Melting Moments

An Aussie classic shortbread cookie, sandwiched together with a tangy lemon buttercream. These are the family favourite melting moments you remember, just made without eggs and dairy so everyone can enjoy this sweet and delicate cookie.

Melting moments are such a classic cookie, I guarantee if you grew up in Australia, you came across these at some point.

The name comes from the fact that the delicate cookies literally melt in your mouth. They are soft and sweet and can be made in many different flavours, however the tangy lemon buttercream centre is the classic flavour combo and the one I remember enjoying the most.

Growing up in rural Australian, I remember these cookies would always grace the table at any community event where there was morning tea served. They are a crowd favourite and quite simple to make which makes them perfect to serve for any occasion.

I am always amazed at how basic ingredients can be mixed together to create something special which is why I love baking so much. This recipe is one of those as we use simple ingredients to make a cookie with a smooth, buttery texture unlike any other.

The secret is the combination of corn flour and icing sugar. These ingredients combined with the vanilla, plain flour and dairy-free butter make a creamy and smooth cookie dough that when baked remains light in colour and provides that melt in your mouth texture that identifies this cookie.

Because of how soft and smooth this cookie dough is, I recommend chilling the dough in the fridge before baking. By chilling the dough, this also means that it’s easier to roll into balls with your hands as the heat from your hands will always soften the dough further.

For the filling, we make a simple and tangy buttercream with both lemon zest and juice. When filling your biscuits, you want to make sure the buttercream is really cold so make this while the cookies are baking and place in the fridge while they cool down completely.

If your buttercream is too warm, or your cookies still have any heat left in them, the buttercream will be too soft and the top cookie may slide right off. To combat this, after sandwiching my cookies I place them on a plate in the fridge so the centres can set. This also helps if you’re baking on a warm day.

I love this recipe because unlike many other cookie recipes it makes a relatively small batch with only 10 cookies total. If you need more though, feel free to double the recipe.

These cookies also store quite well in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 3 days, although as I mentioned this is a smaller batch so they don’t often last that long!

If you are looking for an easy but delicious cookie for morning tea that everyone will enjoy, then these bite sized biscuits are just what you need.

If you do make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and rating below! And tag any of your creations on Instagram with #eightforestlane as I would love to see.

Print Recipe

5 from 4 votes

Melting Moments

An Aussie classic shortbread cookie, sandwiched together with a tangy lemon buttercream. This is the family favourite melting moment biscuit you remember, just made without eggs and dairy so everyone can enjoy this sweet and delicate cookie.

Prep Time30 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Course: Morning Tea

Cuisine: Australian

Servings: 10 biscuits

Author: Sally

Ingredients

For the biscuits:

• ⅔ cup (160 grams) dairy-free butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ cup icing sugar
• 1 cup plain flour
• ¼ cup cornflour

For the filling:

• ½ cup (60 grams) dairy-free butter
• 1 ½ cups icing sugar
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a large baking tray with baking paper.
• Place the dairy-free butter, icing sugar and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment fitted. Beat until smooth and creamy. Add in the flour and cornflour and continue to mix until a smooth dough forms.
• If the dough is feeling too sticky, refrigerate for about 30 minutes to make it easier to handle. Roll tablespoons of dough until you have 20 total, and place evenly spaced 2 cm apart on the baking tray. Using a lightly floured fork, gently press the dough. You want to make sure that they are fairly evenly shaped.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges around the bottom are slightly golden, you want the tops to still be quite pale. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before filling.
• While the cookies are baking, make the filling. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using an electric hand mixer) beat together the dairy-free butter, icing sugar and lemon zest and juice until smooth and creamy. Place the frosting covered with plastic wrap in the fridge to cool until ready to use.
• Using a knife or a piping bag to place the filling on half of the cookies and sandwich together with the remaining cookies (you should be left with 10 full cookies).

Notes

If you find yourself making these on a hot day, once you fill the cookies, place them in the fridge to help set the icing otherwise your top biscuits may slide off. This is also why you want to make sure your icing is really cold before filling.

For a vanilla filling instead of lemon, simply omit the lemon zest and juice and replace with 1 teaspoon of vanilla and ½ - 1 tablespoon of dairy-free milk.

I use Nuttelex to replace butter in most of my recipes as it is vegan and gives a 'buttery' flavour without being greasy. As this is an Australian product, the closest US alternative I believe is Earth Balance. Otherwise any dairy-free spread will work.

Not from Australia? Check out my US Conversion Guide.

More classic Aussie cookie recipes:

Easy Milo Biscuits (Dairy-Free)
Homemade Tim Tams (Vegan)
ANZAC Biscuits
Classic Ginger Snap Biscuits

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