These Melted Snowman Cookies are one of those cookies that will make everyone smile. They start with a soft baked sugar cookie, that is topped with a marshmallow and some icing to look like a snowman melting in a puddle on top of the cookie.
These cookies are such a fun treat for a wintery day, and would be so cute at a holiday party, or after a cold day of playing in the snow served with a cup of hot chocolate. For more fun winter treats, try our Melted Snowman Cookie Dough Bites, or Snowman Rice Krispie Treats.
These cookies are actually so easy to make, with my favorite easy sugar cookie base, a super simple royal icing recipe, and a few things for decorating.
Why this Recipe is the Best
- So cute: Each cookie becomes its own little snowman, with just a few ingredients for decorating. The kids will love helping you decorate them too!
- Soft and Chewy: The cookie base stays chewy for days, with a little crispy edges, that gives these cookies the best texture!
- Easy Ingredients: You can find all the ingredients you need from the grocery store. The only one you might not have used before is Meringue Powder, but even that can be found at Walmart, Kroger, etc.
Ingredients Needed
This is a quick overview of some of the ingredients you’ll need for this Melted Snowman Cookie Recipe. The specific measurements and full recipe instructions are in the printable recipe card below.
- Unsalted Butter – I use unsalted butter to control the amount of salt in the recipe. If you are using salted butter remove the added salt from the recipe.
- Granulated Sugar – we only use white granulated sugar in this recipe for the classic sugar cookie flavor,
- Egg – only one egg, as this is a smaller batch recipe. You can double the recipe if needed.
- Vanilla Extract – adds a nice vanilla flavor to the cookies
- All Purpose Flour – spoon and level the flour into the measuring cup (or weigh it with a scale) for the most accurate results.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda – gives the perfect amount of lift, without too much spreading
- Salt – balances the sweetness
- Meringue Powder: This can be found at the Grocery store or Craft Stores, its a dry powdered made from egg whites and helps stabilizing the icing
- Powdered Sugar: Also known as Confectioners Sugar
- Marshmallows: We’re cutting them in half to make the snowman head, not fully melted into the puddle.
- Chocolate Chips: You can decorate the hands and eyes with melted chocolate, or royal icing tinted with brown or black gel coloring.
- Mini M&Ms: For the snowman’s buttons.
How to Make Melted Snowman Cookies
Step 1: Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer for a couple of minutes, until the mixture is light in color. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix until just combined.
Step 2: Add in the dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to the wet ingredients and stir together until just combined and you have a nice soft dough.
Step 3: Scoop the dough into 1.5 TBS sized portions and roll them into balls. Roll the balls into a bowl of granulated sugar. Place them onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, at least 2 inches apart, to leave room for the cookies to spread.
Step 4: Bake the cookies. Bake the cookies in the pre-heated oven until the tops are crinkly, the edges are set, and just lightly golden on the sides. The tops will barely look set, and may look underdone.
Step 5: Make the Royal Icing. Whisk the powdered sugar and meringue powder together. Then slowly add in the water and vanilla, beat until the mixture has stiff peaks. You can pipe the edges of the snowman puddle, then add in a little more water to thin the icing (about the consistency of honey) to fill in the middles.
Step 6: Decorate: Top the still wet icing with half a marshmallow for the head, and two or three mini m&ms for buttons. Tint some of the icing orange for a nose, and brown for the eyes and sticks. Or melt chocolate chips and pipe that mixture onto the cookies. Let the cookies sit until the icing is set then enjoy.
Tips and Tricks:
- Carefully measure the flour – Make sure to weigh the flour, or spoon and level the flour so you don’t end up with too much, which wouldn’t allow the cookies to spread how we want. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup, then use the flat side of a butter knife to smooth the flour off at the top.
- Uniform size – Keep the cookies a uniform size by using a medium cookie scoop, or weighing out the cookie dough. This will ensure the cookies bake evenly.
