When I think of the holidays I have fond memories of baking cookies with my Mom. We would open up the “cookie factory” out of my Mom’s kitchen every Christmas, pumping out a huge assortment of our favorite cookies. When I got married to my husband his favorite cookies were Melting Moments. They were a cookie that his Grandma had made, his mother had made, and a family staple. I had never heard of them! Of course, since they were his favorite I had to learn how to master making them. This is his Grandma’s Melting Moments Cookies Recipe which produces a delicious cookie that is delicate and melts in your mouth as the name implies. The secret to the melting, delicate flavor is in sifting your ingredients to achieve a silky texture. It’s not as hard as it sounds though and anyone can do it!
Begin by creaming one cup of butter and gradually beating in powdered sugar. Then slowly sift in corn starch and flour and mix well.
Next chill in the fridge for an hour. If you live in the frozen tundra like I do (Northern Minnesota), then take advantage of that bone-chilling cold weather and stick your bowl outside for ten minutes. They will be chilled by then 🙂 Hey, the cold has to be good for something right?!
Then form small, bite size balls and smash them down just a little with your fingers so they are slightly flat, instead of ball shaped. Put them on a parchment lined cookie sheet or use a Silpat mat like I do (LOVE my Silpat mat!). Then bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes until bottoms just start to turn brown and tops of cookies aren’t doughy feeling anymore.
While the cookies are baking, start making your frosting. Use McCormick food colors and Pure Vanilla Extract to make the simple frosting recipe.
Combine melted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk together to make frosting.
Then add red McCormick food coloring to one bowl and green McCormick food coloring to the other bowl and mix well. My husband’s family always colors their frosting very light so they are more of a pastel red and green. I prefer a little more bold red and green coloring which always makes my cookies stand out from the rest!
Once your cookies have cooled, frost the tops of them and let them dry.
Store in an airtight container or freeze. They freeze very well so you can make them ahead and pull them out the day you need them!
Print the recipe off below or pin this post to easily find it later!
Sarah | Must Have Mom
Melting Moments cookies melt in your mouth as the silky layers dissolve.
2Tbspmelted butterdivided in half in 2 bowls (mix your frosting in two bowls and then color it so you have red and green frosting)
1cuppowdered sugardivided in half
1tspMcCormick pure vanilla extractdivided in half
3tspmilkdivided in half (or enough to thin frosting for spreading)
McCormick Food Coloring
Instructions
Cream butter and gradually beat in the powdered sugar (sifted).
Then sift in corn starch and flour gradually, mixing as you add.
Chill one hour in fridge.
Remove from fridge and form small, bite size balls.
Place on parchment lined cookie sheet (or use Silpat mat) and smash down slightly so they are flat and not ball shaped.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-15 minutes until just starting to brown on the bottom and so the tops no longer feel doughy.
Mix together the frosting ingredients in two separate bowls.
Add red food coloring to one bowl and green food coloring to the other bowl and mix well.
Frost cookies once they are cooled.
Store in an airtight container or freeze for later.
In 2014,McCormickmarks its 125th anniversary by celebrating the role flavor plays in all of our lives, inspiring flavorful conversation, and giving back to communities around the world. For every story shared on any ofMcCormick’s brand websites or social channels,McCormickwill donate $1, up to $1.25 million, to United Way to help feed those in need.
My Melting Moments were featured over at A Southern Mother. Grab some more great Christmas cookie recipes in her Cookie Exchange post!
One way is to add in some extra fat, such as more butter or even an extra egg yolk (which contains fat) — this will make the dough easy to work with again. Another way to fix the problem is to add in a bit of extra liquid, such as milk or water, which will help get the dough back to the consistency it needs to be.
made with melted butter are slightly thicker, but the ones with softened butter have crispier edges. Overall. I would say the room temperature. or softened butter ones spread a little bit more, are a little bit golden and crispier around the edges, but the melted butter ones are thicker, softer, and chewier.
Why did my melting moments go flat? If your biscuits are spreading too far in the oven, the dough was too warm or possibly too much butter was added. If the dough is very warm or you are baking on a hot day, place the rolled and flattened biscuits on a tray in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up before baking.
They're both 'prepared' in the same way, with two cookies being sandwiched together with icing, and they both have that sweet crumbly texture. But traditionally Yo-Yos are made with custard powder, while Melting Moments use cornflour instead!
Room temperature butter is just the right consistency to incorporate air when it's creamed with sugar. These trapped air pockets result in risen, fluffy cookies. If the butter is any warmer, it won't incorporate enough air and your cookies will have less rise.
If you are tasting baking soda in your dishes, it means that it has not reacted with enough acid to produce carbon dioxide and is left underutilized. So, always err on the side of adding enough acid (depending on what you are baking, this could be yoghurt or some other culinary acid).
Brown sugar adds a beautiful color as well as a more complex flavor. They'll also make cookies chewier, softer, and thicker than white sugar. Adding too much can result in dark brown cookies. Adding too little results in paler cookies.
Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies. Since baking powder is comprised of a number of ingredients (baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, etc.), using it instead of pure baking soda will affect the taste of your cookies.
The primary purpose of vanilla extract is to add flavour to baked goods. Lacking it, baked goods tend to have a bland and boring taste. Vanilla extract can also contribute moisture to create a soft and fluffy texture.
But first—why exactly do you need to know how to soften butter? If your butter is too cold, you'll have a hard time mixing it in with the rest of the ingredients, which could result in a lumpy, uneven dough. If it's too melted, your baked goods will wind up (gasp!) dense and flat.
Pour hot water into a ceramic or glass cup or bowl (something that can fit over your butter).After a few minutes, dump the water out of the vessel and quickly cover your butter. The heat from the cup will soften your butter in just a few minutes. We'd be remiss if we didn't mention using your microwave.
Also, underbaking them by a minute or 2 will help them retain a dense, chewy bite, explains Jenny McCoy, pastry baking arts chef-instructor at the Institute for Culinary Education in New York. Adding more moisture to your dough in the form of extra butter, egg yolks, or brown sugar will make your cookies even softer.
Unsalted butter is better suited to baked goods like cookies that are sensitive to salt content and rely on butter's creamy flavor profile, helping ensure that you don't end up with an overly-salty baked good.
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Introduction: My name is Virgilio Hermann JD, I am a fine, gifted, beautiful, encouraging, kind, talented, zealous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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