho chili powder, regular or spicy chili powder, etc., will work too)

Instructions

  • In a mixing bowl, use a hand-held mixer to beat the butter until light and fluffy.  Add the sugar and beat into the butter until well combined. 
  • Add the egg and the vanilla and beat into the butter mixture.
  • Next, add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and ancho chili powder and with the mixer on low speed, blend into the butter mixture just until the flour is incorporated.
  • Divide the cookie dough in half and wrap each half in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.  Set aside.
  • Remove the cookie dough from fridge and roll dough a 1/4 inch thick between two sheets of parchment paper.  Use a round cookie cutter to cut out the button shapes. Transfer the cut cookies to the baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space between the cookies. Using a drinking straw, punch 4 holes in the center of each cookie.
  • Bake for 12 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for a full 10 minutes of the baking sheet before transferring to wire cooling rack.  DO NOT REMOVE THE COOKIES FROM THE BAKING SHEET UNTIL A FULL 10 MINUTES HAS PASSED.
  • Roll out the rest of the dough and start again.  Repeat until all dough has been used.
  • Can be left on the counter top in a food safe container for 5-7 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 121.93kcal | Carbohydrates: 16.03g | Protein: 1.7g | Fat: 6.43g | Saturated Fat: 3.95g | Cholesterol: 24.04mg | Sodium: 54.99mg | Potassium: 71.11mg | Fiber: 1.14g | Sugar: 8.42g | Vitamin A: 207.37IU | Calcium: 14.86mg | Iron: 0.79mg