Peppermint Meltaway Cookies (GF Option)
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1 cup flour sub: gluten-free baking flour (I love Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour)
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter softened (sub: coconut oil)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg white
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
For the Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 4-5 teaspoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 2 candy canes crushed
Instructions
For the Cookies
- In a large bowl add the butter and sugar and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Add the egg white and peppermint extract and mix in. Add your dry ingredients and mix together till you have smooth cookie dough.
- In a separate, small, bowl combine the flour, cornstarch and salt with a fork. Add to the large bowl and mix until completely combined and smooth.
- Cover the bowl and place in the fridge to chill for at least one hour. After an hour, check the dough texture - it should be firm but still easy to scoop. If you're not sure, let it chill longer (dough that's not chilled long enough will spread too much when you bake the cookies).
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (or spray with non-stick spray).
- Use a small ice cream scoop (or spoon) to scoop out the dough and place on your baking sheet spread apart - you don't want more than 12 per sheet as they will spread.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges of the cookies are set and just starting to turn a light golden brown.
- Remove and let the cookies cool completely on a cooling rack before glazing them.
For the Glaze
- In a small bowl, add the powdered sugar, 4 teaspoons milk and peppermint extract. Whisk with a fork until smooth (add a little more milk if it's too thick).
- Hold each cookie upside down and dip the top into the glaze, then place back on the cooling rack to let the extra glaze drip off below. Immediately sprinkle crushed up candy canes on top. Repeat for each cookie.
Notes
~Amanda~
It’s that time of year – Cookie Season! If you’ve followed us for any amount of time, it should be no surprise that we love the holidays and we love to bake as many cookies as possible. We have sooo many recipes on our blog and so many favorites, but I always have a goal to make one new recipe each year to mix things up. These Peppermint Meltaway cookies were the recipe I tested and perfected last year and since we had a new baby in the house, I’m just now getting around to posting them a year later, but just in time for this holiday baking season!
These cookies are the perfect sweet cookie filled with a pop of peppermint making them a very festive cookie to share with everyone. I love that the ingredient list is short and that you can easily substitute GLUTEN FREE baking flour for the regular flour and they look and taste exactly the same! Mixing up the dough is quick and simple – just combine the butter and sugar and add the egg white and peppermint extract to it. Watch out to carefully measure and pour that peppermint extract, it is VERY strong and you do not want to overdo it.
Next you add your remaining dry ingredients (flour, cornstarch and salt) and stir until it’s completely combined and smooth. The next step is the most important – cover and refrigerate for AT LEAST an hour. You want your dough nice and cold before you place it on the baking sheets. If it’s not cold enough, the cookies will spread way too much and just look like a mess of melted dough. After the dough is good to go, use a small ice cream scoop or spoon and roll out the balls and place spread apart on the baking sheet – again, these are going to spread some so give each one enough room!
After they come out of the oven, let them cool completely before glazing them. The glaze is simple with just powdered sugar, milk and a LITTLE more peppermint extract combined. Once you have that ready, turn the cookies upside down, give them a little dunk and then place on a cooking rack so the excess glaze can drip off. Sprinkle with some candy cane right away before they start to dry and then move on to the next one! These can be served once they’re dry or store in an airtight container for about 5 days. I hope you enjoy these delicious cookies that are sure to melt in your mouth and give you a pop of delicious peppermint flavor!
