Description
Peppermint Meltaways are delicate, buttery Christmas cookies with a soft, crumbly texture that melts in your mouth. Made with cornstarch for that signature tender texture, these festive cookies are topped with sweet peppermint frosting and crushed candy canes. Perfect for holiday cookie trays, gift-giving, or enjoying with hot cocoa!
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1 cup butter, softened
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
For the Frosting & Topping
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons milk (2% or your preference)
- ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- ½ cup crushed peppermint candies (candy canes or mints)
- A few drops of red food coloring (optional)
Yields: About 2½ dozen cookies
Substitution Notes:
- Butter: For the cookies, stick with real butter—it’s what creates that meltaway texture. For the frosting, you could use margarine in a pinch.
- Peppermint extract: You can use mint extract instead, but peppermint gives that classic candy cane flavor.
- Milk: Any milk works here—whole, 2%, or even almond milk if you prefer.
- Food coloring: Totally optional! I like adding just a drop or two for a soft pink tint, but white frosting is just as pretty.
Instructions
Throw your butter and powdered sugar in the mixer. Beat it for three or four minutes until it looks puffy and lighter. My mom always said this part matters and turns out she was right. Add the peppermint stuff and mix.
Dump your flour and cornstarch in another bowl. Whisk it around. That’s it.
Add the flour to the butter slowly and mix until you don’t see white anymore. Stop mixing once it looks combined because overmixing makes them tough and chewy. The dough looks weird and crumbly. That’s normal don’t freak out.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Stick it in the fridge for thirty minutes minimum. Do not skip this I’m begging you. I skipped it once because I was in a hurry and my cookies melted into one giant gross blob. My husband still brings it up when he wants to annoy me.
Turn the oven to 350. Roll dough into balls about this big. Put them on cookie sheets with space between. I use an ice cream scoop because then they’re all the same size but honestly just eyeball it.
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes. Bottoms should be barely tan. Tops stay white. If tops are brown you went too far and they’re gonna be dry and sad. Move them to cooling racks fast or they keep cooking on the hot pan.
Beat your butter smooth. Add milk and peppermint and food coloring if you’re doing that. Dump in powdered sugar and keep mixing until it looks right. Too thick add milk. Too thin add sugar. You’ll figure it out.
Wait until cookies are cold. Like actually cold not just cool. I’ve frosted warm cookies before and watched the frosting melt into a puddle while I stood there like an idiot. Spread frosting on each cookie. Throw crushed candy canes on top before frosting dries. Wait thirty minutes for everything to set.
Notes
- Crush candy canes like a pro: Put them in a sealed plastic bag and whack them with a rolling pin. It’s therapeutic AND functional! Just don’t pulverize them into dust—you want small chunks for texture.
- Keep cookies uniform: Use a small cookie scoop to portion the dough. Uniform size means they’ll all bake evenly.
- Test your oven temperature: Ovens can run hot or cold. If your cookies are browning too quickly, your oven might be running 25 degrees hotter than the dial says!
- Soften butter quickly: Need soft butter in a hurry? Cut it into small cubes and let it sit at room temp for 15 minutes, or microwave it for 5 seconds at a time (seriously, just 5 seconds!).
- Common mistake to avoid: Frosting warm cookies. I’ve done this before when I was impatient, and it’s a disaster—the frosting just slides right off!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes + Chill Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American