Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Learn everything you need to know to make food processor cookie dough with these easy holiday chocolate shortbread cookies. Fresh hazelnuts and pumpkin spice added to make them even more festive. It’s also got flavored creamer baked right in!

I’m so excited about the holidays coming up and seasonal desserts like these Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Shortbread Cookie Sandwiches. They’re guaranteed easy and fun to make.

While these are technically shortbread cookies, just consider them breakfast pastries and you can enjoy them any time, especially with a cup of coffee. It’s ok, no one will judge.

What’s the difference between a Sugar Cookie and Shortbread Cookie?

Although these two cookies may look pretty similar there are differences between them. Shortbread cookies have a high density of butter or shortening, hence the name shortbread.

The quantity of butter gives shortbread its rich, buttery and flaky taste whereas a sugar cookie is much crisper. Traditional shortbread should be baked at a low temperature to maintain an even color throughout. Sugar cookies are often baked at a higher temperature so the sugar melts and caramelizes.

Ingredients for making Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

• All-purpose flour 
• Hazelnuts
• Salt
• Pumpkin pie spice: use store-bought or make your own
• Butter: make sure it’s at room temperature
• Powdered sugar
• Flavored creamer: choose your favorite flavor to mix in
• Chocolate-hazelnut spread

Answers for common shortbread cookie questions:

Do shortbread cookies have eggs? No, they don’t have eggs. They are mainly made with flour, butter, and sugar, which makes them crumbly and a bit drier than traditional cookies.

What type of sugar should I use for shortbread cookie? Granulated sugar is most common, but I used powdered sugar in this recipe to make them a bit more crumbly.

How do I make shortbread cookies easy? A time-saving and fail-proof way to make cookie dough is with a food processor. Not special stirring or working the dough needed, and it’s done in seconds. See the section below more details on food processor cookie dough.

Pulse cookie dough in the food processor until it looks like this:

How to make food processor dough

You can use a food processor to make quick and easy dough or batters. This chocolate shortbread cookie recipe is designed with that in mind. To make the hazelnut flour mix you’ll need a food processor.

Here are a few simple steps to make food processor dough:

• Start by making your own homemade hazelnut flour mixture. Simply pulse hazelnuts with all-purpose flour.
• If you process the hazelnuts on their own for too long, it creates a nut butter. The all-purpose flour soaks up some of the oils and keeps it from binding into nut butter.
• Add in and process rest of ingredients to create the food processor cookie dough.

Pro tip: If you do want to make your own nut butter, simply pulse nuts in a food processor until it forms into nut butter. Hazelnut, cashew, and peanut butter are some of my favorites.

Add flavored creamer to the shortbread cookie dough

Have a lot of creamer and don’t know what to do with it? Try baking with it as it makes a great flavored substitute for milk.  It adds a hint of sweetness beyond sugar and softens up the texture a bit.

Use your favorite hazelnut spread such as Nutella to wedge creamy goodness between dense, moist and crumbly chocolate hazelnut shortbread cookies.

Do you need to chill shortbread cookie dough?

Shortbread dough should be chilled before baking because it contains a high amount of butter. If the butter is at room temperature when they are baked the cookies will spread out more and will result in flat, spread out cookies.

What about softened butter?

It’s important to use softened (room temperature) butter to make the shortbread cookies. Otherwise, the dough will turn out lumpy and will result in uneven baking.

Just be sure to chill the dough so the butter can harden again before baking.

Shortbread Cookie Tips

• Adding flour to hazelnuts helps prevent it from forming into nut butter, but don’t over-pulse
• You can use any flavor sweetened creamer you’d like, but recommend pumpkin spice flavor if you can find it
• Use softened or room temperature butter when mixing the dough to ensure it mixes evenly
• Freezing prepared shortbread dough is a critical step as it makes it the right firmness for slicing and baking
• Baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week or stored in the freezer

Recipe at-a-glance:

Flavor profiles: Rich nutty and chocolate flavors, with a hint of pumpkin spice and sweetness.
Texture: Creamy filling between dense, moist and crumbly shortbread cookies.

More holiday cookie recipes you may like:

• Fail-proof Sugar Cookie Recipe for Decorating
• Flour-Free Edible Gingerbread Cookie Dough
• Chewy Cashew Toffee Cookies
• Almond Tangerine Butter Cookies

Leave a comment below and star rating if you made this recipe or want to share your thoughts.

 

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5 from 12 votes

Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Homemade shortbread cookie dough with fresh hazelnuts and pumpkin spice added. Oh yeah, and it's also got flavored creamer baked right in!

Course Cookie

Cuisine American

Keyword chocolate shortbread cookie, cookie sandwich, pumpkin spice cookie

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Calories 170kcal

Servings 25 cookie sandwiches

Author: Matt Ivan

Did you know? Servings and ingredient amounts can be adjusted on all my recipes. Click the green number above to change.

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 cup chopped hazelnuts, divided
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• ▢ 1 ¾ sticks butter, softened
• ▢ ¾ cup powdered sugar
• ▢ 1/8 cup flavored creamer, plus 2 tablespoons
• ▢ ½ cup chocolate-hazelnut spread

Instructions

• In a food processor pulse together flour, ½ cup of hazelnuts, salt and pumpkin pie spice; about 1 minute until finely ground. Transfer to a medium bowl.
• In the processor pulse butter, powdered sugar and 1/8 cup creamer until smooth. Add flour mixture. Cover and process with pulses just until a dough forms, scraping sides as necessary. Add remaining ½ cup hazelnuts and pulse just until mixed in. 
• Divide dough in half and roll into two 8-inch rolls, about 1-½ inch thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze 30 minutes to firm.
• Preheat oven to 350º F. Unwrap cookie rolls and place on a cutting board. Slice into even pieces, about ¼-inch thick. Place slices onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake 12–15 minutes, until edges are golden. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.
• In a small bowl mix together chocolate-hazelnut spread and about 2-tablespoons creamer to make filling. Spread desired amount to create a thin layer onto bottoms of half of cookies. Place reaming cookies bottom side down on filling to create shortbread sandwiches.

Notes

• Adding flour to hazelnuts helps prevent it from forming into nut butter, but don't over-pulse
• You can use any flavor sweetened creamer you'd like, but recommend pumpkin spice flavor if you can find it
• Use softened or room temperature butter when mixing the dough to ensure it mixes evenly
• Freezing prepared shortbread dough is a critical step as it makes it the right firmness for slicing and baking
• Baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week or stored in the freezer

Nutrition Facts

Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Amount Per Serving (1 cookie sandwich)

Calories 170 Calories from Fat 99

% Daily Value*

Fat 11g17%

Saturated Fat 5g31%

Cholesterol 17mg6%

Sodium 105mg5%

Potassium 69mg2%

Carbohydrates 15g5%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 7g8%

Protein 2g4%

Vitamin A 200IU4%

Vitamin C 0.3mg0%

Calcium 15mg2%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens: Fall Baking. 2014. Print.