Suzie's Melting Moments



Photo by Steve Shanahan

 First published Canberra Times 15 December 2010.
My sister Susie is the queen of Melting Moments. Nobody else I know can make these beauties as feathersoft, silky and melt like sugar in the mouth like she can. Last year she arrived at our cafe on the south coast with a jar of mini Melting Moments. They were so perfect, that I couldn’t resist using them as an accompaniment to coffee orders. What I didn’t realise was that the customers would go so mad for them, and that’s another story.

Thankfully, after much grovelling, she gave me the recipe, but I must confess, hers still contain that elusive something. They are too good to be kept a secret, are very easy to make and very indulgent. These whisps of butter and sugar make an ideal foodie gift, although they do need to be kept in the fridge in summer.

To achieve the melt in the mouth texture of the biscuits, Susie says you need to follow a few simple techniques. Whip the softened butter, sugar and vanilla for at least 5 minutes on the highest setting of your mixer. Use only pure vanilla essence or scraped vanilla bean seeds. Make the biscuits on the small side as they expand in the oven, as bite-sized are easiest to eat. Use at least one centimetre of the butter cream filling between the biscuits. Keep any unfilled biscuits in an airtight container in the fridge. You can freeze the filling if needed.


Biscuits

250g unsalted butter, softened
⅓ cup icing sugar mixture, sifted
2 teaspoons pure vanilla essence, or 1 scraped vanilla bean
1 ½ cups self raising flour, sifted
½ cup custard powder, sifted

Filling

120g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup icing sugar mixture, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 180C. Line two baking trays with baking paper. Beat butter, icing sugar and vanilla in electric mixer for about 5 to 8 minutes on high until pale, smooth and creamy. Mix the flour and custard powder into the butter mixture by hand until well combined. Roll out teaspoonfuls into balls and place on lined tray. Flatten each biscuit lightly with a fork. Bake for 15 minutes, checking to not let the biscuits turn golden or burn. Keeping them lightly cooked preserves the melt in the mouth texture. Remove biscuits to a cooling rack to completely cool before filling.

To make the filling, beat the butter, icing sugar and vanilla until light and creamy. Sandwich two biscuits together with the filling and dust with icing sugar.

Recipe makes about 20 filled biscuits.