Shortcrust pastry biscuits covered with lemon icing. Melting Moments are a timeless Australian café favourite! True to their name, they literally “melt” in your mouth. They are delicious!
Melting moments – flashbacks!
I’m pretty sure Melting Moments is one of the first baked goods I ever tried to make. The recipe from the Women’s Weekly cookbook “Best Ever Recipes” published in the 70s or 80s which, to this day, is still my favorite cookbook of all time. It has such sentimental value, being the very first cookbook I ever owned. (Actually, “owned” is a bit of a vague term since I stole it from my mother. 😂)
The recipe I use today is based on the original Melting Moments recipe from this cookbook, although the ingredient quantities and mixing method have been modified slightly for what I think is a better melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Additionally, the original recipe called for the star-shaped cookies to be dipped halfway in chocolate and then topped with orange buttercream frosting, as pictured above. Nowadays the popular variety of coffees are plain cookies combined with lemon icing, which is what I’m sharing today.
Ingredients in moments of fusion
Melting Moments are shortbread cookies joined together with lemon buttercream frosting. Although some recipes call for custard powder to make the cookies more yellow, I personally prefer the flavor without the imitation custard flavor. 🙂
Cookies
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Flour – Plain/all-purpose flour only.
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Corn flour/corn starch – This is what gives shortbread biscuits their characteristic soft “crumbly” texture.
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Powdered sugar (soft)/powdered sugar – This is the melting sweetener that gives the biscuits the characteristic texture of shortbread biscuits (regular sugar makes them harder).
⚠️ Australia – Buying packets labeled “SOFT icing sugar” or “icing sugar blend” is not pure icing sugar (package labeled as such). Soft icing sugar is sugar mixed with corn flour/corn starch and tapioca that is used for soft icings. Pure Powdered sugar (the package labeled as such) is made only from 100% sugar and is used for icing that hardens, such as royal icing.
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Unsalted butter – Softened at room temperature which is (technically!) 17°C / 63°F. Don’t let the butter soften too much, otherwise the dough will be a little harder to form into balls.
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Vanilla extract – For the flavor. The extract is better than the imitation essence. I wouldn’t use vanilla beans or vanilla bean paste for this purpose – it’s a waste!
Lemon ICING
Old-fashioned recipes, like the original Women’s Weekly recipe, tended to use frostings that weren’t as creamy but firmer and a bit crumbly. Nowadays, bar versions use buttercream frosting that is soft, creamy and fluffy, the most common being lemon flavoured. Here’s what I use in my recipe. However, I also include a passion fruit version!
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Unsalted butter – Softened at room temperature so it can be whipped into a fluffy frosting.
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Soft icing sugar/powdered sugar – As noted above, make sure you get it soft powdered sugar! If you use pure icing sugar the icing will not be soft and fluffy, but will harden.
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Lemon – Both lemon zest and juice.
For a passion fruit For the frosting you will need passion fruit pulp (fresh, not canned, it’s too sweet) and a little lemon to balance the flavours.
How to create moments of fusion
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Butter cream – Place the butter, vanilla and icing sugar in a bowl. Beat for 1 minute until smooth and fluffy, starting on low speed to avoid a storm of powdered sugar clouds.
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Mix dry in 3 batches – Add 1/3 of the cornstarch and flour, then fold in with a rubber spatula. Once the flour is incorporated, add half the remaining cornstarch and flour, incorporate and repeat. The mixture is a little softer than usual cookie dough, but it shouldn’t be runny.
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News in advance 1 tablespoon mixture onto baking sheets – 28 mounds total. A cookie scoop with a lever comes in handy here!
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Roll – Then form balls with lightly floured hands to prevent the dough from sticking. As mentioned above, this dough is a little softer than typical cookie dough.
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Flatten with fork – Use a fork dipped in flour to press the balls until they are 1cm thick.
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Baking for 15 minutes in the oven at 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan), changing the tray shelves and rotating them when the 10 minutes are reached. The biscuits should be golden brown, not browned.
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Completely fantastic on the trays.
