Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Melting Moments Recipe



These rich, fine-textured, buttery biscuits have a sweet, lemony filling.

Makes 20 filled biscuits.

We use a 20ml tablespoon and 250ml measuring cup for all of our recipes.

190g butter, softened (if using unsalted butter, add 1/4 teaspoon fine table salt with the butter)
60g (1/3 cup, lightly packed) pure icing sugar or icing sugar mixture (sift the icing sugar if lumpy)
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
38g (1/4 cup) cornflour (cornstarch)
210g (1 1/3 cups plus 1 tablespoon) plain flour

Lemon Filling
150g (3/4 cup, very firmly packed) pure icing sugar or icing sugar mixture (sift the icing sugar if lumpy)
45g butter, softened
3 1/2 teaspoons (18ml) lemon juice

Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Celsius fan-forced). Line one or two large baking trays with baking paper.

Using an electric mixer or electric hand-held beaters, beat butter, icing sugar and vanilla together until creamy. Stop the machine and use a spatula to scrape down the side and base of the bowl. Continue beating until the mixture is completely smooth.

Add cornflour to butter mixture.

Stir until combined.

Then add the flour and stir until well combined. The electric mixer or beaters can be used to incorporate the flours into the butter mixture if preferred. However, if your machine doesn't have a sufficiently low speed, some of the flour may be thrown from the bowl.

Using your hands, roll mixture into 40 2.5cm diameter balls. Place balls on lined trays. © exclusivelyfood.com.au

Use a flat surface (such as the base of a glass) to gently flatten the balls to form 3cm diameter discs.

Then press the centre of each disc with a fork to form 1cm thick, 3.5cm diameter discs.


Alternatively, pipe 40 small rounds of dough onto the prepared trays.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until biscuits are golden on the underside and just firm to the touch. If you are baking two trays of biscuits at a time and are not using a fan-forced oven, swap the positions of the trays halfway through the baking time. This will allow the biscuits to cook more evenly. You will probably also need to extend the baking time by a few minutes.

Cool biscuits on trays for 10 minutes. Transfer biscuits to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the lemon filling. Place a heaped teaspoon of the filling on the flat side of one biscuit.

Top with the flat side of another biscuit and gently press biscuits together. Repeat with remaining biscuits.

Store biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature, in the refrigerator or freezer.

Lemon Filling
Using an electric mixer or electric hand-held beaters, beat icing sugar, butter and lemon juice together until smooth and creamy.
© www.exclusivelyfood.com.au


58 Comments:

Blogger jeanie said...

I just showed this to my 8 year old and she is salivating - unfortunately I will have to bookmark for NEXT week, as I used up the last of the cornflour last night!

12/8/08 3:30 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm salivating, let alone my children!
Can't wait to get home from work and make these for the family tonight!
neil

12/8/08 3:45 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What a treat!! My eyes popped out of my head when I saw your recipe thread and these look devine!! Can't wait to make them this weekend. thanks once again.

12/8/08 5:55 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i love these biscuits! My m.i.l makes them for me when i visit :o)
will definitely add this to my baking on the weekend.
Jane

12/8/08 8:14 pm  
Blogger Jess Joseph said...

Ooo I'm excited about trying these! I've always loved melting moments!

13/8/08 12:40 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm definately not making these because I will end up eating them all. This is what happened with the jam drop biscuits..I ate them all in one day. I'm too fat for these biscuits!!

13/8/08 8:56 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Can you use custard powder instead of cornflour and would all quantities stay the same?

16/8/08 2:24 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am making these now and they are not looking too good. The mixture was far too sticky to roll into balls so I added a little bit extra flour and a little bit extra sugar. It still didn't make 40. The first batch have just come out the oven, they are looking just ok.

Anybody had any success with this recipe? Any pointers on where I may have gone wrong?

20/8/08 9:15 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I spoke too soon, I just tested one and they are pretty good!

