These meltaway cookies will melt in your mouth as you eat them. They are easy to make and don’t require any flour or eggs. The cookies are crunchy and sweet. They can be made ahead of time and store well so they are great for gifting or for an event.
These crunchy little cookies are so fun. They are crunchy, sweet and they dissolve in your mouth. I plan on making a large batch for gifting over the holidays.
Ingredients
- Butter
- Condensed milk
- Cornstarch
Butter: You can use unsalted or salted butter but if you like a little salt in your baked goods, I recommend using salted butter since there is no additional salt added.
Sweetened Condensed Milk: Make sure to use full-fat sweetened condensed milk. The condensed milk is used to sweeten these cookies.
Cornstarch: Instead of flour, these cookies use cornstarch. The cornstarch is what gives these cookies that melty sensation because the cornstarch dissolves in your mouth.
What are Meltaway Cookies?
Meltaway cookies are cookies that melt in your mouth as you eat them. Most meltaway cookies substitute some of the flour with cornstarch to help create that sensation.
This recipe is not quite the same as the classic meltaway cookie because it does not contain any flour. These meltaway cookies are inspired by sequilhos (Brazilian cornstarch cookies). Sequilhos are made with cornstarch, condensed milk and butter, much like the cookie recipe I’m sharing today. However, I don’t use quite as much cornstarch because I wanted them to taste more like meltaway cookies.
These cookies are crunchy, buttery and lightly sweetened. They are not super sweet. You can dust them or roll them in powdered sugar if you want them sweeter. You will taste the cornstarch a little as it dissolves in your mouth.
How to Make Meltaway Cookies
The butter and condensed milk are first mixed together. The cornstarch is then gradually added in just until a dough forms. The dough should be very soft but not sticky. The cookies are then rolled into balls and lightly flattened to form smooth round disks. The cookies are then ready to be baked.
More Easy Cookie Recipes
- 2 Ingredient Brownie Cookies
- 2 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
- 3 Ingredient Flourless Chocolate Cookies
- 4 Ingredient Lemon Meltaway Cookies
3 Ingredient Meltaway Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (56 g) salted butter softened
- 1/4 cup (59 ml) full fat sweetened condensed milk
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp (105 g) cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together softened butter and condensed milk until butter is completely incorporated and your mixture is smooth.
- Add in 3/4 cup of cornstarch (reserving the last 2 tbsp). Mix in the cornstarch until a soft dough forms. If your dough is too sticky, add in 1 tbsp of cornstarch and stir only until the cornstarch is incorporated. If the dough is still too sticky, add in the remaining cornstarch. Your dough should be soft but not too sticky to work with. If it's still too sticky, you can add more cornstarch until it's no longer sticky but the more you add, the more powdery and crumbly your cookies will taste.
- Measure out 1/2 tbsp of dough and roll into a ball between the palm of your hands. Place onto prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing cookies at least one inch apart. Press down very lightly on each dough ball with the palm of your hand, so that it forms a thick round disk. Your disks should be quite thick (about 7/16 inch) because the cookies spread during baking.
- Bake cookies for about 13-15 minutes or until the edges turn lightly brown. Let cookies cool before serving. If desired, you can dust the tops with powdered sugar.
Video
Notes
- Make sure the butter is soft before using it. If bringing it to room temperature isn't enough, you can heat in the microwave for a few seconds. Be careful to only soften the butter as you don't want it to turn liquid at all.
- These cookies are a cross between classic meltaway cookies and Brazilian cornstarch cookies (Sequilhos), which I explain more about in the post. The ingredients are the same as Brazilian cornstarch cookies but I do use less cornstarch so that they taste a little more like meltaway cookies.
- I don't recommend making the cookies bigger than 1/2 tbsp because they do spread during baking and larger cookies will spread out more.
- The cookies are lightly sweet. If you prefer them sweeter, you can dust or roll them in powdered sugar.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Could you add a teaspoon of lemon or almond extracts to this recipe
A few drops of lemon or almond extract should work!
Add vanilla of course and a pinch of salt
These make a great crust for a blind bake pie like a cream pie or cheesecake like pie. Just spread the dough out in your pie plate dock it with a docker or fork bake for 10-12 minutes comes out great !
