I am hosting two Christmas parties this Christmas season plus having my daughter Brandess, her husband Ryan and five of my grand-kids for Christmas. During the Christmas season when I know I will be having guests, I immediately pull out my treasured Christmas recipes and decide what I will serve. One of the first recipes I always pull out is my recipe for Melt-Away Cookies. I usually only make these at Christmastime so they are a real treat! (occasionally I make them for another holiday) They are my favorite Christmas cookie!
I got this recipe 46 years ago from my best friend’s mom. Yes, I was 15 years-old and loved to collect recipes…much to my BFFNancy’s dismay. She used to get irritated because sometimes I would spend hours looking through her mom’s recipes and writing them down. This recipe is one of the first I ever remember getting from her mom.
I had gone over to Nancy’s just to hang out. Her mom had just made some Melt-Away cookies so offered us one. Nancy was making faces behind her mom’s back and shaking her head no, clearly trying to send me the message that the cookies were not good and I should not take one. As I watched her decline a cookie I regretted taking one. But it was too late, I had already committed and her mom was standing there waiting for me to taste it. So being the good girl I was, I politely took the smallest bite possible off of the edge of the cookie. I should have listened to Nancy…it was horrible! But I politely said, “that is good, thank you.” Satisfied, her mom left the room.
Nancy immediately handed me her trashcan and said, “go ahead spit it out! I tried to tell you it was gross!” I spit it out, but coming from a frugal family I could not just waste the whole cookie so I dipped my finger into the dollop of frosting and it was delicious. And I am not even a huge frosting fan. I was afraid if I threw the cookie away Nancy’s mom would see it in the trash and get her feelings hurt. I decided to go ahead and eat the cookie now that I knew how good the frosting was. I figured maybe the frosting would cover up the taste of the cookie. Well I took one huge bite complete with cookie and frosting and it was the best thing I had ever tasted! I absolutely fell in love with this cookie. It was so good and that is how Melt-Aways quickly became my favorite Christmas cookie!
- The secret to this cookie is that when you eat them you have to eat frosting with each bite, otherwise they are not sweet enough for most of us. I just love the way these cookies melt in your mouth! Hence, why they are called, ‘Melt-Aways’.Most people take their first bite and just bite into the edge of the cookie which is not very sweet. To get the true Melt-Away experience you have to bite into the frosting with each bite! And then they are simply heavenly!
And now you know…there is a right and wrong way to eat Melt-Away cookies! So now, when I serve these cookies I explain to people how to eat them. Nancy is kind of a picky eater so never gave this cookie a real chance. But I couldn’t wait to have a second one. And I have been having second one’s every Christmas for 46 Christmases.
Trust me, Nancy is wrong on this one…because this cookie is pure deliciousness! If you love shortbread cookies, you will love this unusual cookie. It has a shortbread flavor yet is completely different from a standard shortbread cookie. The most fantastic thing about this cookie is that every scrumptious bite just melts in your mouth! It is so different from any other cookie. If you love a buttery cookie you will love this cookie! Enough, now on to the recipe.
MELT-AWAY COOKIE RECIPE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2 sticks butter
1/3 c. powdered sugar
¾ c. corn starch
1 c. flour
¼ t. salt
Directions: Mix all ingredients together with a mixer until creamy. Roll into 1” balls and press your thumb into the center of the ball making an indentation in each ball. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes. Let cookies cool for at least 10-15 minutes (leaving them on the cookie sheet). Make frosting (see recipe below). Then add a dollop of frosting into each indentation. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for 10-15 minutes until cookie and frosting have set. Using a sharp metal spatula carefully and slowly remove cookies from cookie sheet. If you remove the cookies too fast or with a non-metal spatula the cookies may fall apart. This recipe only makes 15-18 cookies so I always double or triple the recipe.
Frosting:
1 bag powdered sugar
8 oz. cream cheese
1 t. vanilla
2 T. whipping cream
Add 4-5 drops of food coloring
Directions: Beat together with a mixer on high speed
I do not normally love frosting but this frosting with this cookie is to die for!
At Christmas time I always make my Melt-Away cookies with green and red frosting. At Easter, I use pastels of yellow, pink, purple, blue and green. For Valentine’s Day I use pink and red and for Halloween orange, and for Thanksgiving orange, red, gold and green, and for 4th of July red, white and blue. For a birthday party you could use rainbow colors or whatever color fits in with your party theme.
These are also Caleb’s favorite cookies. When he was little he called them the “pink cookies” because the first time he had them I had made them with pink frosting. Now that he is 11, he would NEVER request pink cookies! Boys! LOL
Also, these cookies freeze well so are easy to make ahead, giving you plenty of time to do last-minute things in order to host a successful party.
I really hope you will try these favorite cookies of mine. If you try them I think that you will fall in love with them too! Just make sure you eat them the right way…frosting with each bite! Let me know what you think and thank you Mrs. McCallister for this yummy recipe that has been a part of my Christmas tradition for 46 years.
Have a fun flippin’ day,
Deb McLennon, the Fun Flippin’ Grammy