20/8/08 9:35 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

hey.. i didn't get a dough as well, i got a batter instead, and had to add in a couple of extra tbsp of flour.

20/8/08 10:00 pm  
Blogger jeanie said...

These are funny responses - I made them tonight and my dough was way way dry - almost too dry to stick together!!

20/8/08 10:47 pm  
Blogger ah Teo said...

i wanna try these soon! all the recipes here looks so good. lemme see if i can make it the same way...

21/8/08 1:21 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think I have died and gone to food heaven. This site is amazing. Thank you.

21/8/08 1:46 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've just made a batch and it made 15. I added more lemon juice for more flavour. They've turned out great! Love the recipe. So simple and easy to make, yet so delicious!

Also love the mini quiches.. they are devine!! Everyone I've made them for says they are the best quiches they've tasted! I made them every week for 5 weeks...! Thanks for all the recipes, can't wait to try out more!

24/8/08 1:36 pm  
Blogger Amanda and Debbie said...

To the person who asked about replacing the cornflour with custard powder: We think this substitution would work well. You would not need to change any of the quantities (just replace the 38g of cornflour with 38g of custard powder).

26/8/08 11:31 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Like Jeanie, my dough was very dry!
It wouldn't stick together, so I added a little bit of water.
Where did I go wrong?

6/9/08 1:54 pm  
Blogger Amanda and Debbie said...

To those who found that the dough was wetter/softer or drier/firmer than expected: Did you make any changes to the recipe? If not, did the finished biscuits turn out okay?

13/9/08 5:23 pm  
Blogger jeanie said...

I have NO IDEA why mine was so dry, but the final biscuits were wonderful!

15/9/08 6:09 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I just made this and it turned out perfect. Exactly like the real ones. LOVE IT!

23/9/08 1:47 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Can these be frozen, and for how long will they keep? Also would you freeze them filled or fill before serving?

20/10/08 2:01 pm  
Blogger Amanda and Debbie said...

The melting moments are suitable to freeze filled or unfilled. They can be stored in the freezer for at least a month.

23/10/08 2:53 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've just made the melting moments and they are delicious. Not sure what is causing a bit of a strange slightly starchy after taste though. I think I may have put too much corn flour to thicken the batter. How should i go about making as nice fork designs as shown? is there a secret? my cookies stuck to the fork and I had to peel them off each time. Also, the designs i made were uneven.

9/11/08 10:49 pm  
Blogger Amanda and Debbie said...

Hi Anonymous

Did you use the amount of cornflour specified in the recipe? Did the cookies seem slightly undercooked?

The dough may have stuck to the fork because it was too soft. You could try refrigerating the dough for about 30 minutes before rolling it into balls.

10/11/08 7:43 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

point one, dont overmix the butter and sugar, the butter should be soft but not melting ...butter will "break" under too much stress, such as beating too fast (causing frictional heat), this recipe is a "slow beater" recipe...just beat butter and sugar until you dont feel any grainy bits in it ....then fold through dry ingrediants ubtil combined ...( all one colour).....

overmixing will cause gluten chains to stretch and when you bake them they go hard .....

hope this helps ...happy cooking ..MA.

11/11/08 8:49 pm  
Blogger ah Teo said...

my cookies turned out slightly undercooked. i had to bake them at 190degs for 30-35mins. i dun understand why they are soft when they come out of the oven.

11/12/08 2:25 pm  
Blogger Amanda and Debbie said...

Hi Ah Teo

Did you make your biscuits larger than ours (fewer than 20 filled biscuits from one batch of ingredients)?

The biscuits should be fairly soft when fresh from the oven. They firm up as they cool.

12/12/08 1:57 pm  
Blogger ah Teo said...

hi Amanda and Debbie, i actually made more than 20 filled biscuits and had to keep increasing the heat and the time for them but nevertheless, it has worked out for me some how. i m making 2 batches of them tmr for a friend so wish me luck! ;op

21/12/08 4:35 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have just made these emm emmmm they are sensational and turned out perfectly the only trouble is my grandson just came in and now I have to make some more he and his mates ran off with them.

