Simple vanilla melt away cookies made with powdered sugar, butter, and a secret ingredient – corn starch!
You all are the best. I received so many kind, supportive, and just down right great comments yesterday. Thanks!
In celebration of the week almost being over and Husband coming home soon, I thought I’d post a cookie recipe. I made these little gems at Christmas time and never got the recipe up, but it’s worth getting back to now.
Have you ever had melt away cookies?! There are lots of variations (mint, chocolate, coffee…), but my very favorite are the deliciously simple vanilla cookies with vanilla icing. These cookies are a cross between a Mexican wedding cake cookie and shortbread in texture. They are soft but have an incredible fine crumb that just kind of melts in your mouth. And the secret to that amazing texture? Cornstarch! Who would have thought.
These were on Husband’s favorite cookie list this year. He loves how simple and sweet they are without being over the top. And that texture… you really have to try them to understand how tasty it is! I’m going to make some to surprise Thomas when he gets home this weekend, and I know there will be no complaints from the kids if I do.
What are meltaways cookies?
Meltaway cookies are a soft, lightly sweet shortbread cookie that seem to melt away in your mouth. The unique texture comes from a combination of powdered sugar, corn starch, and butter!
Tips for making melt away cookies:
- This is the plainest version of this cookies but feel free to change it up! You can easily add food coloring to the dough and or icing. It’s easy to sprinkle on sprinkles, crushed candy canes, and sprinkling sugars.
- You can change up the flavor by adding additional extracts to the dough or icing like almond, lemon, lime, or orange.
- These store well in an air-tight container and they freeze well.
Vanilla Melt Away Cookies
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10-12 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Simple vanilla melt away cookies made with cornstarch.
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
For the Glaze
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 – 2 tablespoon milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with a baking mat or parchment paper.
- Combine the sugar and butter in a large bowl and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and combine. Add the flour and cornstarch and mix on low speed until well combined.
- Cover the cookie dough and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Shape the dough into round 1-inch balls and place a few inches apart on the cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for one minute and then remove and let them cool on a wire rack.
- For the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, butter, vanilla extract and enough milk for desired glazing consistency in small bowl. Drizzle or spread the glaze over cooled cookies.
- Enjoy and store any extras in an air-tight container.
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Calories: 267
- Sugar: 23.3g
- Sodium: 3.2mg
- Fat: 13.9g
- Carbohydrates: 35.3g
- Protein: 1.3g
- Cholesterol: 36.6mg
Keywords: Dessert, Cookies, Vanilla, Christmas Cookies
And if you thought these Vanilla Melt Away Cookies looked good, you might also like these:
- Perfectly Simple Shortbread Cookies
- The Last Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe You’ll Ever Try
- Soft and Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
- The Best Simple Oatmeal Cookie Recipe
I hope you enjoy these simple vanilla cookies as much as we do.
Going to try these. Thanks for all your good ideas.
Oh and they are gluten free but look so good!
I made these last night and they are sooo good. I think lemon flavored ones would be awesome for summer time. Mmmm.
These sounds amazing! I love cookies that melt in your mouth 🙂
I made these recently for a family event. Vanilla and lemon were both a HUGE hit. Thanks again!!
Do you need to refrigerate since there is milk in the glaze?
I don’t, sugar is a great preservative 🙂 You can if you’d like though, but I’d let them come back to room temperature before serving. Enjoy!
Thank you for the reply! I never knew that about sugar!
I have been making these for years. My only change is no milk in the frosting and instead I use lemon juice.
That sounds delicious! I’m going to try it 🙂
Hi can you please explain what corn starch is? I live downunder in NZ thanks
Yvonne
Hi there,
I know it’s 10 months late, but your corn starch may be labeled corn flour. Hope this helps.
How many does it make?
Man, it’s been a while since I made them. I think around 3 dozen?
These also tasted good with almond extract! Thanks!
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Great idea that sounds delicious, thanks for the tip!
Can you tell me how long these can stay out on the counter prepared like you have it here? I made it into a pan cookie. And for the icing, I mixed in gel colors to make it resemble camoflage. Several batches of different colored icing were put on the cookie and then mixed to get it to look like camoflage. It’s for my grandson’s 15th birthday…..he asked for a vanilla cookie. He’s in for a real treat😋 Thanks for the recipe💕
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They’ll be ok for a day or so, if you live in a really humid climate you might want to consider keeping them in an air-tight container because the humidity makes their texture change a bit. I’m in Utah and we are really dry, so I bet I could leave them out for 2-3 days with no issues.
These have become a favorite with all of us! Everyone wants the recipe!
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That’s awesome! Aren’t they such a great texture and easy too!