These Peppermint meltaway cookies are not overly sweet. They’re light and delicate with a tender crumb and pair perfectly with sweet whipped cream cheese frosting. If you’ve tried making meltaways before, you may know that they can be a bit finicky. But I promise if you follow the directions here carefully, you will be delighted by these little bits of peppermint heaven!
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Cookies
- Unsalted butter – No substitutions; I’m a fan of salt and I’m also a fan of salted butter, but these cookies are too delicate for salted butter. It takes away from the overall flavor.
- Powdered sugar
- Peppermint extract
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch
Frosting
Note: I’m not using cream cheese frosting in my photos, but rather a quick easy drizzle. See details on recipe card.
- Cream cheese – Full fat is best. Avoid fat-free.
- Salted butter
- Powdered sugar
- Peppermint and vanilla extract
How to Make Peppermint Meltaway Cookies
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the butter and powdered sugar and cream them until light and fluffy. Beat in peppermint extract.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour and cornstarch. Gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. The dough will be very soft. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
- When the dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a 1 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon or cookie scoop, shape the chilled dough into 1″ balls. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Now you have options here- you can leave them in ball shapes for a taller rounder cookie, or flatten them just slightly like I am, which I feel makes a good vehicle for the frosting.
- Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are turning light brown around the edges. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the pan and then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
- Now…about the frostings. I love me some tangy cream cheese frosting, but other people prefer a milder, more buttercreamy cream cheese frosting like in this carrot cake. They are also delicious with this glace icing spooned on top (don’t try to dip the cookies–they’ll just crumble and so will your soul).
- Whatever you do, when you’re done, be sure to sprinkle them with crushed candy canes (remember that meat mallet you got for your wedding that you almost never use? Yeah, it’s awesome at smashing candy canes). These are actually better the next day. This recipe makes about 40 cookies.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator (if frosted with cream cheese frosting) or at room temperature (ok for buttercream or glace) and consume within 5-7 days.
- If you’d like, add a little red food coloring to your frosting to give it a nice pink tint.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make these without the peppermint?
Absolutely! Use whatever extract you’d like. They are delicious with vanilla and/or almond. Orange or lemon would be great, too.
Peppermint Meltaway Cookies
These Meltaway cookies are light and delicate; a delightful and not-too-sweet treat for the holiday season. Adapted from Taste of Home.
Servings cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife
- ½ cup cornstarch
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 8-ounce package cream cheese
- ¼ cup salted butter at almost room temperature
- 1 cups powdered sugar sifted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla or almond extract or both
Serving
- candy canes crushed
Instructions
Cookies
- In a small bowl, cream butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in peppermint extract.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour and cornstarch; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
Frosting
- While dough chills, whip together the cream cheese, butter, and extract until light and fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar and whip until smooth and fully incorporated. Refrigerate in an airtight container. As an alternate option (easy!) and what I've done in my photos is simply mix about 2 cups powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon melted butter, ½ teaspoon peppermint extract and enough milk or water to be able to easily pipe out of a zip top bag with the corner snipped off.
Cookie Assembly
- When the dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350℉. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a 1 ½ teaspoon measuring spoon or cookie scoop, shape the chilled dough into 1-in. balls. Place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. You can either leave the dough rounded from the cookie scoop for taller rounded cookies, or you can flatten your cookies slightly with a glass like I have for more surface area for frosting.
- Bake at 350℉ for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are just barely turning light brown around the edges. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the pan and then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
- Once cookies are completely cooled, decorate with prepared frosting and crushed candy canes.
Notes
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator (if frosted with cream cheese frosting) or at room temperature (ok for buttercream or glace) and consume within 5-7 days.
- If you’d like, add a little red food coloring to your frosting to give it a nice pink tint.
- Meltaways can be finicky. Be sure to measure your ingredients carefully and don’t skip steps (like chilling your dough)!
Nutrition
Calories: 89kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 0.5g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 15mg, Sodium: 10mg, Potassium: 6mg, Fiber: 0.1g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 178IU, Calcium: 2mg, Iron: 0.2mg
Calories: 89kcal
Cost: $5
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Questions & Reviews
My, oh my! What is about you guys that make me go crazy until I create all the yumminess that you describe? I can almost taste them. I promise I’ll follow each instruction to the letter! I’ll use salted butter, not refrigerate and dip the cookies into a glace. 🙂 Thanks so much!!
Tell me more about this stew. When I open my fridge I have leftover roast, mushrooms and green beans staring at me… it’s like fate…
Omgsh that first paragraph SO describes my life lately. I make something delicious (usually a recipe from your site) and if there is the slightest veggie peeking out, my kids think its pure poison! You have no idea how happy I was to see that you too feed your kiddos Ramen when the time calls. I always feel so so guilty for feeding my kids such an unhealthy dish but get sucked in of the quickness it offers in desperate times. I truly am excited to make these cookies although I must say Im probably more excited to know that a delicious food genius, such as yourself, also opts for Ramen at times. 😉
Hello wonderful Our Best Bites!
Please help me…..
Do you think after I indent these cookies, I could posibly just stick a “Candy Cane or Mint truffle” Hershey Kiss on them?
Most definitely. 🙂
I made cookies with crushed peppermint candies once. Those suckers are NOT easy to smash. Picture a grown woman of generous proportions jumping up and down in boots on a Ziploc bag on her kitchen floor filled with round little peppermints. Fast forward to same woman picking up said bag of peppermints, flabergasted with the minimal results from her attempts to crush the Stupid Peppermints (as she now calls them).
Fast forward to the same woman with cartoon light bulb over her head as she figures out that using plain ol’ candy canes (Yes, even the cheapies from the Dollar Store) in the food processor yields lovely results with minimal fuss and absolutely no jumping up and down in the kitchen.
I’m just saying…..
HA! Thank you for the visual. 🙂
Not your Pampered Chef chopper though. I used mine a couple of years ago for candy canes, and it dented the metal! Candy canes are tough!
Ohhhhh, thank you, thank you from a fellow cream cheese frosting sinner! 😉 I normally don’t like peppermint flavored things, but these sound yummy. I might have to melt some chocolate and lightly drizzle some of my cookies with that, before frosting.
Satan’s Cookies…hilarious! Do you soften the butter or leave it chilled?
Soften it–I’ll make that more clear! Thanks! 🙂
These look fairly easy to make and very yummy! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I am going to make your peppermint rice krispie treats and have been looking for crushed peppermint candy sold in bags, but have found nothing of the sort. Would have been good for this cookie too, but apparently it has gone out of style, if candy can do that. 🙁
I made a similar cookie for our cookie exchange. In this recipe you indented them with a measuring spoon as soon as they came out of the oven so you had a little valley to put your frosting. However when I did this it caused them to crack but it did help the icing stay on. My recipe didn’t use cornstarch so maybe will try again for Christmas goodies and use this one.