What a great tip! Thanks for sharing that.
Made these for my little granddaughter hoping she likes these. She cannot have flour or eggs. They look amazing. Hope she likes them. Would be a nice treat for her ??
We hope she loves them!
These were very tasty and easy to make. However, the recipes states this will make 27 cookies. I was able to get 11 one bite size cookies. I can’t even imagine how small they would need to be for 27 cookies.
How much dough did you use for each cookie? We only use 1/2 tablespoon and get 27 cookies. We’re glad you enjoyed them!
Meh… These came out nothing like the photos. Tried twice thinking I did something wrong. Tried smaller dollops the second time thinking I made them too big. They spread A LOT. They tasted ok. Not going in the cookie trays I give away though.
We’re sorry you had trouble with the recipe. Many things can impact a baking recipe, so without know more it’s hard to say what went wrong. They might have spread too much because there’s too much butter and/or not enough cornstarch. Or, if it was very warm in your kitchen, the butter might have been too soft – chilling the dough before baking can help with this.
These are so amazing, I highly recommend them.
We’re so glad you like them!
These taste amazing but ended up being a thin brittle sheet. Think super thin peanut brittle without the nuts. I followed the recipe to a t and don’t know what went wrong.
What was the texture of the dough when you rolled the cookies? It should be soft and not too sticky. Cookies often spread like that when the butter is too soft – chilling the dough in the fridge could help.
I love this recipe! I have tried this one and the lemon meltaway, and will try the chocolate ones in the future. They are so simple to make, and just sweet enough to appease my sweet tooth and my toddler’s, but not too sweet either. I personally like to add a little cinnamon powder to this recipe and make it cinnamon flavored.
I do have a question though, how long should these cookies last?
They should keep well in an airtight container for a few days at room temperature.
I did finally find the amounts at the bottom. Please delete last comment. Trying them today. Thank you
We hope you like them!
It is difficult to use your recipe cause you do not include amounts anywhere in your explanation.
I will try this recipes. Looks good.
We hope you love the cookies!
Love it will definitely try this recipe
Let us know what you think!
I’m actually just about to attempt this recipe but I’m leary as to some saying that it needs vanilla. How much should I add?
We haven’t tried adding vanilla, but maybe a teaspoon is a good amount to start with.
I guess the cookies should be more round. The edges turned dark brown.
The edges should be lightly golden, so they might have been overbaked. Did you line your baking sheet with parchment or silicone mats? If you bake them directly on the sheet pan that could be the problem, too.
Thank you so much!!
I’ve gone gf for health reasons and I thought I’d never get a good cookie again. These are really great. Came together so fast and easy. And the dough was very nice to work with, and omg the cleanup took about 3 minutes.
I can’t wait to make ALL of your GF cookies ?
You’re welcome! We’re so glad you love the recipe.
I’ve done several recipes and they have been very good. Thanks for the updates
We’re glad you’re enjoying the recipes!
Thank you for this recipes. You give me hope.
Bettys Bay WC
South Africa
You’re welcome!
Easy and delicious! Thank you!! A dusting of powdered sugar is a must. They look prettier with it.
We’re so glad you loved the recipe!
Is it ok to add vanilla to these?
We haven’t tried it, but it should work!
These were excellent Next time Id like to add lemon juice and zest. Would that be ok?
Lemon juice may make the dough too wet. Lemon zest or a few drops of lemon extract should work
I wonder if these could be made with sweetened condensed coconut milk and arrowroot ?
We haven’t tried those – let us know if you do and how it works!
Can you lemon flavor?
A little lemon extract or zest might work.
Lovely and tasty! Perfect for making for a big group. Would it work to add a little extract to creation same taste but with slight variation? Has anyone tried adding a little cocoa to the dusting powder?
No amounts mentioned to use.
Liked the recipe but want to how much of each ingredient to use and how many it will make.
All of the amounts and instructions are in the printable recipe card at the end of the post before the comments.
Can you add pecans to this?
We haven’t tried adding nuts – they would probably work fine, but we can’t say how much to add.
Would arrowroot work in place of cornstarch?
We haven’t tried it – maybe another commenter will chime in!
