Melting Moments with a Twist

Until just a couple of days ago,Old Man Winter surprised all of us here in Minnesota with some unseasonably warm weather, allowing us to temporarily hang up our coats and defrost our toes. To celebrate this wonderful February thaw, I baked a batch of Melting Moments:

Made from a simple, shortbread-like dough, Melting Moments go by many names, each with its own slight variation: Snowballs, Russian Tea Cakes, Greek Kourambiedes, Mexican Wedding Cakes, etc. Most types call for some kind of chopped nut and instruct you to roll each cookie in powdered sugar. But I wanted something a little bit different.... I thought, "If you can roll these cookies in confectioner's sugar, why not roll them in coconut flakes, graham cracker crumbs, or sprinkles, and skip the nuts altogether?"

Here's the recipe I came up with, adapted from Jean Watanabe Hee's Hawaii's Best Local Desserts book:

Melting Moments with a Twist

1/2 C butter or margarine, softened

1/4 C powdered sugar

3/4 tsp vanilla

1 1/8 C cake flour

Sprinkles

In a medium bowl, beat butter and sugar until well blended. Add vanilla and beat well. Stir in flour; mix well. Form into 1-inch balls. Pour sprinkles onto a plate or flat work surface. Roll each ball in sprinkles until thoroughly coated. Place on lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from baking sheets and cool on a wire rack.

I ended up with a plateful of tender, buttery cookies that literally melted in my mouth! The sprinkles made them look extra fun and added to their appeal. You can even divide the dough and mix food coloring into them to create a cookie rainbow. For bite-sized cookies, make each dough ball 1/2-inch or so in size, because the sprinkles will increase the cookie's circumference. (Just be sure to decrease the baking time by a few minutes.)

Also, Happy Belated Valentine's Day! Here are some pics of the red velvet cupcakes I whipped up for our three-course V-day dinner at the restaurant. They turned out great--soft, silky smooth texture, just sweet enough, and fairly quick to prepare. Happy baking!