Meltaways Food

THE BEST PECAN MELTAWAYS EVER!

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream the butter, confectioners' sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well.
• Stir in the pecans.
• Refrigerate dough until chilled.
• WHEN READY TO BAKE: Preheat oven to 350ºF.
• Roll into one inch balls and place on ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake at 350ºF for 10-12 minutes or until set.
• Roll warm cookies in additional confectioners' sugar; cool completely on wire racks.
• Roll cooled cookies again in additional confectioners' sugar.

PECAN MELTAWAYS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in pecans. Refrigerate until chilled., Preheat oven to 350°. Roll into 1-in. balls and place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set. Roll warm cookies in additional confectioners' sugar; cool completely on wire racks. Roll cooled cookies again in confectioners' sugar.

MELTAWAYS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Cream butter with an electric mixer until light. Gradually add the fructose and beat thoroughly. Beat in the almond extract, vanilla extract and water.
• Combine the flour, salt and pecans. Add to the creamed mixture, a little at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Roll doll into date-sized balls and place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 13 to 14 minutes. Roll in confectioners' sugar while warm and then again once cool.

PEPPERMINT MELTAWAYS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar and the butter and mix until light and fluffy. Add the peppermint extract and mix to combine. Next, slowly add the flour and salt, mixing until just combined.
• In a separate mixing bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar and the peppermint candies.
• Roll the dough into twenty-four 1 1/2-inch balls. Insert 1 chocolate morsel into each ball and re-roll to ensure that the cookie dough encases the chocolate. Next, transfer to the bowl with the powdered sugar and crushed candies rolling each to coat.
• Place the balls on an ungreased baking sheet, spacing them about 1-inch apart. Bake until they start to turn golden brown on the bottom, about 20 minutes. Remove and transfer to wire cooling rack. Cool until they are just cool enough to handle, 5 minutes. Return the cookies to the bowl with the powdered sugar and crushed candies and toss gently until each cookie is coated.
• Store in an airtight container.

BUTTER PECAN MELTAWAYS

Steps:

• Toast the pecan (see Recipe Notes below for how to toast nuts), let cool completely, then finely chop. Set aside.
• In a large bowl with an electric mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter with the sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes at medium speed. Add the water and vanilla and mix in. Add the flour all at once and mix on low speed until the mixture comes together as a moist dough. Stir in the (cooled) finely chopped nuts.
• Using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon measuring spoon, scoop a portion and dough and roll into about 1-inch balls. Continue shaping balls with the remain dough, placing onto a baking sheet. (*I like to roll all the dough and pack then onto a smaller baking sheet that will fit nicely into my fridge. When ready to bake, I transfer them to another baking sheet, spacing them apart and baking in a couple of batches).
• Before refrigerating, you can flatten the balls slightly to make more of a "button-shaped" cookie or leave them as balls, if you prefer.
• Place baking sheet into the fridge uncovered and chill 15-30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325F.
• Bake in preheated oven, with balls spaced about 2 inches part, for about 20 minutes. Bake in batches, if necessary, leaving remaining dough in the refrigerator while you bake the first batch.
• Remove from oven and let stand about 1 minutes. Roll warm cookies in icing/confectioners' sugar while still very warm and place onto a wire rack to cool further. Once cooled to just slightly warm, roll again in powdered sugar to thoroughly coat.
• Allow to cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container. Store at room temperature for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 3 months.

LEMON MELTAWAYS RECIPE

Steps:

• Baking the Cookies: Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 350°F (180°C). Slice chilled dough into 1/4-inch rounds and arrange on parchment-lined half sheet pan, leaving about an inch between each cookie. Bake until firm and just barely golden around the edges, about 12 minutes.

PEPPERMINT MELTAWAYS

Steps:

• Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium speed, cream together the butter and powdered sugar for 1 to 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the peppermint extract and kosher salt. Mix for another 30 seconds until incorporated.
• In a small bowl add the cornstarch and all-purpose flour and whisk together to evenly incorporate. Slowly add this to the butter mixture, while mixing on low speed, just until combined.
• Using a 1½ tablespoon (or 1½-inch) cookie scoop, scoop out dough balls and place them onto a plate. Once all the cookie balls are scooped, place the plate into the refrigerator to chill for a minimum of 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Once the dough balls are chilled, place them 2 inches apart on the parchment lined baking sheet. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the tray for 5 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat until all the cookies are baked and cooled.
• While your cookies are cooling you can make your frosting.
• In a medium-sized mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium-low speed, beat the butter until fluffy. Add the peppermint extract, half & half and 1 cup of the sifted powdered sugar. Beat on low for another 30 seconds then add the remaining powdered sugar one cup at a time until all the powdered sugar is fully incorporated and the frosting is smooth and creamy.
• Using an offset spatula, or a butter knife, frost each cookie making sure to not go all the way to the edge of the cookie.
• Garnish each cookie with a little sprinkle of crushed peppermint candies.

FRUITY MELTAWAYS

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a stiff spatula, mix butter, confectioners' sugar, salt, lemon juice and vanilla until creamy and combined. Add ground freeze-dried fruit and mix until distributed. Add flour, and mix until it all comes together into a soft dough.
• Divide the dough into two (250-gram) portions. On pieces of parchment paper, wax paper or plastic wrap, roll each portion of dough into a 10-inch-long log. Chill for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator or up to 3 months tightly wrapped in the freezer.
• Set oven racks in the lower and upper thirds of the oven, and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two sheet trays with parchment paper.
• Using a sharp knife, trim about ⅛-inch off each side of the chilled dough logs, just so that you have flat ends. Slice the logs into scant ¼-inch-thick cookies. Roll the log a quarter turn after each slice to keep it round. (If the dough cracks while slicing, let it warm up at room temperature for 10 minutes.) Arrange on sheet trays ½-inch apart and bake, rotating the trays once during baking, until set and barely golden underneath, 10 to 12 minutes.
• While the cookies bake, make the sugar coating: Sift together the powdered sugar with the ground freeze-dried fruit. While still warm, gently toss the cookies in the powdered sugar mixture and return to the sheet tray to fully cool. The cookies will keep for 2 weeks stored at room temperature in an airtight container.