First time making them. Sounds good so we will see.
We hope you love them!
Sounds great I will be trying them for the holidays
We hope you enjoy the cookies!
Could I use tapioca starch?
Sorry, we haven’t tried that.
Can’t wait to try the Melt away Cookies, my mom makes them (original recipe) every year but I’m excited to share this new one with her, together of course ? Thanks so much!
We hope you love them!
I read this article throughly; twice before attempting to make this recipe. I carefully followed the instructions step by step and added 1/4tsp of vanilla bean paste. Baked at 350 for 8 minutes.
My first p atch burned black when I baked them for 13 minutes.( Lined pan with parchment paper both times). I Do not own a scoop so I ùsed 1/2tbsp spoon and rolled my dough. I AM VERY CONFUSED though. My patched came no where near to making 27 cookies. In both patches I was only able to make 12 thin, but yummy cookies.
It sounds like you didn’t add enough cornstarch. This would explain why your cookies are cooking so fast, coming out too thin and why you aren’t able to get more than 12 cookies. The recipe calls for 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp cornstarch. That is the equivalent of 28 half-tablespoons of cornstarch. So there’s no way you should only end up with 12 half tablespoon cookies when the cornstarch amount added is already more than double that.
I have to say, this recipe does exactly what it says on the tin: easy, crispy, buttery, slightly sweet, melts away as you’re eating it. ? I used my smallest cookie scoop instead of balling by hand (since I am lazy lol) and doubled the recipe, which perfectly fit on 2 half-sheet pans @ 20 cookies each (with a tablespoon left over for nibbling!) I pulled them out at 14 minutes when the bottom edges were juuuuuust barely starting to get some color, and let them cool on the pan. They turned out delightfully crispy and golden-brown on the bottom. I didn’t even bother flattening the dough balls and they still turned into perfect little 1.5″ cookies. ??????
And these would be a great gluten-free snack!
Do you have any storage tips? I’m afraid to leave them uncovered too long, if they’ll lose their crispy-ness. ?
I stored mine in an airtight container at room temp. I’m so glad you enjoyed them and thank you for taking the time to share your experience
How interesting your recipes are; looking forward to more of them! Thank you
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Can I substitute some other flour like tapioca starch? I have problems eating cornstarch.
Sorry, but we haven’t tried tapioca starch.
Amazing ?
Thank you!
Absolutely delicious!
I’m glad you liked them!
I will certainly be trying these. They look yummy
We hope you enjoy them!
Can you add a little cocoa powder to this recipe and still get similar results?
We haven’t tried adding cocoa powder – sorry!
So easy to make and a great way to use up a little bit of leftover sweetened condensed milk. They are a bit plain so definitely need the dusting of powdered sugar. I will make again but may just add a dash of vanilla or almond and a pinch of salt. Thanks for sharing.
We’re glad you enjoyed them!
Can I add lemon flavor to these cookies ?
Lemon extract or lemon zest should work fine – we don’t recommend lemon juice because that will add to much moisture to the dough.
Can arrowroot be substituted for the cornstarch?
Sorry, but we’re not sure.
Brilliant stuff .
Thanks!
TOO GOOD
I’m glad you liked them!
Superb!
So glad you enjoyed!
Really love the gluten-free recipes
We have a lot GF Recipes you might like!
Couldn’t wait to make these cookies so I did. They were crispy and delicious but next time I’m going to substitute 1/3 of the cornstarch with cocoa powder and maybe add a few drops of mint extract to half the batter. I also want to try the original recipe with a few drops of almond extract or stir in mini chocolate chips, the possibilities are endless and I can’t wait to try them out.
I’m glad they worked out for you!
Can I use unsalted butter for this recipe? Due to cardiac issues, I have to restrict my sodium levels. These sound delicious!
Thank you!
yes that is fine. I only used salted to add some more flavor.
These sound so good..can’t wait to make them. I am celiac and always looking for gluten free recipes.
We hope you love them!
Hi there Y’all; I’d like to know if I can add a twist to this recipe by adding some almond flour to it (and how much) if possible. Congrats Kirbie and fellow enthusiasts. Thanks in advance.
We haven’t tried that but adding almond flour will definitely change the texture and results.