Bready or Not: Peppermint Meltaway Cookies
Do you love those peppermint meltaway candies that dissolve in your mouth with such refreshing flavor? Imagine that, in cookie form. Yes. Really.
This recipe essentially makes very lightly-textured shortbread cookies. That texture arises from the use of confectioners’ sugar and cornstarch. These are like cookie clouds.
Then you top those small cookies with a smear of frosting and some crushed peppermint bits. The combo… yeah. These are called meltaways, and that’s exactly what they do.
Plus, these things literally LOOK like the holiday season. Like snow and peppermints.
If you’re searching for a recipe to wow everyone in a cookie exchange, these are your cookies, and they don’t even taste or act like cookies. They’ll blow your mind. Blow the minds of everyone there.
Modified from Taste of Home, November 2015.
Bready or Not: Peppermint Meltaway Cookies
Ingredients
cookie dough
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
frosting
- 2 Tb unsalted butter softened
- 2 Tb milk or half & half
- 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar sifted
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup peppermint candies crushed
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy, then add peppermint extract. Gradually beat in the flour and cornstarch.
- Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes or so, until the dough is firm enough to work with.
- Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Using a teaspoon scoop, dole out dough onto a cookie sheet. Use a spatula or the bottom of a glass to lightly compress the cookies, as they may not spread much while baking.
- Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until set. Let cool on sheet for 10 minutes, then move to a rack to finish cooling.
- When the cookies are room temperature, prepare the frosting. Mash the two tablespoons butter until creamy; add the milk and peppermint extract. Beat in the confectioners' sugar until it is smooth. Add more sugar or milk, if necessary, to reach a thick yet spreadable consistency.
- Use the back of a spoon to frost the cookies then sprinkle with peppermint candies. Store in an airtight container with waxed paper or parchment between layers. Makes about 25 teaspoon-sized cookies.
- OM NOM NOM!
Goodreads Giveaways for Clockwork Crown & Call of Fire
I wanted to finish off the year by giving away some sequels! I’m running Goodreads giveaways for Clockwork Crown and Call of Fire through December 26th. Please enter, and spread the word to friends who might be interested!
Also, don’t forget that ebooks of Clockwork Crown are on sale this month! $1.99 at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iTunes, and Google Play.
Goodreads Book Giveaway
The Clockwork Crown
by Beth Cato
Giveaway ends December 26, 2017.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
Goodreads Book Giveaway
#SFWAPro
Read MoreSunday Quote isn’t ready for December
Read More“Books are a uniquely portable magic.”
~ Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
B&N SFF Blog loved my new collection!
Wow, this was an incredible surprise this week: the Barnes & Noble SFF Blog reviewed Red Dust and Dancing Horses and Other Stories, and they had some pretty nice things to say!
There is no feeling quite like reading a Beth Cato story, and it’s time more people experienced the sensation. The ones found in Red Dust and Dancing Horses would be a great place to start; they are intense, heartfelt epics in miniature, often focusing on the relationships and people at the heart of broader, more overtly magical events.
They discuss many stories and what they enjoyed about them, and wrap up everything with this lovely note.
In short, the stories in Red Dust and Dancing Horses are intense, sincere, and unusual, revealing their creator as a truly versatile talent, spanning fantasy, science fiction, horror, and all the subgenres in between. At the very least, it’s the rare book that will make you cry while reading about a fight between giant robots.
Well, dang. I’ll happily take that kind of feedback.
You can buy the book in paperback or ebook at Barnes & Noble, request it through your local indie store, or snag it at Amazon.
#SFWAPro
Read More
