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!
If your cookies come out looking more like biscuits, you've likely added too much flour. Our cookies didn't expand much from the rolled-up balls we put on the baking sheet. They also didn't brown as well as the other cookies. It doesn't take much—in this case, my mom and I added just 3/4 cup extra flour to the dough.
Classic signs of a cookie with too much butter include crispy-bordering-on-burnt edges, a greasy surface, an excessively brittle texture, and a predominantly buttery flavor that overpowers the other caramel and chocolate notes.
To soften butter, we recommend leaving it on the kitchen counter for 30 minutes to an hour. Keep in mind that the speed at which your butter will soften depends on the temperature of your kitchen. If it's wintertime, you might need to leave your butter on the counter overnight to fully soften.
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.
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.
As a general rule of thumb, you should refrigerate cookie dough for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. More than that, and you won't see a noticeable difference in the final product. Once the dough has chilled, let it warm up at room temperature until it's just pliable (about 5 to 10 minutes).
In cookies, softened butter will result in a cakier and airier cookie than using melted butter. This is due to the fact that softened butter will create air bubbles that expand in the oven during baking. Melted butter will make your cookies delightfully dense on the inside and crisp on the edges.
Melted butter helps the cookies to spread out and become flatter with crisp edges. What is this? Sugar – Another key trick is using more granulated sugar than brown sugar, which will also help produce flat, chewy, crunchy cookies. Learn more about sugar's role in baking here.
Softened butter and melted butter are not the same. Using melted butter will change the texture of whatever you're baking. If you only want the butter to soften for spreading, microwave it on the Defrost setting (30%) in 5-second increments until it's softened as desired.
If there isn't enough egg, your batter or dough may not be able to hold its structure or could end up overly dry or dense. On the other hand, if there is too much egg, your baked goods could lose their shape due to excess liquid, or have a rubbery (or even overly cakey) texture depending on the recipe.
In some recipes, melted butter is responsible for creating a chewy texture in the cookie. In others, the mixture is used to create a crisp, buttery exterior. Read all your recipes carefully to understand the role of melted butter in your batch, and choose your melting method accordingly.
This is caused by butter bleed. This means that the butter (fat) from the cookie has seeped into the icing, leaving dark spots on the surface. This happens to me when I try to bake and decorate my cookies on the same day (not sure why!). So I always bake my cookies at least the day before I decorate.
Softer butter certainly mixes in better, helping to bring the dough together thanks to the fat content, and adding flavor and texture. Meanwhile, even when using a mixer, cold butter isn't likely to create a smooth consistency and doesn't gel well with the other ingredients, especially sugar.
It all makes a difference. Our control cookie, as with most cookies, uses softened butter, and this recipe tends to be a bit cakier. A cookie made with the same amount of melted butter will give you a fudgier, chewier cookie.
Fine sea salt – So important to balance the sweetness! Unsalted butter – It's important that your butter is at a cool room temperature, otherwise your cookies may spread.
Arguably the most important ingredient, your butter has the power to make or break your no-chill sugar cookies. Your butter should be softened, but not entirely to room temperature. It should still have a bit of a chill to it, if it's too warm or soft it can make the dough sticky and difficult to use.
Introduction: My name is Margart Wisoky, I am a gorgeous, shiny, successful, beautiful, adventurous, excited, pleasant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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