These Snowman Cookies are a fun and adorable Christmas cookie and an ideal recipe to add to your favorite holiday traditions. A basic soft sugar cookie recipe, they are the perfect reck;e to bake up for your cookie exchange.
I love how easy it is to make these cookies. No tedious work of rolling and cutting out. Just roll into 3 balls, stack, and bake! These are fun to make with the kids, and perfect for cookie platters during the holidays.
I have always loved making different cookies for Christmas, like these snowflake sugar cookies, poinsettia balls, or Santa's Whiskers Cookies. They are festive, fun, and delicious!
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❤️ Why you'll love it
Kid friendly: It is a small batch recipe that little hands will have fun making and decorating!
Christmas cookie trays: snowman cookies are perfect during the holiday season and all winter long.
Easy to make: no cookie cutter needed for this recipe!
🥘 Ingredients
Unsalted butter and cream cheese, these are the fat in the cookie that adds flavor. Both of these ingredients should be at room temperature.
Granulated sugar: sweetens the cookie dough.
Almond extract, this is my preferred extract to add flavor to the cookies and the icing.
All purpose flour: is the structure of the cookie dough.
Baking powder: aids in the cookies rise while baking.
Salt: enhances flavor in the cookie.
Pretzel sticks: used to make the arms on the snowmen.
Confectioners' sugar and milk are used along with the extract to make the icing to decorate the cookies.
Assorted food coloring
🔪 Instructions
For the cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, using a hand mixer on high speed, cream butter, cream cheese, and sugar until blended.
- Add the egg and almond extract to the butter mixture and mix until completely blended.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Gradually mix flour mixture into butter mixture until completely combined.. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
- Using a tablespoon, ½ tablespoon and teaspoon measure, scoop dough and shape into balls. Layout in snowman shape with largest ball on bottom on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Break pretzel stick in half and place one half in each side of center snowman ball. Bake for 11-15 minutes or until set.
- Remove cookies from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and cool completely.
To make the decorating icing:
- In a small bowl, mix the powdered sugar, milk, and extract until of piping consistency. Color portions of the icing as desired.
- Decorate cooled cookies by piping a scarf, nose, eyes, and nose. I like to do black icing for the eyes and orange icing for the carrot nose.
🥄 Equipment
Mixing bowls
Baking sheet
Wire rack
Piping bag
🥫Storage
Store cookies in an airtight container on the counter up to 1 week or in the freezer up to 3 months.
📖 Variations
- Melted chocolate can be used to make the eyes and dot the buttons on the snowman.
- I prefer to use gel colors. They are thicker and don't thin the icing out too much.
💭 Tips
While these cookies are super adorable, they are very fragile. If you are thinking of making these to ship to someone you love, then I highly recommend wrapping in bubble wrap in the box and then bubble wrap the box in the shipping box
📚 Related Recipes
🍽 Serve with...
Serve these adorable snowmen cookies on an assorted Christmas cookie platter, and don't forget to leave one or two out for Santa with a nice cold glass of milk!
When you make this recipe, please comment below and let me know what you think. I'd love it if you tag me on Instagram @grumpyshoneybunch or #grumpyshoneybunch so I can see your photos!
If you love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating
📖 Recipe
Snowman Cookies
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Ingredients
For the cookies:
- ½ cup unsalted butter , softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese , softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1⅔ all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 9 pretzel sticks , broken in half
For the Icing
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk , as needed
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
For the cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, using a hand mixer on high speed, cream butter, cream cheese, and sugar until blended.
- Add the egg and almond extract to the butter mixture and mix until completely blended.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Gradually mix flour mixture into butter mixture until completely combined.. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
- Using a tablespoon, ½ tablespoon and teaspoon measure, scoop dough and shape into balls. Layout in snowman shape with largest ball on bottom on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Break pretzel stick in half and place one half in each side of center snowman ball. Bake for 11-15 minutes or until set.
- Remove cookies from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and cool completely.
To make the decorating icing:
- In a small bowl, mix the powdered sugar, milk, and extract until of piping consistency. Color portions of the icing as desired.
- Decorate cooled cookies by piping a scarf, nose, eyes, and nose. I like to do black icing for the eyes and orange icing for the carrot nose.
Mary Ellen says
I love your snowman cookies! They are just too cute....
Sheena @ Hot Eats and Cool Reads says
I know my daughter and I would love these cookies! So cute and Christmasy!
Rachael says
First, these are seriously cute. My favorite holiday treat is caramels, but I also love making Mexican Wedding cookies!
Life Tastes Good says
I LOVE these so much! They are the cutest!! How sweet you call your boys your "Snow" men 🙂
Carrie R says
These are so cute! And I love that you used pretzels for their arms. 🙂
Rebekah Hills says
Oh those are completely adorable!!
honeyb says
These are so cute. I love them!