All Time Favourite Melting Moments
Submitted by mom5
Australian melting moments biscuits: cornstarch-tender shortbread cookies sandwiched around vanilla buttercream icing. Makes 30 sandwich biscuits in 2 hours.
YIELD
60 servingsPREP
35 minCOOK
15 minREADY
2 hrsMelting moments are an Australian and New Zealand classic that earn their name honestly. The biscuits dissolve on contact with the tongue thanks to one ingredient most cookie recipes skip: cornstarch. Five tablespoons of it stand in for some of the flour, which limits gluten development and gives the cookies their characteristic sandy, melt-away texture.
The buttercream filling is built on the same principle. Soft butter, sifted powdered sugar, vanilla, and just enough boiling water to bring it to a thick and creamy consistency. The hot water dissolves the sugar smoothly so the icing stays silky rather than gritty when set.
A low oven is what keeps these pale. The point isn’t golden brown; it’s the lightest hint of color around the edges. Bake any darker and you lose the delicate texture in favor of a crisp shortbread bite.
The fork-tine pattern pressed into the top is more than decoration. It thins the cookie slightly so it spreads evenly during baking, and the ridges give the finished biscuit its signature striped look.
Kitchen Tips
- Don’t skip sifting the powdered sugar and cornstarch. Lumps in either ingredient ruin the smooth, melt-away texture.
- Beat the butter and powdered sugar pale and creamy before adding flour. Underbeating gives a denser, less tender cookie.
- Bake one tray at a time on the center rack. Two trays overlap heat and brown unevenly.
- Let the icing fully set before stacking biscuits in a container, otherwise they stick together and the icing smears.
Variations
- Add 1 tablespoon of finely grated lemon zest to the dough for a citrus-forward version.
- Tint the buttercream with a few drops of food coloring for kids’ birthday or holiday styling.
- Replace half the vanilla in the filling with raspberry jam for a fruity contrast against the rich buttercream.
Ingredients
Directions
Beat the butter until light and creamy.
Add the icing sugar and beat until combined.
Add the cornflour, plain flour and vanilla, and mix at slow speed until just amalgamated.
For firmer biscuits, add extra flour at this stage.
Lightly butter and flour a baking tray and preheat the oven to 160 C.
Make a ball from a level dessert-spoon of the mixture and place on the tray, allowing room for the biscuits to spread.
Repeat with the remaining mixture.
Dip a fork into some flour, knocking off any excess and make an imprint with the tines, flattening the biscuits a little.
(Alternatively, the biscuits can be made by spooning the mixture directly onto the tray).
Place the tray on the centre shelf of the oven and bake slowly until the biscuits are just coloured, 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven with a spatula and place the biscuits on a cake rack.
To make the icing: beat the butter with a wooden spoon.
Add the icing sugar and beat until the sugar is almost absorbed into the butter.
Add the vanilla and salt and with the addition of a little boiling water, bring to a thick and creamy consistency, balancing with a little more icing sugar if necessary.
To finish the biscuits: join two biscuits together with a teaspoon of icing spread with a knife.
Return to a cooling rack until the icing is completely set before removing to an airtight container.
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