4/1/09 11:48 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Do you have a recipe for a vanilla butter instead of the lemon?

6/2/09 1:16 pm  
Blogger Amanda and Debbie said...

You could replace the lemon juice in the filling with 3 1/4 teaspoons milk and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (or to taste).

6/2/09 4:05 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've made these biscuits twice - amazing both times! They don't last very long because they are absolutely DELICIOUS! They impress people too because they look sooooo good!

11/3/09 4:36 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yum! Followed the recipe to the dot and they came out perfect! Great step by step instructions.
I've been wanting to make melting moments for ages and glad I went with this recipe.

24/3/09 5:20 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

A couple of pointers from my experience - You get a drier mix if you use pure icing sugar, try using icing mixture instead. Butter is harder to mix than margarine too. Using marg and icing mix makes a very soft biscuit and works out cheaper ;) I also use vanilla flavoured custard powder instead of cornflour and vanilla essence and always have as per the recipe from my great grandmother.

Rather than lemon filling I make an icing using about a tablespoon of butter and then add pure icing sugar and water until I have what I think is enough for the biscuits. The pure icing sugar and water make it thick enough to hold the biscuits and it sets hard, but the butter means it's not so hard that you can't eat them because the icing falls apart like the biscuit (if that makes sense LOL)

3/5/09 1:54 pm  
Anonymous Holly said...

My mixture went really, really dry.
It looked just like yours after adding the sugar, then after adding the cornstarch, but when I added the flour it just ended up as basically lumpy flower, no matter how much I mixed it.
I'm sure I used all the right ammounts, and had to add some water and extra butter to get them to form biscuits.
On top of that, they only made ten biscuits. I don't know what I did wrong.

4/5/09 3:34 pm  
Blogger Amanda and Debbie said...

Hi Holly

The number of biscuits is determined by the size you make them. Your biscuits must have been larger than ours.

Possible reasons for the dough having a dry appearance include
1) Insufficient butter
2) Too much icing sugar, cornflour or flour
3) Cold ingredients (Did you allow the butter to soften? Were the other ingredients at room temperature?)
4) Insufficient beating of the butter and icing sugar mixture

7/5/09 12:53 pm  
Anonymous Jennifer said...

YUM, YUM, YUM. These are the best. Recipe worked perfectly- as usual all receipes on this site are great.

My mix made 36 biscuits- a couple of bigger ones in there for fun!

Will definatley make these for afternoon tea in the future.

17/5/09 3:15 pm  
Anonymous Holly said...

I measured them as you said, I think, but I probably did make them too large.

I think the problem was that I didn't let all the ingredients go to room temperature, in particular the butter.

4/7/09 1:16 pm  
Anonymous Cameron said...

Just made these for the first time, and I very pleased with the result. Great recipe.
One question, I reckon I made them a tad too big because I only got 15 cookies out of the batch, is it possible to simply double the recipe to get more melting moments?

18/8/09 6:51 am  
Blogger Amanda and Debbie said...

Hi Cameron

Yes, this recipe can be doubled. You could multiply the ingredient quantities by any number you like (e.g. 1.5), although measuring the ingredients might be difficult if you don't have digital kitchen scales.

20/8/09 7:19 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I followed this recipe exactly and they turned out wonderful! I am totally addicted to Melting Moments .. can you please supply a recipe for icing which has a coffee flavour please ... thank you !!

16/9/09 4:23 pm  
Blogger make it perfect said...

I just made these and they are delicious. Added pulp of a couple of passion fruits to the icing.

Those of you having trouble with the mixture being too dry/sticky...I think it would have something to do with your room temperature...

15/12/09 8:53 pm  
Anonymous Nano Nano said...

