Shortbread Cookie Cups with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Filling {Whole Wheat}

Shortbread cookie cups are mixed with cranberries and pecans, and then filled with a chewy brown sugar cinnamon filling. So easy and great for Christmas!

You know that feeling that you get when you bite into the center of some freshly baked cookie cups and a burst of sweet brown sugar, swirled with cinnamon explodes all up in yo’ business?

No? Well, you’re about to.

I can only equate it to the feeling of wearing that completely hideous, but SOMUCHCOZY sweater that your grandma Betty-Sue knitted you last Christmas, and you didn’t want to give into its warm-sweater-like-clutches but then you felt the love in EVERY.SINGLE.STITCH and you have secretly worn it to bed for all the evers since last Christmas.

That was both a major run on sentence, and kind of creepy. As per usual.

Also cookies, unlike hand-knitted sweaters are not hideous, and we don’t need to resist their cookie-like clutches AT ALL. But, whatever, I’m just trying to describe FEELINGS here people. Just take the few parts that make sense, got it?

Good.

These-not-clad-in-sweaters cookie cups were inspired by something that I am sort of ashamed to tell you that I kind of really love. Except, not really ashamed at all because the NUMMY IN MY TUMMY factor outweighs any shame factor.

Brown Sugar. Cinnamon. Pop tarts.

Spoiler alert:  We MIGHT (we are) making our OWN homemade pop tarts next week. << !!!!

However, If we’re going to look deep inside of ourselves, and get our soul searching on, we come to a realization:

As delicious as Pop tarts are, Grandma Jane will probably frown up it if you bring a plate of them as your christmas dessert contribution. She more prefers whipped shortbread or some sugar cookie recipe.

Of course, a tale of how people in the old country baked FROM SCRATCH and ground up their own flour WITH THEIR HANDS will probably ensue.

And there are not enough Pop tarts (or wine cocktails) in the whole world to get through that one.

So, we do as the people from the old country do, and we bake cookies.

Except, we don’t bake no boring healthy chocolate chip cookies (I mean, not that I EVER hate on a freshly-under-baked, ooey-gooey-melty-chocolatey chip cookie) we make cookie cups. Which we mix with some cranberries and pecans for CRUNCHITYCRUNCHCRUNCH and PRETTY.

And then we SHOVESTUFFCRAM ALL the brown sugar cinnamon goodness inside.

You guys. It’s just the right thing to do

If that doesn’t convince you, just hear me on this. These cookie cups have so much NUMNUM qualities that I shipped them across the WHOLE UNIVERSE (read: country) to other food blogger friends, as part of the annual Food Blogger Cookie Swap.

I mean, a cookie that is worth shipping THAT FAR is worth eating 23.5 of.

I promise.

Recipe

Cranberry Pecan Shortbread Cookie Cups with Brown Sugar Filling

5 from 4 votes

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Serves: 18

Prep: 20 minutes minutes

Cook: 20 minutes minutes

Total: 40 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Butter softened to room temperature
• 2 Tbsp Light Brown sugar packed
• 2 Tbsp Granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp Vanilla extract
• 3/4 Cup + 3 Tbsp White Whole Wheat flour 4.2 oz
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 3 Tbsp Pecans finely chopped
• 3 Tbsp Craisins finely chopped

For the Filling:

• 1/2 Cup Brown sugar packed
• 1/2 Tbsp Cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp White Whole wheat flour
• 1 large egg white

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and lightly spray amini muffin tin with cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugars, using an electric hand mixer, until light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and beat again until well combined.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and cinnamon until well mixed. Add the flour, along with the pecans and Craisins into the butter mixture and stir until the dough comes together. I find it the easiest to use your hands to really mix the dough.
• Place a scant 1 Tbsp sized ball in each of the mini muffin cavities, and use your fingers to press in the center to create a cup shape. Make sure to press up and along the sides as well.
• Bake until the sides of the cup begins to go lightly golden brown, about 11 minutes.
• While baking, stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon and flour until well combined. Add in the egg white and gently stir until a slightly runny paste forms. Mix until JUST combined, as you don't want to add too much air into the filling, which causes it to sink and crack once baked.
• The cookies will rise up once baked, use a small spoon (or your fingers if you don't mind some heat - it's easier) to press the sides in and down to re-form the cup.
• Spoon the mixture into the cups until they are only 3/4 full. Adjust your oven rack to the lowest setting and bake the cookies on it, until the outsides of filling look just set, and the inside is slightly jiggly, About 5-6 minutes. You don't want them to rise up, or they will sink down once cooling. *
• Let the cookies cool in the pan for 20 minutes and then gently transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
• DEVOUR

Tips & Notes:

* I only have one mini muffin tray, so I had to do it in 2 batches. For some reason, EVERY TIME I made the second batch of cookies (as the recipe makes more than 1 pan) the filling required less cooking time. Only about 4 minutes. So watch closely if you are doing the same.

Nutrition Info:

Serving: 1cookie Calories: 123kcal (6%) Carbohydrates: 16g (5%) Protein: 1g (2%) Fat: 6g (9%) Saturated Fat: 3g (19%) Cholesterol: 13mg (4%) Sodium: 50mg (2%) Potassium: 25mg (1%) Fiber: 1g (4%) Sugar: 10g (11%) Vitamin A: 160IU (3%) Calcium: 17mg (2%) Iron: 0.3mg (2%)

Nutrition Disclaimer

Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.

Author: FoodFaithFitness

Course:Dessert

Cuisine:American

Share your creationsTag @foodfaithfit and hashtag it #foodfaithfitness so I can see what you made!

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The Food Blogger Cookie swap was so fun to be a part of! BUT, better yet, all the proceeds went to  Cookies for Kids’ Cancer! Cookies and good causes guys!

A special thanks to  OXO, Dixie Crystals, California Olive Ranch, and Brownie Brittle for sponsoring the #fbcookieswap and for matching donations up to $3000!

If you make this recipe, please remember to tag #Foodfaithfitness on Instagram! I LOVE to see all your recipe recreations! 

Want more Christmas cookie ideas?

Paleo Gingersnaps

Mint Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies

Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Tarts with Mint Truffle Filling

Shortbread cookie from around the web:

Brown Butter Bacon Fat Shortbread – Bakeaholic Mama

Lemon Almond Shortbread Snowflakes – Amuse Your Bouche

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