Melting Moments Cookies

Kerrygold produces one of my favorite butters. I mentioned this at St. Patrick's Day, but thought I'd mention again, especially as we're entering Spring. When I was growing up, you always knew what the cows were eating by the flavor of the butter and milk. Kerrygold may not be a local butter, but it's delicious and worth searching for (I buy it at Trader Joe's).

The Irish Dairy Board was established in 1961 to band together a handful of small dairy farms throughout Ireland and harness their collective expertise. That fateful year resulted in the creation of the Kerrygold brand, a premium line of crafted cheese and butter made all across Ireland but sold under one brand name. Now, more than 40 years later, Kerrygold sales are nearly $2 billion with products available in over 80 countries. Kerrygold still adheres to the same small farm approach and still rely on independent dairy farmers . It's why each one of their products really are a little slice of Ireland itself.

As I've mentioned many times, you can find terrific recipes on dairy sites, food product sites and associations. This recipe is from the Kerrygold site. I've made these Melting Moments Cookies several times, and there's nothing like a butter cookie with a real buttercream filling, especially when chocolate is added to the buttercream. Melting Moments is a great name for these cookies! You'll remember them, as they melt in your mouth!

MELTING MOMENTS COOKIES

Cookies:
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (6 ounces) Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter at room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Buttercream Filling:
1/4 cup (2 ounces) Kerrygold Unsalted Butter at room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 ounce dark bittersweet chocolate, melted

For Cookies:
Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Heat oven to 300° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, sift both flours, cornstarch, baking powder and salt and set aside. In a large bowl and using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth and lightened slightly in color, 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during the mixing. Mix in the flour mixture just until the flour is incorporated and a smooth dough forms.

For each cookie, roll a level tablespoon of dough between the palms of your hands into a smooth ball. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Use a fork to gently flatten the cookies to 1 1/4-inch disks and to make an impression of the fork tines in the top of each.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm but do not darken, about 30 minutes. The cookie bottoms will be lightly browned. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes. Use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

For Buttercream Filling:
In a medium bowl, use a large spoon to stir the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Stir in melted chocolate. Turn half of the cooled cookies bottom side up. Use a thin metal spatula to spread a rounded teaspoon of filling evenly over the flat bottom of each. Gently press the flat bottom of the remaining cookies on the filling. Serve at room temperature. Cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Makes 16 Sandwich Cookies.