I followed the recipe to the gram and they turned out absolutely perfect! I am now addicted to them and have to try to resist eating them all.

Initially, I thought the balls were too small too when I made them, but they expand. And because they are so buttery the size they end up as is actually quite ample and filling (and very tasty!).

Perfect recipe and thoroughly enjoyed making them! Thanks girls!

16/3/10 12:18 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I too followed your recipe step by step and they came out PERFECT. They are the exact same melting moments as the ones I purchase from my favourite cafe! I will be making them from now on. Thank you so much for such a wonderful recipe.

27/3/10 2:31 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Made these on the weekend and OH MY GOD they are amazing!!! Best MM recipe ever - rated by the other half, who is the toughest MM critic.

Recipe is PERFECT, and quite simple. Love it!

11/5/10 11:17 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have tried so many exclusively food recipes and none ever failed to please.
i was dying for some melting moments today and glad to see EF has one, tried it, and came out perfect. I followed the recipe to the tee.

yummo!

22/8/10 3:46 pm  
Anonymous Vas said...

These worked out perfectly - best bikkies I've ever made. Not sure why some reviewers found the mixture either too thick or runny. Definitely don't be afraid to try this one!

12/5/11 1:51 pm  
Blogger Sally said...

I made these yesterday and they turned out perfectly!

I wanted to make the more traditional ones first (will make the lemon version next!) so I did the substitutes of custard powder and milk and vanilla for the icing (as mentioned in previous comments). I also made them 'baby' size - 43 biscuits in total - and cooked for only 15 minutes. They looked exceptionally cute and tasted beautiful.

I have always loved these at cafes so I am pleased to have finally found such a great recipe - thank you!

29/5/11 2:54 pm  
Anonymous Lauren said...

Just made these, can't believe how good they turned out!! I took the butter out of the fridge about 3 hours before I needed it and found the dough to be the prefect consistency. Everything on this site is just so easy to follow, I haven't made a bad meal yet. Thanks Amanda and Debbie!

7/1/12 11:57 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hello!

I would like to ask you for this recipe, can I use the mini 'molded pan' (of different shapes) to make the biscuits?

If do, would I need to refrigerate the mixture before putting it into the different shaped molded pan? Or can I put the mixture immediately into it?

Thanking you in advance for your reply and for your delicious recipes over here! They help a lot!

Thank you!

24/2/12 10:45 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

these were the best melting moments i have ever made!!! they turned out perfect no problems at all my friends at school even liked them

18/3/12 8:26 pm  
Anonymous Abby said...

Absolutely delicious!!!! Turned out exactly like the photos, these wont last long :-D Thanks for the great recipe.

5/4/12 7:41 pm  
Anonymous Monique said...

Just made these, absolutely delicious. Only change I made was using custard powder instead of corn flour because I didn't have any corn flour.

I also made a custard powder icing for in between the biscuits.

The biscuits turned out perfectly, cooked them at 150 degrees for 25 minutes and they are beautiful and kept their shape nicely.

2/6/12 3:24 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Is it ok to use margarine instead of butter? Any particular type?

30/6/12 6:10 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

was just wondering how long would these keep for in the fridge and the freezer? thanks :) love your site!

16/7/12 6:25 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Amazing! They turn out perfectly every time, although to get 40 biscuits, I have to make them fairly small - which I really like anyway :) Thank you!

14/9/12 12:14 pm  
Blogger VG said...

Perfect!

5/1/13 9:30 am  
Blogger Unknown said...

Undoubtedly the best website for any recipe. The only problem is the the moments tend to last a little to long lol... Just divine....gorgeous....

8/4/13 6:39 pm  
Blogger JoeSixPack said...

Recipe was near perfect. Only thing is I need a couple extra tablespoon of Icing Sugar to thicken up the filling to the proper consistency other than that I think "perfect" would suffice!

23/4/17 5:18 am  

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