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Lemon glaze – In the meantime, prepare the lemon icing. First beat the butter until creamy, then gradually add the icing sugar, starting from the bottom with the hand whisk to avoid a snowstorm. Add the lemon zest and juice, then beat on high speed for 2 minutes to get the frosting nice and fluffy!
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Bring together moments of fusion with lemon glaze. A piping bag makes the job easier and makes the edges of the frosting nice and neat, but you could just spread it on with a spoon or knife.
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Store in the refrigerator for 1 hour – You can eat the cookies right away, but the frosting will be a little soft and will splatter out when you bite into the cookies. So to reduce the age of the splatters, I prefer to refrigerate the melting moments for 1 hour to set the icing. Then bring to room temperature before eating, which softens the frosting again, but it’s still not as soft as freshly made, so it won’t splatter away as much.
(I never thought I would use the word “squirt” so much in one paragraph. What happened to me?? 😂)
Because homemade tastes better
Make them for afternoon tea, for a bake sale, for a book club with your friends. Or, simply because homemade Melting Moments are so much better than store-bought, mass-produced ones. Yes, I actually bought some, so I can tell you that the cookies are not that “melt in your mouth” and the frosting is usually dried out rather than creamy on the inside.
But the thing that bothers me the most is that many store-bought cookies are not made with butter but instead use cheaper fatty options like vegetable shortening that have no flavor. The butter is what makes them so good!!
I hope you get a chance to make them one of these days. They are truly special! – Nagi x
See how to do it
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Moments of fusion
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooked: 15 minutes
Cooling down: 1 Now
Sweet
Australian
Portions14 biscuits (sandwiches)
Tap or hover to resize
Instructions
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Preheat oven at 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan). Line 2 trays with paper.
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Butter cream – Place the butter, vanilla and icing sugar in a bowl. Beat for 1 minute until smooth and fluffy (start from the bottom to avoid a powdered sugar storm).
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Dry in 3 batches – Mix the cornstarch and flour in 3 batches using a rubber spatula. (i.e. add 1/3 flour + cornstarch, incorporate, repeat two more times).
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News in advance Pour 1 tablespoon of the mixture onto the baking trays (the biscuit spoon is useful here), then form balls with lightly floured hands (to prevent them from sticking). You should have 24-28 balls.
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Baking – Press with a fork until it reaches a thickness of 1 cm. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, swapping the pan after 10 minutes. Cool completely on the baking sheet.
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Sandwich – Pour icing over half of the melts, then place the remaining cookies.
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Set to – Refrigerate for 1 hour to let the icing solidify (otherwise it’s so soft it splatters!). Then remove it from the fridge 30 minutes before serving.
Lemon glaze:
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Butter cream – Place the butter in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed for 1 minute until smooth and fluffy. Add 1/3 of the powdered sugar, then beat starting from the bottom and working your way up (to avoid snowstorms!). Repeat 2 more times.
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Beat 2 minutes – Add the lemon zest and juice. Then beat on high speed for 2 minutes until fluffy. Transfer to the piping bag, cut the end to create a 1cm hole. Use according to recipe.
Notes on the recipe:
2. Type of icing sugar – If you are in Australia, do not buy pure, hard icing sugar like royal icing. Get the package labeled SOFT powdered sugar or “powdered sugar mix,” or check the ingredients and make sure there is corn flour/corn starch, tapioca or similar in addition to brown sugar/sugar.
Warehousing – Store in an airtight container for 4-5 days. It is best to store in the refrigerator but bring to room temperature before serving. But if it’s cool enough, you can just keep it in the pantry.
Nutrition for Fusion Moment. Remember, these are generously sized! 🙂
Nutritional information:
Calories: 335cal (17%)Carbohydrates: 36G (12%)Protein: 2G (4%)Fat: 21G (32%)Saturated fats: 13G (81%)Polyunsaturated fats: 1GMonounsaturated fat: 6GTrans fats: 1GCholesterol: 54mg (18%)Sodium: 4mgPotassium: 22mg (1%)Fiber: 0.4G (2%)Sugar: 21G (23%)Vitamin A: 625UI (13%)C vitamin: 0.1mgSoccer: 8mg (1%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
Dozer’s Life
This happens a thousand times a day. You can see how much he loves it. 😂
