Bright orange, sugary cookies that melt in your mouth – Halloween Meltaway Cookies are fun to make and fun to eat! You’ll never guess what ingredient makes these cookies so melt-able!
Halloween Meltaway Cookies will most likely be the biggest baking hit with your kids this Halloween season. And, you’ll have just as much fun as they will if you let them help you make these spooky little treats. They are the perfect cookie to make with the little ones in your circle of friends or family.
Look at that bright orange interior and the sparkly black and white coating! Nothing screams Halloween more than the traditional Halloween colours of black and orange.
I made mention of an ingredient in these cookies that makes meltaway such an important part of the name and the action that happens in your mouth when you take a bite. It’s the corn starch!
Have you ever dissolved corn starch in water to make a thickening agent for sauces or gravies? The corn starch pretty much dissipates instantly when stirred into water. Well, the same happens when these cookies are eaten. They just melt and you’re taste buds are flooded with a delicious, mild, sugar cookie experience.
Corn starch is the starch that is derived from the grain of the corn cob and was discovered in 1840. And thankfully too! Corn starch is a fantastically diverse ingredient, and not for just cooking or baking.
It might seem obvious to most of you, but baby powder includes corn starch. And, corn starch is used to manufacture bioplastics. It’s also the preferred anti-stick agent on medical products made from latex, including medical gloves. Who knew?
All of that food trivia aside, these cookies use corn starch as well as good old pantry staples such as flour, confectioner’s sugar, and butter. Lots of butter! And, Dear Reader, I’m not apologizing for the fact that this recipe uses two whole cups of butter, because Halloween comes only once each year, and besides, you’re going to make these and give them to the kids, right? RIGHT!?
I wasn’t going to make these this year or post them to the blog, but on Friday, McKenna told me that she was invited to a Halloween party on Saturday at her friends house. And, like the lovely, considerable, and thoughtful teenager she is, she volunteered to have daddy dearest bake cookies. Isn’t she sweet?
So, since I was had to whip up a batch of kid-friendly Halloween cookies anyway, I thought I’d make a batch of Halloween Meltaway Cookies and whip out my camera and tri-pod while they were in the oven. After all, why not kill two birds with one stone?
I might be running a little short on time in terms of getting posts published in time for Halloween, but I was able to write up this blurb and get it out to you, Dear Reader. Besides, I already made mention that these cookies are great for last minute baking. So, if you’re reading this the day before or the day of, you’ve still got lots of time to whip up a festive Halloween treat.
Halloween Meltaway Cookies to the rescue! And, Dear Reader, keep this recipe close by – you can make these at Christmastime as well. Just don’t make them orange! Happy Halloween!
Halloween Meltaway Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups cornstarch
- 2 cups butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup coarse sugar, I used half cup each of black and white. You can use any colour you prefer.
- Orange food colouring, I prefer to use the gel, but you can use the drops. Just add as much as it takes to get to the orange colour you prefer.
Instructions
- Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside.
- Add the flour and cornstarch to a mixing bowl and whisk to blend. Set aside.
- Cream together the butter and the confectioner’s sugar until fluffy. Add salt and food colouring and mix together.
- Add the flour and cornstarch mixture to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix ingredients together until a solid dough has formed. The dough will not be wet or sticky.
- Use about 1 1/2 tablespoons of cookie dough; roll the dough into balls and roll the balls into the sugar. Set on a baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
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Srivalli Jetti says
Byron, this is a fantastic read..enjoyed reading about how these buttery cookies are made!..Lucky your daughter’s friends to having tasted these pretty cookies..and love the fact that these are Eggless..:)
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Srivalli. 🙂
Connie says
Made these just now could hardly wait for them to come out of. Followed recipe to the letter. So disappointed was like eating a mouthful of salt and cornstarch, is possible the recipe is wrong on pentrest. Please check your recipe again. These are the worst things I have ever eaten.
byronethomas@gmail.com says
I’m so sorry this happened, Connie. I’m not sure of the reason, but with only 1 teaspoon of salt in the entire recipe, I’m not sure how these were too salty for you. John’s colleague made them and brought them to the office. They were a hit.
Jenn says
If you used salted butter, you should probably have cut the salt measure in half or omitted it. Maybe try again?
Katherine says
What is the coarse sugar that you are talking about? Is it the colored sugar that you roledl the cookies in before placing them on the cookie sheets?
Thank you,
Katherine
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Yes, Katherine, that is correct. 🙂
Carol Cripps says
Simple recipe and oh so good. I did cut the salt to 1/2 a teaspoon, that’s just my own preference. Also, I like the food colouring idea! It makes the cookies adaptable to any holiday.
Katherine says
I was thinking about making these for Christmas. I would just change the color gel and sprinkles to Christmas colors. Would they freeze well?
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Yes, Katherine, they freeze very well. 🙂
Katherine says
Why does this recipe use such a large amount of corn starch? A whole cup and a half, wow! I have never seen a recipe with such a large amount. Can you taste it?
Thank you,
Katherine
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Not at all! It really does work and no, you cannot taste the corn starch. 🙂
Dotty says
Would there be any way to flavor these cookies? Lemon, orange, cherry etc ? How much flavoring could be added to this recipe?
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Hi Dotty… adding an extract or any juice would throw off the balance of the cookie and will result in a wetter cookie batter. I’ve never tried adding flavourings, but if you do, I would advise doing so very sparingly as not to ruin the entire batch of cookie batter.
Lelanie says
Just made these for my neighbors Halloween treat boxes. They are delicious, simple to make and the they really do exactly what the name is, melt away in every bite!! 1 used 2 unsalted butter sticks, 2 salted, and a 1/2tsp. Of salt. Thank you for sharing!!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Lelaine!
Polin says
Can I use tapioca flour instead of cornstarch?