Melting Moments

Recipe video above. These special cookies are an Australian cafe favourite. Shortbread cookies joined with lemon buttercream frosting, they are beautifully buttery, lemony and true to their name, literally "melt in your mouth" unlike any other cookie I know!My cookies are generous sized because I like them big: 6cm / 2.4" diameter, 3.5-4cm / 1.5" thick. I wouldn't go any larger (too much cookie) but feel free to go smaller!

Prep time: PT20M

Cook time: PT15M

Rating

4.92 stars (48 reviews)

Keywords

melting moments

Ingredients

250g (2 sticks + 1 tbsp) unsalted butter (, softened (Note 1))
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup soft icing sugar / powdered sugar (, sifted (not PURE icing sugar, Note 2))
1 1/2 cups plain / all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornflour / cornstarch
100g / 7 tbsp unsalted butter (, softened)
2 cups soft icing sugar / powdered sugar (, sifted (not PURE icing sugar, Note 2))
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp lemon juice
80g / 6 tbsp unsalted butter (, softened)
2 cups soft icing sugar / powdered sugar (, sifted (not PURE icing sugar, Note 2))
4 tbsp fresh passionfruit pulp (, (not canned, too sweet))
1 tbsp lemon juice

Cuisine

Australian

Steps

Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan-forced). Line 2 trays with paper.
Cream butter - Place butter, vanilla and icing sugar in a bowl. Beat for 1 minute until smooth and fluffy (start on low to avoid an icing sugar cloud-storm).
Dry in 3 lots - Stir in cornflour and flour in 3 lots using a rubber spatula. (ie add 1/3 of flour + cornflour, stir in, repeat twice more).
Scoop 1 tablespoon of the mixture onto the trays (cookie scoop handy here), then roll into balls using lightly floured hands (to prevent it from sticking). You should have 24 - 28 balls.
Bake - Press down into 1 cm / 0.4" thickness using a fork. Bake for 15 minutes, switching the trays at the 10 minute mark. Fully cool on trays.
Sandwiching - Pipe frosting onto half the melting moments, then sandwich with remaining cookies.
Set - Refrigerate for 1 hour to set the frosting (else it's so soft, it squirts out!). Then remove from the fridge 30 minutes prior to serving.
Lemon icing:
- Cream butter - Place butter in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium high for 1 minute until smooth and fluffy. Add 1/3 of the icing sugar, then beat in starting on low and increasing to high (to avoid snow-storm!). Repeat another 2 times.
- Beat 2 minutes - Add lemon zest and juice. Then beat on high for 2 minutes until fluffy. Transfer to piping bag, snip end off to make a 1cm / 1/2" hole. Use per recipe.
Passionfruit icing:
- Same method as above for lemon icing.

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 335 kcal
Carbohydrates: 36 g
Protein: 2 g
Fat: 21 g
Saturated Fat: 13 g
Trans Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 54 mg
Sodium: 4 mg
Sugar: 21 g
Unsaturated Fat: 7 g

Reviews

Catherine Joy on 2026-08-27 (5 stars):
I have successfully made lots of RTE recipes but have never come back to rate and review… but FAR OUT I was totally gobsmacked at how incredible these Melting Moments turned out to be. Biscuit perfection. Highly recommend.
Tove Axelsen Moline on 2026-08-17 (5 stars):
i made these but with out the frosting they were toooo good 100/100
Sharon on 2026-07-24 (5 stars):
After my first test batch following the recipe to the letter, here's how I modified the recipe for the 2nd batch which came out perfect: 1. pop the dough in the fridge to chill for a while, it holds a firmer shape (less sticky even with flour on hands) and makes it easier to roll in a ball to weigh for portioning. 2. I added an extra 60g of cornflour and 60g of flour which came out just as good and did not sacrifice the melting crumb, so good! Was trying to rectify the first batch which came out of the oven flat and were so delicate they crumbled the moment you picked them up, making any icing impossible. 3. Obvious step, but hard to resist - wait until they cool down to pick up the biccies from the tray! I intentionally avoided learning how to make this for so long, to save my waist, but now to save my hip pocket I finally succumbed and OMG cafe melting moments simply don't compare - they are so dangerously good you'd want to eat half the batch in one sitting!!!
Cakes by Cath on 2026-02-28 (5 stars):
Hi Nikki, Did you use fresh Passionfruit? Canned Passionfruit is too watery. If so, it may just be a juicy one. Try adding some extra icing sugar.
Iva on 2026-02-20 (3 stars):
I made 2 batches, the first I followed the recipe, they turned out very crumbley and only a few survived frosting. The second, I used Vanilla pudding mix instead of cornflour (1/2 cup) they turned out yellower and held they're shape - only 1 fell apart when frosting - but still delicate and melt in your mouth. I made only 1 batch of the frosting and it frosted all the cookies that didn't crumble with extra. This recipe a 5/5 for taste
Jennifer on 2025-12-07 (5 stars):
These are a 10/10. I get asked to make them at least twice a month by one person who eats them all!! They are truly amazing the way they melt in your mouth
Melisssne on 2025-10-06 (5 stars):
I wanted to try these cookies after seeing someone make them on Great British Bake Off since i never heard of them before. I made these but I didnt have alot of icing sugar and used most of it for the cookies. I ended up quartering the recipe for the icing and using a 1/4 tsp of vanilla for the flavor instead of lemon. I whipped the icing up alot and just piped it as a drizzle on top of the cookies and it worked perfectly as non sandwich cookies after setting in the fridge. The cookies are super soft and do melt in your mouth. Very easy and satisfing recipe to make.
Deb on 2025-08-26 (5 stars):
They came out perfect! So easy to make for something so delicious. I served them with expresso coffee, it gave an impression of being at a cafe. Everyone loved them. I'll definitely be making these again.
Erin Foley on 2025-08-25 (5 stars):
Hi there! I’ve recently been experimenting with this recipe for my upcoming baby shower by putting ground up freeze dried strawberries into the batter to make a strawberry lemonade flavor and they’re delish! I’m wondering if I can make these about a week or so in advance, package them up and freeze them in a container so as to lessen my work the week of the shower. Has anyone done this? Let me know if it works! Thanks in advance :)
Katie on 2025-07-20 (5 stars):
I made these with Kaffir lime instead of lemon, then I rubbed the zest into the icing sugar, and it really took it up a notch. I also added a pinch of salt to the cookies and icing to help bring out the flavours. I will note that i used a rose gold baking tray and a silver baking tray. the cookies on the silver tray baked evenly, while the rose-gold tray cookies were quite brown on the bottom.. If you have the choice, definitely use a lighter-coloured tray :)
Steph on 2025-06-11 (5 stars):
I had not heard of melting moments before coming across this recipe, boy was I missing out! I’m loving these cookies but finding them a little thick, wondering if anyone has tried chilling and rolling out the dough? I thinking this would allow me to roll them a little thinner and cut them with a cookie cutter
Phoebe on 2025-02-08 (5 stars):
Made two batches (one with gluten free flour) with custard powder instead of corn flour as I can't go paste the custard flavour - it's a must for a yoyo! Both were great, and the biscuit itself really does melt. For icing I used 2 parts icing powder to 1 part butter, creamed, and then split into bowls and mixed in different flavourings - lemon curd, chocolate ganache, passionfruit, custard and a dollop of rhubarb jam. Maybe not traditional, but it sure tastes good and used up a lot of baking odds and ends I had in the fridge.
Mela Polhill on 2025-01-16 (5 stars):
As a young baker this recipe was absolutely amazing definetly cooking these again!