Today I am sharing my recipe for churro shortbread bites. Why not use flavour of the beloved South American dessert and mix with Scottish favorite sweet treat. The results are insane. Buttery and crumbly shortbread bites covered in aromatic and crunchy cinnamon coating. Golden perfection.
How to make churro shortbread bites
Everybody is saying that making a good shortbread is easy. I disagree with this statement. Making a good shortbread may seem easy but actually it requires certain knowledge and understanding of ingredients.
Many recipes are saying just mix butter with sugar and then add flour and bake. Well, please read the below tips. They will help you to avoid all the issues while making a great shortbread.
TIPS:
- BUTTER: In order to make the best shortbread you need to use the best butter. Not margarine, or any other butter substitute. Real butter at its best. I used salted butter in this recipe. If you can not find salted butter, you can use unsalted but add 1/4 tsp of table salt. The buttery indulgent taste comes from real butter, this is it.
- SUGAR: Traditional Scottish shortbread is made with standard white granulated sugar. I also used this type of sugar in this recipe. It works like a charm and is easily available everywhere. Using white granulated sugar makes shortbread airy and light but not powdery. For this recipe I have substituted white sugar for brown soft sugar.
- FLOUR: As simple as it may be in order to make a good shortbread, you need to use a soft flour. If you did not know flour can be soft, hard or medium.
- Hard flour has a high protein content and has a good ability to form gluten. It is perfect to make bread.
- Soft flour has a low protein content and lower ability to create strong gluten. This flour is also called pastry flour or cake flour. It makes baked goods more flaky than doughy. For any shortbread recipe soft flour is the best option.
- Medium flour, also called AP flour – it is a mix of soft and hard flour and is the most commonly available in supermarkets.
Fort his recipe, apart from the 3 standard shortbread ingredients I have also used :
4. CINNAMON: I used good quality ground cinnamon in my dough and in cinnamon sugar
5.POWDERED SUGAR: for cinnamon sugar coating I used two type of sugar, powdered sugar and granulated sugar. Do not forget to sieve powdered sugar.
HANDLING THE DOUGH – to make shortbread dough, I always use my hands. I rub butter and sugar together until combined, for about 8 minutes. Next I add flour and cinnamon and gently rub it together until just combined. The whole secret is not to overwork the dough. Overworked dough means cakey and tough shortbread due to formation of gluten. We do not want it.
THICKESS AND SHAPING: I used 27cm x 18cm (11inches x 7inches) cake tin. It gave me optimal thickness. Not too thick and not too thin. I would say that they are 1 cm (0.39inch) thick. I do not recommend using this dough for cut out cookies as they will spread due to high content of butter. After baking shortbreads, cut it while hot into small squares and roll in cinnamon sugar.
What do churro shortbread bites taste like?
These golden churro shortbread bites taste absolutely lush. They are buttery, crumbly and loaded with cinnamon flavour. The texture is delicate and the cinnamon sugar coating adds extra crunch. Honestly we can not get enough of them! If you want to add a unique cookie recipe to your dessert platter, this is the one. This is one of the best shortbread recipes you will ever try.
How to store churro shortbread bites
Store shortbread at room temperature in a cookie jar or a cookie tin. You can also freeze it for up to 6 months. In order to defrost shortbread, just take it out of the freezer and leave it at room temperature for an hour. It defrosts like a charm.
If you are looking for more shortbread recipes, I can recommend you the following:
Miso and brown butter shortbread
Chocolate and chili shortbread
Gingerbread honey shortbread cookies
Click this link to see the best shortbread recipes
I hope you will make my recipe and if you do, please leave a comment below and let me know your feedback. You can also find me on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Gab and Gettr. Please say hi and do not forget to tag me in if you make my recipe. I love seeing your creations.
Recipe source – my own
Enjoy!
Churro shortbread bites
Delicate, buttery, crumbly and addictive. Churro shortbread bites. This eggless little snacks are perfect treat to add on your plate.
Ingredients
Cinnamon sugar
Instructions
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Please read post above as well as it includes tips and useful information.
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In a medium bowl add all the butter and sugar.
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Using your fingers, rub these two together until combined. It took me 8 minutes.
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Add flour and cinnamon and using your fingers rub together until crumbs start to form.
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Make sure you do not knead the dough and you do not overwork the dough. It is important. The longer you work the dough the more gluten develops. It will make your shortbread have a doughy consistency. You do not want it.
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Preheat your oven to 180C fan (356F).
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Take a baking tin. I used rectangular baking tin 27cm x 18cm (11inches x 7inches). Spread the dough into the tin and press it firmly so it covers all the bottom.
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Place tin in the oven and bake it for about 30-35 minutes.
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When shortbread is ready, remove it from oven and cut shortbread in small cubes while still hot. When shortbread is hot, it is very soft and it will make it much easier to cut it this way.
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In a small bowl mix powdered sugar, granulated sugar and cinnamon.
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Roll each shortbread cube in cinnamon sugar while hot, it will help sugar to stick. Repeat the process 2 or 3 times.