Buttery Peppermint Meltaways That Actually Hold Together
These little cookies made me work for it! Two rounds of testing, but it was totally worth it!
Batch one tasted amazing, but the edges were a little crumbly. A meltaway is supposed to melt in your mouth, not crumble all over your sweater. So I cut the cornstarch back just a smidge and swapped in a little more flour. Problem solved! They’re still super tender, and now they hold together.
For round two, I put the chill to the test. Pretty much every meltaway recipe out there insists you have to chill the dough, so I did a little cookie science. One batch went straight into the oven and the other chilled for 30 minutes. Verdict? Barely any difference, and I actually liked the no-chill batch better. That means mixing bowl to oven, no waiting around. Love that for us!
I’ve made a lot of buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cookies over the years, and these sit right next to my Melting Moments Cookies and Shortbread Cutout Cookies. If you’re a shortbread fan, my Chocolate Shortbread Cookies and Orange Shortbread Cookies are calling your name too.
What Makes These Peppermint Meltaways Special
A meltaway is like a lighter, more delicate shortbread. There are no eggs and no baking powder. It’s just butter, powdered sugar, flour, and cornstarch, which together make a fine, tender crumb that dissolves on your tongue.
I kept that classic base and added a few of my own touches:
- Vanilla AND peppermint in the dough. Peppermint alone can taste a little like toothpaste. Vanilla rounds it out, so the cookie tastes buttery first and minty second.
- A fluffy buttercream instead of a thin glaze. It spreads or pipes easily, holds the topping in place, and turns the softest shade of pink.
- Andes Peppermint Crunch on top. No smashing candy canes in a zip-top bag (unless you want to!).
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Cornstarch: This is what makes meltaways melt. Spoon and level it, along with the flour, because packing in extra is what makes the edges crumbly.
- Powdered sugar: Use it in both the cookies and the frosting. Granulated sugar won’t give you the same smooth, delicate texture.
- Unsalted butter: Use room-temperature butter, soft enough to press a dent into but not shiny or melty. Butter is the main flavor here, so this matters.
- Peppermint extract: Look for pure peppermint extract, not “mint” extract, which tastes more like spearmint.
- Red gel food coloring: Gel gives you a pastel pink with just a tiny dab. Liquid coloring takes more and can thin out the frosting.
- Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips: Look in the baking aisle near the chocolate chips during the holidays. Crushed candy canes work too. Got extra Andes? Put them to good use in my Andes Mint Cookies.
How to Make Peppermint Meltaways
Step 1. Make the dough. Cream the butter and sugar for the full couple of minutes, until light and fluffy, since that’s where the airy texture starts. Then mix in the dry ingredients on low and stop as soon as the flour disappears. Overmixing make the cookies tough.
Step 2. Scoop and bake. Roll the dough into smooth balls and space them out on the baking sheet. Meltaways don’t turn golden like other cookies, so pull them when the edges and tops look set but the cookies are still pale. Warm meltaways are very fragile, so let them rest on the pan for a bit before moving them to a rack.
Step 3. Make the frosting. Add the gel coloring with a toothpick, a tiny dab at a time. It goes from pale pink to hot pink fast!
Step 4. Frost and top. Spread or pipe the frosting onto the cooled cookies and add the peppermint crunch right away, while the frosting is still soft enough to hold it.
Dough Too Soft?
If your kitchen is warm and the dough feels too soft to roll, pop it in the fridge for a few minutes first!
Making Them Ahead and Storing
You can make the dough a day ahead and keep it covered in the fridge. You can also bake the cookies early and frost them the day you serve, so the topping stays crunchy. That makes these an easy, pretty addition to a Christmas cookie box.
More Peppermint Treats
- Peppermint Bark Cookies
- Peppermint Bark Cookie Bars
- Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Peppermint Pretzels
Peppermint Meltaway Cookies
Save this Recipe!
Ingredients
Meltaway Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Buttercream Frosting
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature room temperature
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted sifted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
- Red food coloring preferably gel
- Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips or crushed candy canes for topping
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugar: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2–3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and peppermint extract, scraping down the bowl as needed.1 cup unsalted butter, 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
- Make the dough: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix on low speed just until combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup cornstarch, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Prep and shape: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop the dough into approximately 1½-tablespoon portions and roll into balls. Arrange on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. If the dough chilled overnight, let it soften just enough to scoop easily.
- Bake: Bake for 7-9 minutes, until the edges and tops are just set. The cookies should remain pale. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5–10 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the frosting: Beat the butter until smooth. Gradually add the sifted confectioners’ sugar, mixing on low speed until incorporated. Add the vanilla and peppermint extracts, then beat on medium-high speed until fluffy, 1–2 minutes. Use a toothpick to add a tiny dab of red food coloring. Beat until evenly tinted, adding more a little at a time to reach a pale pink.¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature, 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract, Red food coloring
- Decorate: Spread or pipe the frosting onto the completely cooled cookies. Sprinkle with peppermint crunch or crushed candy canes before the frosting sets.Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips or crushed candy canes
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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