Christmas Meltaway Cookies + Video
Meltaway cookies are a soft, lightly sweet shortbread cookie that literally melts away in your mouth. Top it with a thin glaze and red and green sprinkles for a festive Christmas cookie treat.
These meltaway cookies remind me of when I was working in a bakery about 8 years ago now. We made them a lot for weddings and such. They were actually quite popular and easy to make.
Meltaway cookies are very basic — butter, powdered sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, salt and flour. NO EGGS OR BAKING SODA. The reason being, is that they are a shortbread cookie, not a sugar cookie, even though they look like one.
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The cornstarch and powdered sugar make these meltaway cookies literally melt away into a buttery pleasure of sweet powder in your mouth.
The glaze on top adds just enough sweetness to the meltaway cookies to have a complete treat, and the red and green sprinkles are just for fun. These are great cookies for Christmas neighbor gifts!
Christmas Meltaway Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies:
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter, (1 ½ sticks or 12 Tbsp) room temperature
- ½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar
- ½ cup (80 g) cornstarch
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour, (stir, spoon & level)
Glaze:
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) powdered sugar
- 3 to 4 Tbsp milk
- ¼ tsp vanilla or almond extract
Optional:
- red & green sprinkles/nonpareils
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment cream the butter with the powdered sugar and cornstarch. Add vanilla. Mix well.
- Combine the salt and flour. Add to the batter. Mix until dough clumps together.
- Scoop cookie dough onto silicone lined baking sheets. Flatten dough balls with the bottom of a measuring cup dipped in powdered sugar.
- Bake at 350˚F for 8 to 12 minutes until just set. Do not over-bake.
- Whisk together the ingredients for the glaze adding extra milk 1 tsp at a time until desired consistency. (Keep it slightly thick, a little milk goes a long way.) Spoon on top of cooled cookies.
- Immediately shake sprinkles on top of wet glaze. Allow glaze to harden. Store cookies in an airtight container up to 5 days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make this?
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Made these on Sunday gone within a couple hours. Definitely my new Christmas cookie. Husband and son approved!
Wonderful! Thanks for your comment Kim!
Absolutely one of the most Delicious & easy cookies I’ve ever made! I did use Almond oil in the icing and Wow…What a difference
Glad you enjoyed these cookies Debby!
Made these today with my hubby & our 2 year old and had such a blast!
They were absolutely delicious! Baked them at high altitude even and they still turned out perfect! The recipe made about 17 cookies for us which was a perfect amount.
Thanks for the great recipe! Definitely a new family favorite 😊
So glad your family enjoyed this cookies Tia. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with the recipe.
These are so delicious but….I messed up somewhere. They came out completely flattened and all together. Looked like a thin cake! I just scrapped it all up and put it in a smaller baking dish. Added the glaze and we ate them just the same! Thanks!
I wonder if your butter was a little too soft? I’m glad you were able to salvage it, and that it still tasted good!
I made these for the first time tonight. I really like them but my husband didn’t. I like the “meltaway effect” and they are really pretty cookies.
They are definitely cookies that you either love or don’t, but I’m glad you enjoyed them, even if your husband didn’t.
Amber please help! Are my cookie supposed to go flat? Mary
No they shouldn’t be flat. My guess is the butter/dough was too soft. Throw the dough in the fridge for 20-30 minutes to firm it back up and try baking again.
Thank you I will make sure for next time! This recipe is awesome! They didn’t go flat because I didn’t use silicone did they? I’m still gonna buy silicone anyways just for this! Its worth it. Thanks! Your cookies don’t look flat
Silicone or parchment paper does help the cookies grip to it and spread slower. If you used cooking spray, that may have also contributed to the spread. Glad they still tasted good!
1/2 CUP of cornstarch is that right?
Yes 1/2 cup is correct. These cookies are very different than most cookies. The cornstarch makes them melt into a powdery texture in your mouth and most of the sweetness comes from the glaze on top instead of the cookie itself.
So delicious my mom is asking me to make them again. This is also one of the first recipes I’ve seen that have no egg I usually have to make a substitute.
I’m so glad to hear that Madi! Thanks for sharing your experience with the recipe.
What size of scoop
Do you use
I used a #50 (small) cookie scoop for these cookies.
These cookies are amazing! Taste like the soft loft house sugar cookies you get at the grocery store. I am a baker and I can safely say these are one of the easiest cookie recipes I’ve made. My kids went crazy for them. I love the almond extract in the frosting. It complemented the not so sweet cookie perfectly! Thanks for the great recipe ❤️
Yay! So glad you like them! Thanks for sharing your experience with the recipe.