4 months ago

Melted Snowman Cookies

Twin Cities food blogger greens & chocolate shares her recipe for Melted Snowman Cookies — it’s kid-friendly, simple and delicious, the perfect family winter baking project!

As my kids get older, it’s so much fun to watch them become interested in cooking and baking with me. Occasionally one of them will help make dinner, but it’s when I’m baking that they really want to help. Any time they hear the mixer going, they know I’m making a treat and they suddenly appear right next to me.

These Melted Snowman Cookies are such a cute holiday treat and they definitely get kids helping in the kitchen. This time of year especially, it’s so fun to start traditions with your kids, and making and decorating sugar cookies is one of ours.

The recipe I used for the cookies is my absolute favorite sugar cookie recipe. I’ve been using it for years and it never fails me. The flavors of vanilla and almond just can’t be beat, and they turn out perfectly soft yet sturdy every time.

The melted snowman decoration is super easy. I am, admittedly, not the best when it comes to decorating cakes, pies and cookies, but I think these turned out so cute. The only extra ingredients you need are marshmallows and some decorating icing or gel. The snowman’s head is the marshmallow and you draw on eyes and a nose with black and orange icing. I found that cutting the marshmallows in half was a good height for the snowmen heads, but my 5-year-old liked using the whole marshmallow. A combination is fun, too.

Finally, simply pipe some buttons on the cookie and that’s it! These are a cute AND delicious holiday treat.

40 cookies
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Chill time: 1 to 2 hours
Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup milk (I used 2%, but any milk will work)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups flour, plus up to 1 cup extra for flouring the rolling surface

For the frosting:

3 cups powdered sugar
4 to 5 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon lemon juice

For decorating:

Marshmallows
Black, orange, red and green decorating gel/icing

Directions

  1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, combine the sugar and butter until creamy.
  2. Add the milk, vanilla and almond extract, and mix to combine.
  3. Add the eggs. Then add the baking soda, salt and flour, and mix to combine. Cover and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours.
  4. Heat the oven to 350 F. On a floured surface, roll out approximately one third of the chilled dough until it is about ⅛ to ¼-inch thick. Cut the cookies into rounds using a round cookie cutter and place them ½-inch apart on a baking pan lined with parchment paper.
  5. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are very light brown. You do not want the top of the cookies to be brown. Cool the cookies completely on a wire rack before frosting them.
  6. To make the frosting, combine the powdered sugar, milk and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for 3 minutes until well combined.

To decorate the cookies:

  1. Spread a spoonful of frosting on each cookie.
  2. Place either a full or half (depending on how melted you want it to look) marshmallow on the edge of the cookie.
  3. Pipe on the eyes, nose and buttons using the decorating gel/icing.

Enjoy!