- Royal Icing Texture: I like to start with a thicker icing, because its easier to thin the icing out then it is to thicken it. You want it thin enough that you can pipe it on to your cookies, about the texture of toothpaste. You can keep it all the same texture, or thin some out for the middle of the puddles. You’ll want it the texture of honey for flooding the cookies. If you are experienced you can use flood consistency for all your icing, but you risk the icing running off the edge of the cookies (not too bad for these since it looks like the snow is melting off 😉 )
Storage Instructions
Let the icing set completely on the cookies before storing them. Once the royal icing has hardened you can carefully stack the cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
These Melted Snowman Cookies are such a fun and festive cookie. They’re so fun for the holidays or the winter season. They are easy to make, adorable, and delicious. They’ll be a hit for kids and adults, and you’ll definitely want to add them to your baking list!
More Cookie Recipes
Melted Snowman Cookies
Ingredients
For the Sugar Cookie Base:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 TBS vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- additional granulated sugar for rolling
For the Royal Icing:
- 3 cups Powdered Sugar
- 3 TBS Meringue Powder
- 5 TBS Warm Water
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
For Decorating the Cookies:
- 9 Large Marshmallows
- 1 oz Mini M&Ms
- Orange Gel Food Coloring
- 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips
Instructions
For the Sugar Cookie Base:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, or silicone liners, and set it aside.
- Add the butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) and beat them together for about 2 minutes, until the mixture is light and creamy. 1/2 cup unsalted butter, 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- Add in the egg, and vanilla extract and stir them into the mixture until combined. 1 large egg, 1/2 TBS vanilla extract
- Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and stir it all together until you have a nice soft cookie dough. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed. 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt
- Scoop the dough by 1.5 TBS portions and roll them into balls. Roll the balls in a small bowl full of additional granulated sugar. additional granulated sugar for rolling
- Place the cookie dough balls at least 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the tops are crinkled and the edges are just lightly golden.
- Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
For the Royal Icing:
- In a large bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together powdered sugar and meringue powder. 3 cups Powdered Sugar, 3 TBS Meringue Powder
- Slowly add in the water, while the mixer is running on medium speed until it is all combined. Add in the vanilla extract. Continue beating at medium speed until stiff peaks form. 5 TBS Warm Water, 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Add in 1/2 tsp of water at a time until you get the frosting into the texture of soft toothpaste.
- Spread the icing on top of the cookie to look like a puddle of melted snow. (You can pipe edges then thin the icing and flood the middle, or keep it all one texture that you can spread over the cookies, but not so thin it will run off all the edges. A little mess is okay because its supposed to look like a melted puddle of snow).
- Cut the Marshmallows in Half (scissors work best) and top the wet icing with half a marshmallow. 9 Large Marshmallows
- Top the icing with two or three mini m&ms on each cookie. 1 oz Mini M&Ms
- Take a small portion of the icing and tint it orange in a small bowl to make the carrot noses. Pipe the noses carefully on to the snowman faces. Orange Gel Food Coloring
- Add chocolate chips to a small bowl and microwave in 30 second increments. Use a piping bag or ziplock bag to pipe arms onto the sugar cookie icing, and eyes on to the marshmallows. 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips
Notes
- Carefully measure the flour – Make sure to weigh the flour, or spoon and level the flour so you don’t end up with too much, which wouldn’t allow the cookies to spread how we want. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup, then use the flat side of a butter knife to smooth the flour off at the top.
- Uniform size – Keep the cookies a uniform size by using a medium cookie scoop, or weighing out the cookie dough. This will ensure the cookies bake evenly.
- Royal Icing Texture: I like to start with a thicker icing, because its easier to thin the icing out then it is to thicken it. You want it thin enough that you can pipe it on to your cookies, about the texture of toothpaste. You can keep it all the same texture, or thin some out for the middle of the puddles. You’ll want it the texture of honey for flooding the cookies. If you are experienced you can use flood consistency for all your icing, but you risk the icing running off the edge of the cookies (not too bad for these since it looks like the snow is melting off 😉 )
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