These Peppermint Meltaways are incredibly soft cookies flavored with peppermint extract and topped with a peppermint glaze. They are perfect for Holiday gifts!

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Peppermint Cookies
These peppermint meltaway cookies are a Christmas treat that just can’t be beaten! They just slowly dissolve in your mouth. The secret to such amazingly lighter-than-air cookies is the powdered sugar and cornstarch. The peppermint glaze blends so well with the soft baked sugar cookies.
If you love peppermint as much as we do, also try our Peppermint Kiss Cookies, Candy Cane Sugar Cookies and Chocolate Peppermint Patty Cookies.
Ingredients Needed
Just a handful of basic ingredients for the cookies and icing.
- Powdered sugar: Used for sweetening the cookie dough and for the peppermint glaze.
- Peppermint Extract: For flavoring the dough and the glaze. You can add as little or as much as you want.
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour for the best results along with cornstarch to make the dough light and airy.
- Peppermints: You will need crushed peppermint candies (or crushed candy canes) for the topping. Check below for the best way to crush them.
How To Make Peppermint Meltaways
You only need 15 minutes of prep and 15 minutes of baking. The longest part is cooling the dough.
- Add the 1 cup of butter, 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, and 3/4 tsp of peppermint extract into a large bowl and combine using an electric mixer. Put in the flour and cornstarch and combine before placing into the fridge to chill for 1 hour. Set the oven to 350 degrees.
- Use a cookie scoop to portion the cookie dough into 2 teaspoonfuls of dough and roll it into balls. Arrange onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper and place in the oven for 12-15 minutes to bake or until the edges are light brown. Allow them to cook on the sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. The cookies will be fragile so be careful while moving them. Cool thoroughly. While cooling, make the glaze.
- In a bowl, add 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar and 1/4 tsp of peppermint extract and combine. Pour in the 1 tbsp of milk and combine again until you have a thin drizzle-like consistency. But. make sure it’s not too thin. Drizzle on top of the completely cooled cookies and top with crushed peppermint and serve. Enjoy!
How To Crush Peppermints?
You can go to your local grocery store and buy pre-crushed peppermints or buy them online. If not, you can put the peppermints into a Ziploc bag and crush them using a heavy object like a wooden spoon or rolling pin. Using a mini chopper is also another way crush them.
Peppermint Meltaways Toppings
I have also made this Christmas cookie recipe using our yummy vanilla buttercream frosting and our chocolate buttercream frosting. Feel free to add Holiday sprinkles in or on top of the cookies. You can also use food coloring gel in the cookie dough or frosting. Sometimes I like to use red or green food coloring to give it a more festive look.
Tips & Tricks
Here are a few tips.
- Storing. Place the cookies in an airtight container for 3-5 days.
- Serving. Box or bag these cookies up to make an adorable gift for your friends or family.
- Topping. Make sure to add the crushed peppermints (or sprinkles) on the glaze before it becomes too firm
More Christmas Cookie Recipes
- Peppermint Bark Cookies
- Christmas Kitchen Sink Cookies
- Peppermint Whoopie Pies
- Christmas Sugar Cookie Bars
- Peppermint Truffles
Peppermint Meltaways
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 tsp peppermint extract
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
Glaze Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 to 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
- peppermints Crushed for topping
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine 1 cup butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and ¾ teaspoon peppermint extract.
- Using an electric mixer beat until all combined and creamed together.
- Next, add in the flour and cornstarch until well mixed. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Shape about 2 teaspoonfuls of dough into balls. Place onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden.
- Cool for 5 minutes on a baking sheet and then carefully remove to the cooling rack. Be careful as these cookies are fragile. Cool completely.
- To make the glaze combine 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract and start by adding 1 tablespoon of milk to start and add more if the glaze is not a drizzly consistency. You don’t want the glaze too thin though.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies.
- Immediately sprinkle with crushed peppermints. Serve.
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1 thought on “Peppermint Meltaways”
Unfortunately these didn’t turn out great for me. The cookies themselves are kind of bland and too crumbly. For my first pan I kept the dough in balls, as directed, and they were too mounded in the middle with cracked edges. So for subsequent pans I squished the balls down a little bit before baking and they came out looking more like shortbread with nicer edges.