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–+ servings
a plate of melting moments biscuits, filled with vanilla buttercream.
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5 from 1 vote

Melting Moments with Vanilla Buttercream

Deliciously soft and buttery shortbread biscuits, sandwiched together with a layer of creamy vanilla buttercream. Melting moments are a beloved Australian classic! These old-fashioned favourites are so easy to make, perfect with a cuppa and will literally melt in your mouth.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Cooling time20 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Australian
Servings: 14
Calories: 248kcal
Author: Andrea Geddes

Ingredients

For the biscuits

  • 190 grams butter softened to room temperature
  • 40 grams icing sugar ¼ cup, sifted
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
  • 210 grams plain flour 1 ½ cups, sifted
  • 30 grams cornflour ¼ cup, sifted

For the vanilla buttercream filling

  • 75 grams butter softened to room temperature
  • 125 grams icing sugar ¾ cup, sifted
  • 1-2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
  • 1-2 teaspoons milk
Metric - US Customary

Instructions

For the biscuits

  • Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/356 F (160°C fan forced). Line 1-2 baking trays with baking paper.
  • Place the butter, icing sugar and vanilla bean paste in a large mixing bowl and beat with handheld electric beaters on medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes, until smooth and pale.
  • Add the sifted flour and cornflour and mix on low speed until the mixture forms a soft dough.
  • Using your hands, roll heaped teaspoon-sized portions (28 in total) of the dough into balls and place them on the prepared baking trays, leaving a little space between each ball.
  • Use a fork to gently flatten the balls slightly.
  • Bake for around 12-14 minutes, or until firm to touch and slightly golden. (Check them at 12 minutes).
  • Remove from the oven and leave the biscuits on the trays for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the vanilla buttercream

  • Place all of the buttercream ingredients into a bowl.
  • Using electric beaters on low-medium speed, beat until the mixture is smooth and completely combined.

To assemble

  • Once the cookies have completely cooled, use a knife or piping bag to spread the buttercream mixture over the bottoms of 14 of the biscuits. Then, gently press the remaining biscuits onto the iced biscuits, making a total of 14 melting moments.

Notes

  1. This recipe makes approximately 28 biscuits, which are then sandwiched together with icing to make a total of 14 melting moments.
  2. Make them small for perfect, bite-sized biscuits. A heaped teaspoon of dough is used to achieve this size. You can make them smaller (mini melting moments are so cute!) or larger, depending on preference, however baking times will vary slightly.
  3. Pressing the tops with a fork helps make the biscuits nice and round, as well as leaving a nice pattern on the tops.
  4. This recipe is for classic vanilla melting moments. To mix up the icing ingredients, prepare the biscuit recipe as normal and then alter the icing to add the following; for passion fruit icing, switch the milk and vanilla for passionfruit pulp. For raspberry melting moments, switch the milk and vanilla for crushed frozen raspberries or raspberry jam. For lemon melting moments, switch the milk and vanilla for equal quantities of lemon juice and add a little lemon zest to the icing mixture.
  5. Leave them on the tray for a few minutes after baking, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Melting moments are very soft when fresh out of the oven and can break if moved too soon.
  6. Serve plain, or with a little dusting of icing sugar.
  7. Make sure the biscuits are completely cooled before adding the buttercream icing. If you add it while they are still warm, the buttercream will melt and the biscuits will slide away from each other.
  8. Baking times will vary, depending on your oven and the size of the melting moments. They are cooked when they are very lightly golden and firm when gently touched. The bottoms will also appear with tiny little cracks when ready.
  9. Storage; While melting moments taste best when fresh (in the first 1-2 days), they will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days, or in the fridge for up to a week (or un-iced for up to 2 weeks).
  10. Freezing; They keep well in the freezer for up to 2 months. While they can be frozen iced, I recommend freezing them un-iced, to add fresh icing when you want to eat them. To freeze, allow them to cool completely and store in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag in the freezer for 1-2 months.
  11. Please note that the nutrition information is based on one melting moment, which is comprised of 2 biscuits being held together with the buttercream. The nutritional information is an estimate only and does not take into account any additional toppings served with the biscuits.
  12. This recipe is made using Australian cups and spoon measurements. Due to cup sizes varying from country to country, I advise adjusting if necessary. 

Nutrition

Calories: 248kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 123mg | Potassium: 20mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 474IU | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 0.2mg