A few years back now we had a silly little Elf on the Shelf named Candy Cane show up at our house shortly after Thanksgiving. And oh-what-a-joy it has been to see what shenanigans Candy Cane get's into every night after returning from her quick trip to the North Pole. She's got an important job, you know. She's in good with the big jolly man.

It's been even more interesting, the older my daughter has become. I don't know how in the world Candy Cane manages to come up with these things sometimes... ahem. Today I caught her in my kitchen making her famous Elf Cookies! Apparently she wants to surprise my daughter with them in the morning. Of course, you know I had to suggest to her that she make the cookies healthified and asked also if she would be so kind as to leave me the recipe to share! She's very nice that way.

According to Candy Cane, these cookies are famous among all the Elves. Not a night goes by that they don't enjoy these little short bread bites of joy and Holiday cheer! These same cookies are similar to the Skinny Fairy Bites that I made a few years back for my daughter's birthday. Funny how that happens, hm?

One of the main differences is that there's some warm Holiday flavors in these Elf Cookies; including cinnamon and almond. Yum! Just like the fairy bites, these cookies are small enough for elves and kiddos to enjoy. But, that doesn't mean that us parents can't sneak a few too! The basics of these cookies is a short bread. So they're very crisp, crumbly, and buttery.

As you can see, Candy Cane also sprinkled some of her magic elf dust over the cookies to give them that extra special holiday surprise. You see, these cookies are now magical and will instantly bring joy to your heart and put a smile on your face!

Come to think of it, I've seen similar dust at a crafting store in the cake decorating department. I think it was called 'Pearl Dust' and comes in a lot of different colors, including gold. For this particular cookie, you could use any sort of sprinkles; such as nonpareils or jimmies. I prefer the jimmies just because their colors don't bleed quite as easily.

Elf Cookies
TheSkinnyFork.com

The Skinny:
Servings: 81 • Size: 1 Fairy Bite • Calories: 14.2 • Fat: 0.7 g • Carb: 2 g • Fiber: 0.1 g • Protein: 0.2 g • Sugar: 0.4 g • Sodium: 16.4 mg

Ingredients:
1/2 C. Light Butter, Softened
2 Tbsp. Sugar
2 Tbsp. Natural Sweetener (Stevia, Truvia, Etc.)
1/2 Tsp. Almond Extract
1/2 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon
3/4 C All Purpose Flour
1/2 C. White Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 Tsp. Salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. Holiday Colored Sprinkles (Jimmies)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

Line an 8x8 square baking dish with cling wrap, allowing for some overhang; lightly coat the cling wrap with non-stick spray.

Take out another bit of cling wrap and set it out, giving it a light coat of non-stick spray as well; set it all aside.

You're not baking in this dish, all of this is just to mold the dough later.

In a large bowl beat together the 1/2 C. butter, 2 Tbsp. sugar, 2 Tbsp. sweetener, 1/2 Tsp. almond extract, and 1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon until smooth and creamy ad a medium speed.

Add in the 3/4 C. all-purpose flour, 1/2 C. white whole wheat flour and the 1/4 Tsp. salt and beat on a low speed until well combined.

The mixture will be very dry and crumbly.

Stir in the jimmies until evenly distributed.

Carefully transfer the dough to the prepared baking dish.

Press the dough down into the dish using the second strip of non-stick sprayed cling wrap to sort of mold the dough into the square shape and get it all as even and level as possible.

Carefully lift the dough out of the baking dish using the overhang of cling wrap.

Set aside and use a pizza cutter or sharp chef knife to cut the dough into even squares, just under 1" in size.

I got about 81, but only 77 made it onto the baking sheet. No idea how that happened!

If any start to crumble apart, just use your fingers to reshape them a bit. They don't have to be perfect!

Transfer the bites onto the prepared baking sheet.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the bottoms are just starting to brown.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

Enjoy!

Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to a week.