Peppermint Meltaway Cookies – Sally’s Baking

Soft, buttery, and sweet with a festive twist, these peppermint meltaway cookies have quickly become a holiday must-have in my kitchen. Their texture is truly something special — a perfect middle ground between shortbread and a cakey cookie that simply melts in your mouth. The magic here comes from the cornstarch and confectioners’ sugar, and let’s not forget that gorgeous pink candy cane buttercream frosting on top!

Peppermint Meltaway Cookies Recipe Snapshot

• Texture: These cookies are named meltaways for a reason! They’re soft, light, and tender with a delightful melt-in-your-mouth feel. They’re softer than peppermint snowball cookies and less cakey than buttercream-topped soft sugar cookies. Plus, a sprinkle of crushed candy cane adds a fun little crunch — just like in my chocolate peppermint madeleines!
• Flavor: Peppermint extract is layered in both the cookie dough and buttercream, giving you that perfect peppermint pop without overwhelming your taste buds.
• Ease: This is a no-fuss, one-bowl dough that’s beginner-friendly. The buttercream frosting is simple to whip up too, making it a great project for cookie decorators at any level.
• Time: The dough only chills for 30 minutes—quick compared to many holiday cookies that require hours of waiting!

Ingredients for the Cookie Dough:

To get that ultra-soft, tender texture, these ingredients are key:

1. Butter: Starting with room-temperature butter is essential for the perfect creamy base. It should be soft but still cool to the touch. This step really sets the stage for a rich, tender cookie. Need a quick refresher on creaming butter and sugar? I got you covered!
2. Confectioners’ Sugar: Powdered sugar makes all the difference here, giving that signature “meltaway” tenderness instead of the graininess granulated sugar can leave behind.
3. Egg Yolk: Unlike some shortbread cookies that skip eggs entirely, this dough gets richness and structure from one egg yolk to keep it from crumbling apart.
4. Vanilla + Peppermint Extracts: These two extracts bring the cozy, festive flavors to life. The peppermint extract is subtle but bright and refreshing.
5. Flour: All-purpose flour keeps the cookies balanced and sturdy enough but still soft.
6. Cornstarch: Just like in my beloved shortbread cookies, cornstarch adds silkiness, softness, and that wonderful melt-in-your-mouth quality.
7. Baking Powder: This little boost helps the cookies puff up nicely while baking.
8. Salt: Just a pinch to round out all the sweet and minty flavors and keep everything balanced.

You will need an electric mixer (stand or hand) to cream the butter well for both the cookie dough and the buttercream frosting. Trust me, it’s worth the little extra step for that smooth, fluffy frosting you’ll be spreading over these tender cookies.

Bonus: The cookie dough comes together all in one bowl, so it’s super simple and cleanup is a breeze!

Once your dough is ready, it just needs a short chill of at least 30 minutes in the fridge. That’s your ticket to helping it set up perfectly so your cookies don’t spread too much and keep that meltaway feel.

Tips for Shaping Peppermint Meltaway Cookies

Getting the shape right is easy—just scoop, roll, and flatten! Each cookie is about 1 tablespoon of dough. If you prefer, a kitchen scale can help get them just right at 20–22 grams each.

Be sure to gently flatten each dough ball — you can press them down with your palm right on the lined baking sheet or flatten between your palms before placing. These cookies do puff up a bit but don’t really spread, so flattening encourages a nice flat surface that’s perfect for frosting later on.

Bake just until the edges look set. These cookies don’t brown much—stay alert so you don’t overbake and lose that soft texture!

Peppermint Buttercream Frosting

While the cookies cool, whip up this simple buttercream frosting with your mixer again. I like to tint mine a lovely pale pink with just one drop of pink gel food coloring. Gel is best because it won’t thin the frosting like liquid coloring can. That said, a tiny bit of liquid dye works fine here too since it’s such a small amount.

Of course, you can always skip the color and go classic white, just like I often do with my peppermint frosted chocolate cookies. When spreading the frosting onto the cooled cookies, you can either pipe it on for a pretty look or just use a knife or small spatula—it’s all good!

Want to dress them up? Try these toppings:

• Crushed candy canes for that minty crunch
• Chopped Andes mints for a creamy twist
• Festive sprinkles for a pop of color

Seriously though, what’s better than a cookie covered in a fluffy layer of frosting? If you know, don’t tell me—I’m happily ignoring all other options! 😉

This recipe wraps up my yearly cookie countdown, Sally’s Cookie Palooza — the biggest and tastiest event of the holiday season! Don’t miss out — check out dozens of other crowd-pleasing cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page.