Soft and butter-y Peppermint Meltaways are a delicious holiday cookie topped with a peppermint glaze and crushed candy canes!
Do you love peppermint cookies? Be sure to try my Peppermint Sugar Cookies and Double Peppermint Crunch Cookies also. These Christmas peppermint meltaways cookies are like cotton candy melting in your mouth! I know you’ll love them.
All Things Peppermint
Christmas means a lot of different things to different people. To me, amongst many other things, it means PEPPERMINT everything. Peppermint cocoa, Peppermint popcorn, Peppermint brownies… Add peppermint into any dessert recipe, and I promise, it’ll feel like Christmas time to you too!
I think today’s recipe for Peppermint Meltaways is the perfect way to start off this special time of year. They’re super soft and are full of peppermint flavor. And true to its title, they magically melt away in your mouth – just like Cotton Candy!! Try them and tell me it doesn’t feel a bit magical.
These cookies are a soft, shortbread-butter cookie that literally melts away in your mouth. And this particular recipe is peppermint-flavored making them perfect for Christmas!
How To Make Peppermint Meltaways
DOUGH. In a large bowl, combine butter, powdered sugar and ½ teaspoon peppermint extract. Beat until creamy, scraping down sides of bowl. Add flour and cornstarch; beat on low until well mixed. Cover and refrigerate until firm, about 60 minutes.
SHAPE + BAKE. Shape rounded tbs of dough into 1-inch balls. Place 1-2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake @ 350 for 12-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute then remove to cooling rack to cool completely.
DECORATE. For glaze, in a small bowl, combine 1½ cups powdered sugar, 2 TB butter, ¼ tsp peppermint extract and milk (enough to reach desired consistency). Mix in for coloring. Drizzle over cooled cookies and sprinkle with crushed candy.
Note: These cookies keep their shape really well and don’t spread very much in the oven. If you don’t want such a rounded top, simply press them down the dough balls a but before putting them in the oven.
Tips + Storing Info
3 Easy steps to change this recipe to fit other holidays, or any regular day:
- Change out the flavor extract to something else such as vanilla, almond, orange or lime.
- Match the flavor with a food coloring to add.
- Top them off with a coordinating sprinkle or crushed candy of your choice.
For more peppermint candies you can try chopped up Peppermint Hershey Kisses or chopped Andes White Chocolate Peppermints. Both are delicious and are softer than the crunch of a candy cane.
To FREEZE, we suggest freezing the cookies before baking them. After forming the dough balls, place them in layers, separated with parchment or wax paper, in an airtight freezer safe container. Freeze for up to 6 months. Allow the dough to thaw a bit before baking them and adding the toppings as directed in the recipe.
Baked cookies can also be frozen. However, they aren’t quite as sturdy as a chocolate chip or sugar cookie and may become a bit crumbly.
STORE in an air-tight container, these cookie should last 4-5 days.
More Great Holiday Cookies
- Peppermint Oreo Sugar Cookies
- Snowball Cookies
- Peppermint Cheesecake Cookies
- Peppermint Crunch Cookies
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Peppermint Meltaway Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
Glaze
- 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp butter softened
- 1-2 tbsp milk
- 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
- 2-3 drops food coloring red, if deisred
- candy canes or hard peppermint candy, crushed
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine butter, powdered sugar and ½ teaspoon peppermint extract. Beat until creamy, scraping down sides of bowl. Add flour and cornstarch; beat on low until well mixed. Cover and refrigerate until firm, about 60 minutes.
- Shape rounded tbs of dough into 1-inch balls. Place 1-2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake @ 350 for 12-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute then remove to cooling rack to cool completely.
- For glaze, in a small bowl, combine 1½ cups powdered sugar, 2 TB butter, ¼ tsp peppermint extract and milk (enough to reach desired consistency). Mix in for coloring. Drizzle over cooled cookies and sprinkle with crushed candy.
Adapted from Land O Lakes
These cookies are gorgeous! And so perfect for the holidays! Pinned!
These look great. Thank you. I’m trying to decide on what cookies to bake this year. I might have to add these.
Girl I want these to melt in my mouth asap! LOVE me some peppermint this time of year… ok really all year! 🙂 Gimme gimme peppermint!
I agree these cookies look perfect just as is! I thikn Santa would love to have these waiting for him on Christmas Eve!
I need to measure the days in church days instead of weeks, then my kids will realize how close it is!! Love your peppermint melt aways!! So festive and adding to our cookie list this year. 🙂
Only six Sundays until Christmas??!! I’m in trouble! I think I’m going to need these cookies to help me through!
These cookies are so pretty and perfect! I can’t believe we only have SIX Sundays left before Christmas…let the fun begin!
I need to try these immediately!
I can’t believe there are only 6 Sunday left, that is scary!! It feels like I have plenty of time, but I don’t! I am a sucker for peppermint this tiem of year, and these cookies look perfect!
Meltaways are one of my favorite cookies… and these peppermint ones look so amazing!!!
I love how festive these are, and my daughter would love them too!
My first batch stayed in ball shape…by the looks of yours they shouldn’t do that! I flattened out the second batch but just wondering why they would stay in ball shape when baking? Very good cookies still 🙂
I’ve never had meltaways before and I love peppermint! I’m gonna have to try these. I’m wondering if the soft puffed peppermint candies would be better (to my taste)for topping though but since I don’t know what the cookies taste like as is I’m hesistant to change anything first time baking.
Those will be ok. Since, they’re just on the glaze, they can be soft or hard. You’ll love these, since your a peppermint lover. Enjoy!
Oh my favorite! Anything with peppermint;)
Me too!! Thank you so much!
Loving all things peppermint!
So, do I!! Hope you give these a try!
We love mint and these are great! They melt in your mouth! Perfect dessert for feeding guests!
I need to try these immediately!
These cookies made my day my family really enjoyed this Christmas Thanks, Kristyn! Great work and keep it up!
Awe, thank you so much for sharing that!
I decided on this recipe for a cookie exchange. Given the amount it says it would make, i **doubled** the recipe to be sure i had 60 cookies. I only got 43 🙁 so I had to make another batch. I was using a 1 Tbsp. Measuring sPoon. Also, i expected the cookie to be a little softer and not as coarse. Taste is fine, but i think a touch more of peppermint in the dough would help give them more Flavor.
I made these for the treat tray i gave to teachers this year. Everybody loved them.
You had me at peppermint. Seriously my favorite recipe. We never have peppermint because well inhave never found one I like. I LOVE these. Thank you!
Is 1/2 cup cornstarch right?. I just made these and they fell into little pieces. Had to throw them all away.
Thanks for the feedback and for giving the recipe a try!!
Do you have any cookbooks
Fall 2023 we will be launching our first.