How can a cookie with only 6 simple ingredients taste this good!!! Well, they’re not called Marvelous Melting Moments without good reason. One bite of these sweet temptations and, from the rich, tender crumb of the cookie, you’ll find they quickly melt in your mouth.
Made only with butter (absolutely no substitutions on this one), icing sugar (aka powdered sugar or confectioner’s sugar), vanilla, flour, cornstarch, and salt, they’re easy to make and delightful to eat! And, they make wonderful gifts, too, and are also a special addition to any holiday sweet tray.
My mother always comments on how “short” these cookies are. “Shortness” in a cookie is characterized by the amount of fat and sugar present and the high ratio of butter to flour in the recipe. To get the high degree of tenderness that is the hallmark of a “short” cookie, a lot of butter is used in the dough and, the more fat content, the more tender and rich the cookie crumb will be.
It’s important that these cookies not be over-handled or over-mixed as they will become tough. Cream the butter and sugar together until smooth then incorporate the dry ingredients. This cookie dough is too tender to roll out because it won’t hold together to cut shapes from so simply pinch off pieces of the dough and quickly form them into small balls. Don’t over-work them as the dough will become warm and, subsequently, sticky. As a mark of reference, I use about 5/8 oz of dough per ball. Now, I don’t stop and weigh the dough for each cookie because, from experience, I can “eyeball” how much dough is needed per cookie but it’s good to have a frame of reference as to the size of the cookie ball. Place the cookie balls on parchment-lined baking sheets. Use the tines of a fork to flatten the cookies and decorate each with a tiny bit of maraschino cherry, if desired.
These cookies freeze very well so they can be made well ahead and frozen until they are needed. Melting Moments are the perfect Christmas or anytime cookie!
[Printable recipe follows at end of posting]
Melting Moments
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter ½ cup sifted icing sugar (aka powdered sugar or confectioner’s sugar) 1 tsp pure vanilla 1½ cups all-purpose flour ½ cup cornstarch 1/8 tsp salt
Maraschino cherries for decorations (if desired)
Method:
Preheat oven to 300°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper Cream butter. Add the icing sugar and cream well with the butter. Mix in vanilla.
In separate bowl, whisk the flour, cornstarch, and salt together. Add to the creamed mixture and blend until well incorporated.
Form dough into small round balls (apx. 5/8 oz dough per ball). Place balls on prepared baking sheets and flatten each ball with the tines of a fork. Decorate with small bits of maraschino cherries, if desired.
Bake for approximately 18-20 minutes. Don’t over-bake cookies. Let cool on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes then transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely.
A delightful melt-in-your mouth shortbread-type cookie with a rich and tender crumb.
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter
½ cup sifted icing sugar (aka powdered sugar or confectioner’s sugar)
1 tsp pure vanilla
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
Maraschino cherries for decorations (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 300°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Cream butter. Add the icing sugar and cream well with the butter. Mix in vanilla.
In separate bowl, whisk the flour, cornstarch, and salt together. Add to the creamed mixture and blend until well incorporated.
Form dough into small round balls (apx. 5/8 oz dough per ball). Place balls on prepared baking sheets and flatten each ball with the tines of a fork. Decorate with small bits of maraschino cherries, if desired.
Bake for approximately 18-20 minutes. Don’t over-bake cookies. Let cool on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes then transfer cookies to wire rack to cool completely.
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Scotch Cookies Shortbread Custard Sandwich Cookies
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A too hot oven will result in cookies cracking and browning too much. Leave biscuits to cool on the trays for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies will firm on cooling.
If your cookies repeatedly turn out flat, no matter the recipe, chances are your oven is too hot. Here's what's happening. The butter melts super quickly in a too-hot oven before the other ingredients have firmed up into a cookie structure.
Keep frozen for up to a year, and once thawed, the melting moments have a refrigerated shelf life of 84 days with the added bonus of up to 84 days ambient shelf life.
“You can count on [it for] a softer and more tender crumb.” “A bonus benefit is it prevents the cookie from spreading too much while baking,” he adds, noting that a more compact, thick cookie typically yields a chewier outcome. But incorporating cornstarch isn't the only tip to make a cookie more palatable.
The cornstarch lowers the protein of the flour, which produces a more tender biscuit. The heavy cream provides the fat that helps create the flaky layers in great biscuits.
Coating the cookies with either type of sugar draws out moisture from their surface, promoting cracks by drying out their tops before the interiors set. But granulated sugar does so more efficiently because of its coarse, crystalline structure. As the crystals absorb moisture, some—but not all—dissolve into a syrup.
Which One Should I Use in Cookies? Basically, cookies made with butter spread more and are flatter and crisper if baked long enough.However, they are more flavorful than cookies made with shortening. Cookies made with shortening bake up taller and are more tender, but aren't as flavorful.
The best butter for your baked goods depends on what type of recipe you're whipping up. Unsalted, American-style butter works well in goods like cookies, pound cakes and pancakes that require the high-fat content of conventional butter and more flexibility with salt and flavor content.
As a bonus, I did a little research to find out just what role each ingredient plays in chocolate chip cookies, so you can adjust your recipe however you feel like experimenting. Flour adds fluff and texture to the cookies. Adding too little flour can cause cookies to be flat, greasy, and crispy.
Frequently, people tell us that they store candy wafers in their refrigerator or freezer – be warned, this is a major no-no in the candy making world. Freezers and refrigerators hold a lot of moisture and that moisture will be absorbed by your candy.
If the item(s) you have are out of their freshness range, they are not harmful if consumed, but they may not perform or taste as a fresh batch would. Below are common freshness dates: Candy Melts Candy are freshest if used within 18 months.
A cookie made with extra egg yolk (or, in this case, only egg yolk), will be lighter and chewier than a cookie made with whole eggs. The cookies will also have a richer flavor thanks to the added fat in egg yolk.
For soft cookies, use: Brown sugar, as it has a high moisture content and retains moisture better than white sugar. Also, when combined with eggs, brown sugar can prevent spreading (taller cookies tend to be softer and fluffier). Shortening instead of butter or in addition to butter.
If the goal is a chewy cookie, then you absolutely need to be using melted butter. The technique of creaming softened butter and sugar together is often used for making cakes. And for good reason! The process of creaming incorporates air into the butter which results in a more airy and cakey cookie.
This moisture migration leads to expansion towards the edge of the biscuit and contraction at the centre, causing stresses to build up in the biscuit. Depending on the physical properties of the biscuit structure as it cools, cracks may develop when these stresses exceed a critical value Manley (1983).
Issues with cracking usually derive from the sugar coating, not enough or expired baking powder or baking soda, or the oven temperature isn't hot enough. Solution: Granulated sugar is more effective at drying the surface than powdered sugar.
If there isn't enough fat, the cookies may be crumbly. Measure out the correct amounts of fat and sugar for your recipe. Also, make sure all ingredients are at room temperature before mixing them together. Not Enough Mixing: If you undermix your cookie dough, it will be crumbly.
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