If you plan on having an afternoon tea with your friends or a Mother’s Day brunch, might I suggest trying these Dulce de Leche Melting Moments Cookies! The title says it all…they literally melt in your mouth! I adapted this recipe from one of my recipe books called The Afternoon Tea Collection. I made a couple of tweaks to this recipe by adding dulce de leche and instead of just adding vanilla extract, I also used pure almond extract and added the seeds of a vanilla bean pod to boost the flavor of this delicious baked treat!
These bite-sized cookies are usually paired with a raspberry or strawberry jam, or a lemon cream filling. I decided to use dulce de leche, which added a smooth taste to the creamy, buttery and crumbly cookie.
Add a few of these smalls sweet treats in a mason jar, attach a name tag to a ribbon and you have a great gift to give!
Enjoy!
Photos by Rose Angel Lopez
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon pure almond extract
- 1 whole vanilla bean pod
- ½ cup confectioners' sugar
- 1½ cups plain (all-purpose flour)
- ½ cup cornstarch
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees
- Line oven trays with baking paper
- Using a small, sharp paring knife, split the pod lengthwise into two halves and firmly run the tip of the paring knife down the length of the pod to remove the vanilla seeds. Set aside.
- Beat butter, extracts, vanilla seeds, and sifted confectioners' sugar in a small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. If you are not using a "Stand Electric Mixer", transfer the mixture to large bowl; stir in sifted flours, in two batches.
- With floured hands, roll rounded teaspoons of mixture into balls; place about 1 inch apart on trays. Flatten slightly with a floured fork.
- Bake cookies about 15 minutes. Stand on trays 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool for 25-30 minutes.
- When cool, sandwich cookies with dulce de leche. Dust with extra sifted confectioners' sugar before serving, optional.
- NOTE: After 15 minutes in the oven, it may look like you're cookies are not done. I left mine for an extra 5 minutes thinking that myself but not to worry, they are baked. You will notice the bottom of the cookie is a light golden brown.
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