Melting moments cookies are a classic Australian cookie. These dainty cookies are so soft and buttery that they melt in the mouth. They make the perfect cookie for afternoon tea or a party, as they look really impressive but are so easy to make. There is no egg in these cookies, so they are great for those with allergies. Melting moments are filled with delicious buttercream, here, it is flavored with lemon, but you can mix it up with some of my favorite recipe twists.
1½cupunsalted butter - room temperature - see note 1
1cuppowdered sugar- see note 2
2cupsall-purpose flour- see note 3
1cupcornstarch- see note 4
¾teaspoonsalt- see note 5
For the filling
½cupunsalted butter - room temperature- see note 1
1cuppowdered sugar- see note 2
1½teaspoongrated lemon zest- see note 6
2teaspoonslemon juice
pinchsalt
Instructions
For the Cookies
Preheat oven to 320ºF/160°C. (see note 7)
Line two biscuit/cookie trays with parchment paper.
Use an electric mixer or stand mixer with whisk attachment to cream the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy.1½ cups/340g butter 1 cup/120g powdered sugar
Add the flour, cornstarch, and salt, and use a spatula or wooden spoon to incorporate them. (don't use the electric mixer as it can make your cookies tough)2 cups/250g AP flour 1 cup/128g cornstarch ¾ teaspoon salt
Flour your hands, roll 2 teaspoons of the mixture into balls, and place about 1"/2.5cm apart on the prepared trays.
Flatten the cookies slightly.
Bake for 13-15 minutes until the cookies are lightly golden ( a pale straw color).
Remove from the oven and let them stand for 10 minutes before placing them on a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
For the Filling
Beat the butter with an electric mixer or stand mixer with whisk attachment until it is light and fluffy; add in the powdered sugar and cream together until very pale and smooth. Add in the salt, lemon zest and juice and beat again.½ cup/115g butter 1 cup/120g powdered sugar 1½ teaspoon lemon zest 1 teaspoon lemon juice pinch salt
Add a heaped teaspoon of buttercream to the flat bottom of one cookie and light sandwich it together with another cookie. Press them together gently until the buttercream reaches the edges.
Dust with sifted powdered sugar when serving.extra powdered sugar
Notes
The butter needs to be soft, room temperature butter. I recommend using unsalted butter and adding salt. But if you have salted butter, just add a tiny pinch of salt rather than the quantity in the recipe.
Powdered Sugar is also known as confectioner's sugar or icing sugar.
You want plain/all-purpose flour for this recipe as you don't want the cookies to rise.
Cornstarch is also known as cornflour.
The measurements are for standard table salt; if using salted butter, just add a pinch of salt.
Be sure to zest the lemon before you cut it to juice it. You can change the flavor of the buttercream to suit your taste/occasion. (see the bulk of post for adaptions)
If you use a fan-forced oven, reduce the temperature to 285ºF/140ºC.