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These bite-sized, vanilla almond Meltaway Cookies are crumbly and rich like shortbread, but soft and glazed like a sugar cookie. It’s an easy, no chill recipe, worthy of becoming your next Christmas cookie tradition.
Gift them this holiday by adding them to your Christmas cookie boxes, or arrange them on a thrifted plate to bring to festive gatherings.
Serve these festive cookies with a mug of cocoa using my Hot Chocolate Mix or Non Alcoholic Coquito (it’s like eggnog but with coconut instead of eggs).
These Meltaway Cookies have become a Christmas staple in my home because they’re incredibly simple to make. Even during the busiest holiday season, I can whip up a batch without feeling stressed out.
What makes them special is their unique flavor profile. It’s right in the middle of a shortbread and a sugar cookie. They have this buttery, crumbly texture of a shortbread but with the sweeter, lighter taste of a classic sugar cookie. It’s the best of both worlds in one bite!
Browse all of my favorite Christmas cookie recipes in one place.
Meltaway Cookies Ingredients
Here’s everything you will need to make this recipe and a few important notes too. Keep reading!
- Flour: I use and recommend all-purpose unbleached flour. It is a little harder to find, but is not as processed and the cookies have better texture (in my opinion).
- Cornstarch: This helps the cookies hold their shape while giving them the crumbly, melty texture. Do not leave it out or your cookies will spread flat.
- Baking Powder: Make sure yours isn’t expired!
- Salt
- Unsalted Butter: Softened to room temperature. Feel free to swap this out for salted butter, just omit the added salt.
- Powdered Sugar
- Egg: Brought to room temperature.
- Pure Extracts: In this cookie we use vanilla and almond.
- Whole Milk
- Corn Syrup: This goes in the icing to help it harden, look smooth, and have a soft bite. If left out, after one day the icing will absorb moisture and become crackly.
You’ll also need a hand-mixer, parchment lined baking sheets, and cooling racks.
How to Make Meltaway Cookies
1. Mix the Dough. Cream together the butter and powdered sugar, then the egg and extracts. Mix in the dry ingredients and allow the cookie dough to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.
2. Shape and Bake. Roll half tablespoon sized balls, place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 7 to 9 minutes. While the cookies cool, mix together the powdered sugar, whole milk, corn syrup, and extracts until it’s a smooth glaze.
3. Glaze and Decorate. Once the cookies are cooled, drop a dollop of cream glaze over the top and add festive sprinkles. Allow the icing to dry 2 hours before serving or storing.
Find the complete recipe instructions with measurements below.
Storing and Freezing Information
You’ll want to store your cookies in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag to prevent them from drying out. At room temperature they’ll last up to 5 days, refrigerator for up to 7, and frozen for up to 3 months.
Frozen cookies should be stored in a single layer to prevent the iced tops from being ruined. Also, when you’re ready to thaw them at room temperature, remove them from the bag first so the tops aren’t exposed to excess moisture.
A Few Helpful Tips
Avoid using too much flour. The best way to measure your flour is by using the spoon and level method. If you just scoop your flour out of the bag, the cookies will be super dense and dry.
Keep the cookie dough balls 1 tablespoon in size. Meltaway Cookies are meant to be petite, bite-sized cookies and 1 tablespoon is the perfect amount. Another note, when they’re too big they don’t bake up as nicely.
Be careful with the sprinkles bleeding onto the icing. Nonpareils (tiny round sprinkles) are notorious for this and very fine sanding sugars. To avoid this, use Jimmies (rod shaped sprinkles) and coarse sanding sugars.
Fun Ways To Make These Cookies Unique
Dye the icing. A drop or two of gel food coloring is a great way to create cookies that match your holiday theme. The go-to’s are deep red, forest green, or icy blue. You could also marble two colors together for a swirled effect, or use different shades of one color to create a coordinated set.
Swap the almond for other extract flavors. Vanilla and almond is an iconic Christmas duo, but you could change it up. Others that go really well with the vanilla are peppermint, orange, cinnamon, and even maple.
Gift these cookies this holiday. I like making them apart of my Christmas cookie boxes. But you can also arrange them on a thrifted holiday plate to bring to gatherings.
More Christmas Cookie Recipes You Might Enjoy
Meltaway Cookies
INGREDIENTS
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour - unbleached, measure using the spoon and level method
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter - softened to room temperature
- 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 egg - room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Icing
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 – 3 tablespoons whole milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 tablespoons corn syrup
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a bowl whisk together the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In another bowl, cream together the softened unsalted butter and powdered sugar for 2 to 3 minutes. The mixture should be pale in color and fluffy in texture.
- Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Beat together until combined, about 1 minute.
- Add the dry ingredients (1 cup at a time) and beat together until the dry mixture is absorbed. Allow the sticky cookie dough to rest for 10 minutes before moving on.
- Scoop 1 tablespoon sizes of cookie dough, lightly roll them, and set on the parchment lined baking sheet. Continue until all the cookie dough is gone.
- Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until the edges are very light brown and the center no longer glistens. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool completely.
- In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, whole milk, vanilla extract, almond extract, and corn syrup until smooth. If too thick, adjust the consistency with more milk, as needed.
- Dip the cooled cookies into the icing and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Continue this on all of the cookies, and allow the icing to dry before serving or storing.
RECIPE NOTES
STORING INFORMATION:
- At room temperature, in an airtight container or sealable bag, for up to 5 days.
- Refrigerated, in an airtight container or sealable bag, for up to 7 days.
- Frozen, in an airtight container or sealable bag, for up to 3 months. For best results, store them in a single layer to prevent the tops from being ruined. Also, thaw them at room temperature before thawing so it doesn’t ruin the icing.
Metric conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.
