These Peppermint Meltaway cookies literally melt in your mouth. After one bite, you will see where they get their name, they are the perfect holiday cookie. Topped off with creamy frosting and crunchy candy cane bits, these little treats are packed with big deliciousness.
Peppermint Meltaways – A Classic Christmas Cookie Recipe
While there are always loads of treats and desserts around during the holiday season, I can typically maintain my self-control decently well. But not with these Peppermint Meltaway cookies!
These bite-sized, melt-in-your-mouth, minty, sweet treats are just too good. Once you have one, you will want another! What’s more, they are as easy to make as they are to eat! There are only 5 ingredients in the cookies themselves and just 10 simple steps from start to finish.
You are going to love these perfect Christmas treats. They are so delicious and easy to make. Just make sure to hide a few for yourself, because they are sure to be gone in no time!
Ingredients
- All purpose flour
- Unsalted butter, softend to room temperature
- Powdered sugar
- Cornstarch
- Peppermint extract
- Half & half
- Crushed peppermint candies
Substitutions & Additions
- Frosting: If you prefer, you can use a store-bought frosting instead of making your own. You can use a regular vanilla frosting and mix in some peppermint extract and crushed candy canes to get the same effect. Otherwise, you can just use a plain vanilla frosting and add whatever you like to the top as decoration.
- Candy Canes: You can leave the candy canes out of the frosting if you do not like them and simply just have plain frosting on your meltaways. If you plan to leave out the candy canes but still want a crunch on your cookies you can add sprinkles. Red and green would add a festive look! You could also add sanding sugar for a pretty final touch.
How to Make Peppermint Meltaways
- Prepare Cookie Dough: Whisk together all-purpose flour and cornstarch. In a separate bowl, beat softened butter, sifted powdered sugar, and peppermint extract until light and fluffy. Combine with the flour mixture, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Scoop: Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a 1-inch cookie scoop, roll the dough into balls and place them 2 inches apart on the sheets.
- Bake: Bake for 9-11 minutes until the centers are set but not browned. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
- Make Frosting: In a bowl, beat sifted powdered sugar, softened butter, half & half, and peppermint extract until smooth and fluffy.
- Frost Cookies: Carefully spread 2-3 teaspoons of frosting on each cookie using an offset spatula. Avoid frosting to the edges.
- Garnish: Sprinkle crushed peppermint candies on top of the frosted cookies.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
- Make sure your ingredients are fresh and not expired. This could result in a flat cookie.
- Do not overmix your dough. This introduces too much air and could cause your cookie to be too flat and tough. The dough should have a soft, slightly crumbly texture that’s easy to handle. It shouldn’t be too sticky or too dry. The dough should hold its shape when rolled into balls but still have a tender, almost silky feel to it.
- Your butter should just be at room temperature. If it is overly soft or melted it can cause your cookies to spread too much.
Pro Tip!
- If you want to make these cookies ahead of time you will freeze the uncooked, fully chilled, dough balls in a freezer safe zip top bag for up to 6 months. When you are ready to bake them you will place them on a prepared baking sheet and let them slightly thaw while your oven is preheating. You may need to add an extra 1-2 minutes to your bake time.
- These cookies have a medium level of peppermint flavor so feel free to add, or cut back on, some of the peppermint extract. You can also change up your flavors for these cookies and add lemon extract in place of the peppermint and these would make a delicious spring or summertime treat.
- You can make your frosting ahead of time. You will need to store it in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. When you are ready to use it, make sure to let it some to room temperature and you may need to give it a quick whisk to make sure it is smooth and creamy for use.
- During the winter holiday season you can find pre-crushed peppermint candies in the sprinkles section of your grocer or where you would find your specialty cookie decorating supplies. This makes making these cookies even easier. You can also crush up a couple candy canes into very fine pieces.
Storing Your Peppermint Meltaways
These peppermint meltaway cookies are best within the first 2- 3 days of making them. You can store them at a cool room temperature in an airtight container. You can freeze the rolled, unbaked, cookie dough balls in an airtight container, for up to 2 months. Be sure to thaw them completely in the refrigerator before baking and frosting.
More Holiday Cookie Recipes
Hot Chocolate Cookie Cups | Chocolate Christmas Tree Pretzels | Christmas Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies | Chocolate Covered Oreo Reindeer Cookie | Christmas Truffles | Old Fashioned Christmas Sugar Cookies | Candy Cane Cookies | Candy Cane Kiss Cookies | Thumbprint Cookies | Christmas Light Cookies
Peppermint Meltaways Cookies
Serves — 21
Nothing says Christmas like peppermint flavored treats, and peppermint meltaways are the perfect holiday baking item. After one bite you will see where they get their name!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Chill Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature, not melted
- 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
Frosting
- 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 3 tablespoons half & half
- ½ teaspoon real peppermint extract
- ¼ cup crushed peppermint candies (or candy canes)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl whisk together the all-purpose flour and cornstarch until fully incorporated.1¼ cups all-purpose flour, ½ cup cornstarch
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together, using a handheld mixer on medium speed, the softened unsalted butter, sifted powdered sugar and peppermint extract for 1-2 minutes or until the butter is light and fluffy.NOTE: Do not overmix. To check if your cookie dough is not overmixed, observe the texture and consistency. The dough should be uniform and smooth, but not overly sticky or stiff. It should hold together well but not feel tough or elastic. If the dough starts to feel tough or loses its tender texture, it may be overmixed.1 cup unsalted butter, 1 cup powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- Add the flour mixture to the butter and beat again until combined. The cookie batter will be thick. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350* F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Using a 1 inch cookie scoop, scoop a level amount of dough and roll, in the palm of your hand, into a smooth ball. Place the rolled cookie dough ball onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining cookie dough until all the balls have been rolled, being sure to space the cookies 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.
- Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes or just until the center of the cookies are set. These cookies should not be browned. They should be very pale in color.
- Allow the baked cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing them to cool completely on a wire rack on the counter.
- While the cookies are cooling, you will make the frosting by adding to a medium mixing bowl the sifted powdered sugar, softened unsalted butter, half & half and peppermint extract. Beat on medium-high speed, using a handheld mixer, for 1-2 minutes or until the frosting is smooth and fluffy. The frosting should be soft enough to spread easily onto the delicate peppermint meltaway cookies.2 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, 3 tablespoons half & half, ½ teaspoon real peppermint extract
- While handling these delicate cookies very carefully, use an offset spatula to spread approximately 2-3 teaspoons of frosting to the tops of each cookie. Do not frost all the way to the edges. Garnish the frosted cookies with a sprinkle of the crushed peppermint candies.¼ cup crushed peppermint candies
Jenn’s Notes
Storage:
These peppermint meltaway cookies are best within the first 2- 3 days of making them. You can store them at a cool room temperature in an airtight container. You can freeze the rolled, unbaked, cookie dough balls in an airtight container, for up to 2 months. Be sure to thaw them completely in the refrigerator before baking and frosting.
NOTE:
- Make sure your ingredients are fresh and not expired. This could result in a flat cookie.
- Do not overmix your dough. This introduces too much air and could cause your cookie to be too flat and tough. The dough should have a soft, slightly crumbly texture that’s easy to handle. It shouldn’t be too sticky or too dry. The dough should hold its shape when rolled into balls but still have a tender, almost silky feel to it.
- Your butter should just be at room temperature. If it is overly soft or melted it can cause your cookies to spread too much.
- You can add an additional 1-2 teaspoons of half & half to get to a spreadable consistency if too thick. Alternately, you can add another 1-3 tablespoons of sifted powdered sugar if the frosting is too thin and won’t hold its shape.
- During the holidays you can often find the peppermint crunch Andes Mints. These would be a great substitute for the crushed peppermint (candy cane) candies. They are a little more of a subtle peppermint flavor in comparison to the traditional peppermint candies.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 209kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 3mg | Potassium: 15mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 328IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 0.4mg
These irresistible little peppermint cookies are the perfect Christmas treat. The cookies themselves melt in your mouth, while the homemade frosting is sweet and delicious, with the added crunch of crushed candy canes. The flavor simply screams: Christmas! Your friends and family won’t be able to get enough of these.
So many negative comments! I made these tonight and they turned out great, just like they were supposed to! I’m not sure why others had issues as I’m not really an expert baker, I just follow recipes!
These were the perfect amount of peppermint!
So glad you enjoyed them. We are trying to figure out why it is working for some, but not for others!
I REALLY wanted to like this recipe – unfortunately they did not turn out for me and was a waste of ingredients. They did not flatten in the oven before browning around the edges – and I use an oven thermometer to insure correct temps. Flavor of peppermint was ok. But overall the recipe flopped for me.
I am so sorry these didn’t work out for you. We have tested this recipe numerous times and based on the feedback, we are going to test them again. I am so sorry that they were a fail. We pride ourselves on putting tried and tested recipes, so please know we are working hard to see where the issues are.
I was so excited to make these. The dough tasted great – yea, I like cookie dough. Popped them in the oven, set my timer and came back to a flat, burnt wafer. I followed the recipe exactly. Very disappointing.
They taste ok but where flat and fell apart I wonder if no egg made a difference
I am so sorry these didn’t work out for you. We have tested this recipe numerous times and based on the feedback, we are going to test them again. I am so sorry that they were a fail. We pride ourselves on putting tried and tested recipes, so please know we are working hard to see where the issues are.
You did not say how many these make? Not sure I would ever make them again. They spread out way too much and not the texture I like.
The cookies went flat after removing from the oven. I have not used cornstarch in a cookie recipe before. I think that is what makes the cookie not quite right. I did enjoy the frosting!
These were an epic fail! Very flat and tasted like toothpaste and chalky
Can you use gluten free flour for these?
I’ve tried these twice & my dough ends up hard what am I doing wrong
These taste very good but most of ine deflated in the oven. Went back re-read the instructions to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I’ve made cookies similar to this except you make the dough into a disc, wrap and refrigerate to 2 hours. Not sure if that would make a difference in the recipe.
Can you use salted butter?
I have not tested this with salted butter. The results should look the same, but the taste will be affected.