One of my husband’s favourite cookies is shortbread. I’ll admit, I was never a fan until after about 8 years together. Now I’ve acquired the taste, and I wanted to surprise Phil this with a new spin on the shortbread he’s used to. He also likes cinnamon, and candy, so I’ve combined these all together into cinnamon shortbread cookies with little cinnamon hearts embedded upon them. They’re perfect for this month’s Valentine’s theme with #FillTheCookieJar

Cinnamon shortbread cookie ingredients:
- 1 Cup Butter or margarine (we used a non-dairy spread and it worked well)
- 1/2 Cup Icing Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 Cups white flour
- Red food colouring (optional)
- Cinnamon heart candy (optional)
Directions:
If you’d like a slightly sweeter cookie, you can use 1 cup of icing sugar and decrease the flour to just 2 cups.
Pre-heat your oven to 300F/150C and grease your cookie sheets.
Mix the first 2 ingredients together until they are light and fluffy.
Add in the next 3 ingredients until well incorporated. If you want to add food colouring, this is probably the best time to do it. We made some of our cookies plain, and then added the colouring to the dough half way through. It didn’t mix evenly, but it did leave a pretty marbling effect!
Add the flour and mix it all together until it forms a ball. We took ours out of the bowl and finished mixing it on the table.
Lightly flour a flat surface and roll the dough out to about the thickness of a pencil.

Cut out the dough into hearts, or any shape that suits your fancy. Cookies aren’t just for Valentine’s Day!
Place the cookies onto greased cookie sheets and bake them for 5-7 minutes.
If you’re using cinnamon hearts, this is the time to carefully press them into the cookies. This job is best done by an adult as that oven is HOT! Be aware that a couple of hearts may melt into a puddle, but most will be just fine.
Put the cookies back into the oven for another 6-7 minutes. Keep your eye on them so that you can take them out in that precarious stage between them being done but the edges not turning brown. This is where I tend to fail…just look at any of my cookie recipes and you’ll see what I mean! I am improving with this. But never mind if the edges do brown a little, the cookies will still ‘disappear’ just as quickly!

These little cookies were a hit with the family, and the kids loved the marbled look of our coloured batch.
The children enjoyed eating them with a raspberry and banana smoothie for an afternoon snack on a day Daddy would be late coming home from work. It was the perfect end to a fun afternoon of baking with my children.

Carolyn Wilhelm says
I agree on the shortbread! I never thought of trying to cook it, just buy it. I may have to try. What fun for Valentine’s Day!
Crystal McClean says
It worked quite well for our first try! I’m not much for the rolling-type cookies, but these really were easy!
Jenny B @ Honey and Birch says
Yum!! Those cookies sound fantastic. Thank you for linking up to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. I have pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Board.
Crystal McClean says
Thank you! Have a fantastic weekend!
Simple Hacks Living says
Love cinnamon! Thanks for sharing on Tasty Tuesdays!
Laura@Baking in Pyjamas says
I love cinnamon and shortbread, these cookies look great!
Crystal McClean says
Thank you! They turned out better than I was expecting 🙂
Heather @ Join Us, Pull up a Chair says
Yum…love the addition of cinnamon in the shortbread. Such a unique twist!
Crystal McClean says
You can’t go wrong with cinnamon!
Kris ~ Big Rigs 'n Lil' Cookies says
I will have to make these for my co-workers. They LOVE cinnamon treats, so I know these will be a huge hit!
Crystal McClean says
Have fun with them! I like the way the marbling is different in every bite 😉
Cynthia L says
I am a big fan of shortbread and never thought of adding cinnamon. Thanks for sharing this great recipe with the Fill The Cookie Jar group.
Crystal McClean says
Thank you for including me 🙂 Now that I’ve tried these, I’m keen to try other shortbread flavour combinations!
Cindys Recipes and Writings says
Perfect cookies for Valentine’s Day, Crystal!
Crystal McClean says
Thanks! I’m happy we tried these out so successfully. Happy Valentin’e Day!
Joanne/WineLady Cooks says
This is the perfect Valentine’s Day cookie. Looks like you had great help making the cookies. Always fun to have the little ones help in the kitchen. Stopping by from #fillthecookiejar group. Pinned/shared.
Audrey says
I love the marbling effect and wouldn’t have guessed you didn’t plan it.
I love shortbread and the cinnamon in them sounds delightful.
Crystal McClean says
The marbling was a pleasant surprise! I think we’ll try it again in the future 😉
Sandra says
The cinnamon hearts added just the right amount of fun to these cookies. They look delicious!