4 Ingredient Vanilla Melting Moments
Vanilla flavored melting moments that melt in your mouth as you eat them. These cookies are light, tender, buttery and crisp. They only need 4 ingredients and don't contain any eggs.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter , softened to room temperature
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp (38 g) powdered sugar, plus additional for dusting (see note before starting)
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (127 g) cake flour
Instructions
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add butter, sugar and vanilla. Using the flat paddle attachment on the mixer, cream at highest speed until light and fluffy (this should take about 30 seconds to 1 minute). Make sure to stop and scrape the sides of your bowl a few times with a spatula in between mixing to make sure all the sugar and butter gets mixed.
- Once your butter mixture is ready, thoroughly scrape all the butter from the sides of the bowl and from the paddle attachment and get it into the middle of the mixing bowl. This is an important step because it will help ensure the butter is evenly distributed. If you leave butter on the sides of the bowl or the paddle attachment, you'll end up with extra butter in parts of the dough which will cause some of your cookies to spread too much.
- Add in cake flour. Mix on low speed until the flour is fully incorporated and a dough forms.
- Use a 2 tsp cookie scoop to scoop out dough. If you don't own a 2 tsp cookie scoop you can just measure out 2 tsp of dough with a measuring spoon. Roll each dough ball in between your palms until it becomes a smooth round ball. Place onto prepared cookie sheet, spacing cookies at least one inch apart.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). While your oven is preheating, place the cookie dough balls into the fridge for 20 minutes.
- Bake cookies for about 12 minutes or until the cookies are lightly brown around the edges. The cookies will still look pale and only the edges should be slightly brown. Remove cookies and let them cool on the cookie sheet. Once cooled, remove cookies and dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Notes
- I found that 2 tsp was the ideal size for the cookie dough. Any bigger and the cookies spread too much.
- Powdered sugar: Use a good quality brand of powdered sugar. I used C&H (Amazon | Target | Walmart).* Some generic or cheaper brands add too much starch to the sugar which will alter the texture and taste of the cookies.
- Cake flour: I used Swans Down cake flour.* You want to use a brand that contains 2 grams of protein per 1/4 cup (28 grams). Most brands contain this amount of protein but there are a few brands like King Arthur, which contain a higher amount of protein (3 grams per 1/4 cup) which you don't want for this recipe. Using low protein flour is what makes these cookies very light and melty. If you don't have cake flour or only have high protein cake flour, then I recommend making your own cake flour.
- *These product links are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
- Homemade cake flour: Combine 1 cup + 1.5 tbsp all purpose flour and 2.5 tbsp cornstarch to a bowl. Thoroughly sift the flour and cornstarch together. Measure out 1 cup and 2 tbsp for the recipe. Do not use the full amount. Make sure your all purpose flour contains 3 grams of protein per 1/4 cup. You don't want to use a high protein all purpose flour for this recipe (like King Arthur or Bob's Red Mill).
- It's important to get all of the butter into the middle of the bowl before adding in the flour. Otherwise, your butter will not be evenly distributed and when you go to scoop the dough, you'll end up having unmixed butter in the dough and that will cause the cookies to flatten during baking.
- Nutrition estimate does not include powdered sugar dusted on top.
Serving: 1cookie, Calories: 74kcal, Carbohydrates: 7g, Protein: 0.5g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Sodium: 0.02mg, Sugar: 2g, NET CARBS: 7
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. This is not a comprehensive list of all the nutrients in the recipe (i.e., does not include vitamins, cholesterol, etc). I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
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