Description
Melting Moments are buttery Australian shortbread cookies that live up to their name—tender, melt-in-your-mouth biscuits sandwiched with a tangy lemon or passionfruit buttercream. Perfect for tea time or special occasions.
Ingredients
-
- Melting Moments:
- 250g (2 sticks + 1 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup soft icing sugar / powdered sugar, sifted (not pure icing sugar)
- 1 1/2 cups plain / all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cornflour / cornstarch
-
- Lemon Icing:
- 100g (7 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups soft icing sugar / powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Passionfruit Icing (optional alternative):
- 80g (6 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups soft icing sugar / powdered sugar, sifted
- 4 tbsp fresh passionfruit pulp (not canned)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan-forced). Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, beat softened butter, vanilla, and icing sugar until smooth and fluffy (about 1 minute).
- Add flour and cornflour in 3 batches, stirring with a rubber spatula after each addition until fully combined.
- Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough and roll into balls using lightly floured hands. You should get 24–28 balls.
- Place dough balls on prepared trays and press each to 1 cm thickness with a fork.
- Bake for 15 minutes, swapping trays at the 10-minute mark. Let cookies cool completely on trays.
- For the Lemon Icing: Beat softened butter until fluffy (1 minute). Add icing sugar in 3 parts, beating after each addition. Add lemon zest and juice, then beat on high for 2 minutes until fluffy. Transfer to a piping bag with a 1 cm opening.
- For the Passionfruit Icing: Follow the same method as lemon icing, substituting lemon zest and juice with passionfruit pulp and lemon juice.
- Pipe frosting onto half of the cookies, then top with remaining cookies to form sandwiches.
- Refrigerate assembled cookies for 1 hour to set. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Use soft icing sugar, not pure icing sugar, for proper texture and spreadability.
- Don’t overwork the dough — it should be soft and easy to roll.
- Cookies are best when allowed to rest after assembling for the flavors to meld.
- Use fresh passionfruit pulp only — canned is too sweet for icing.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 sandwiched cookie
- Calories: 260
- Sugar: 18g
- Sodium: 10mg
- Fat: 16g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 28g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 40mg
