Monday Sweets: Melting Moments

These buttery cookies literally melt in your mouth. Like Wedding Cookies, powdered sugar coats the just-sweet-enough shortbread, and the consistency crumbles upon bite. What distinguishes Melting Moments is their super light, flaky texture (unlike the crunch of Wedding Cookies), thanks to cornstarch, and their lack of nuts, perfect for those who are allergic or just don't care for pecans.

One taste tester commented that the cookie stuck to the roof of his mouth, obviously a defective "melting" process. Other than that and the tedious task of rolling dough into balls and cookies into powdered sugar, these guys were excellent. The recipe came from Joy of Baking.

Melting Moments

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar, divided

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, cornstarch and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and ¼ cup sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat until incorporated. Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least one hour or until firm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

When dough is firm, form into 1-inch balls and place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake for about 12 - 14 minutes or until the edges of the cookies start to brown. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes.

Roll the cooled cookies in powdered sugar and store.