Melting Moments Christmas Cookies
Tender egg-free cornstarch shortbread cookies sandwiched with orange vanilla buttercream and rolled in red and green sprinkles. A delicate, melt-in-your-mouth cookie for Christmas cookie trays.
Servings 18 sandwich cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour 160 g, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup cornstarch 64 g
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
For the Christmas Buttercream Filling
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon orange zest finely grated
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 teaspoons milk
- 3 tablespoons red and green nonpareils for rolling
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Beat the butter and powdered sugar on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla.
- Whisk the flour, cornstarch and salt together. Add to the butter mixture on low speed and mix just until a soft dough forms.
Shape and Bake
- Line two baking sheets with parchment. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls, about 2 teaspoons each, and place 2 inches apart.
- Press each ball gently with a floured fork to about ½ inch thick.
- Chill the trays for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Bake one tray at a time for 12 to 14 minutes, until the tops are pale and the bottoms are just barely golden. Cool on the tray for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Make the Buttercream
- Beat the butter until creamy. Add the powdered sugar, orange zest and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes, adding milk a teaspoon at a time until soft and spreadable.
Sandwich and Decorate
- Pair the cooled cookies by size. Spread about 1 ½ teaspoons of buttercream on the flat side of one cookie and gently press a second cookie on top.
- Roll the edge of each sandwich in the nonpareils to coat the exposed filling.
- Chill for 15 minutes to set the filling before serving or storing.
Notes
- Flour: Weigh the flour and cornstarch if possible. Extra flour makes the cookies crumbly.
- Bake pale: The tops should stay pale. Golden tops mean the cookies are overbaked.
- Storage: Keep filled cookies airtight in a cool spot or the fridge for up to 5 days. Unfilled cookies keep for 1 week.
- Make ahead: Freeze dough balls up to 3 months and bake from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes.
- Single cookies: Skip the filling and dust with powdered sugar for about 36 cookies.