I’ve been eating cookies for breakfast long before Zooey Deschanel made it quirky or adorkale or whatever at the Golden Globes. Except that no referred to it as an endearing meal choice. Maybe she’s changed this around for us breakfast cookie eaters, now.

When I worked at Josie’s Coffee Corner Cafe and Bakeshop in Fargo, ND I watched people swoon over these cookies called melting moments that we described as lemon shortbread. They were the smallest among the other cookies, yet this didn’t stop people from choosing them, sometimes by the dozen.

This may sound strange, but I never actually ate a melting moment. You see, I had a pumpkin cookie addiction. I tried really hard to only eat one cookie per shift and I always chose the cakey pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting.

Yesterday when I was flipping through an old church cookbook, I noticed a recipe for Melting Moments and knew I had to try them. They are simple to prepare and the cornstarch and powdered sugar gives them that unusual, melting texture. I’m really excited about these little cookies.

Lemon-Glazed Meltaway Cookies
Adapted from a recipe with no author in Favorite Recipes published by Faith Lutheran Church, Akron, Ohio

Ingredients:
1 cup of softened butter (I used salted)
1/3 cup confectioners (powdered) sugar
3/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
Optional: 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or almond)

Instructions:

  1. Cream the butter and confectioners sugar.
  2. Add the cornstarch and flour.
  3. Chill the dough until firm.
  4. Preheat oven to 350℉
  5. Roll the dough into little balls.
  6. Bake for about 15 minutes on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. They will spread slightly during baking.
  7. Cool and glaze. I like tart lemon glaze, so I glazed them twice.
Glaze:
I made glaze from combining three tablespoons of lemon juice with the zest from one lemon, a splash of half and half, pinch of salt, 1 tablespoons of melted butter and 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar. If it’s too wet, add more powdered sugar. If it’s too dry, add more half and half or lemon juice.

This recipe is a hybrid of a few recipes and it seemed to work. If you want a more exact recipe, try this glaze from Tyler Florence.