Snowman Cookies

Make a batch of adorable snowman cookies for the holiday season. They're made with my no-spread sugar cookie dough and decorated with white chocolate and sprinkles.

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 8

Chilling Time 1

Total Time 1 28

Servings 4-inch snowmen cookies

Author Heather

Ingredients

Cookies

¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter room temperature
¾ cup (148 g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ¾ cups (330 g) all purpose flour *measured properly
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Decorations

8 ounces (226 g) white chocolate melting wafers
1 tablespoon black confetti sprinkles
2 tablespoons orange chocolate covered sunflower seeds
fine sanding sugar for scarves

Instructions

Cookies

In a large bowl with a hand mixer (or stand mixer), cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla extract and beat until fluffy, about a minute.
In a separate bowl, sift (or whisk) together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and mix until just combined (do not overmix). Shape dough into two round discs and wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or up to 24 hours.
Preheat oven to 350℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove one disc of dough at a time from the refrigerator.
Dust counter top, rolling pin, and top of dough with flour. Roll dough out to ¼" thickness, dusting with additional flour as needed to prevent sticking. Using a snowman cookie cutter, cut dough into shapes and place onto prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart.
Bake cookies for about 8-9 minutes, or until cookies just begin to lightly brown around edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Decorations

Transfer white chocolate melting wafers into a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second increments, stirring each time, until melted and smooth.
Using a small spatula, the back of a spoon, or a butter knife, gently coat each cookie with a thin layer of melted white chocolate. If chocolate begins to thicken or dry in bowls, place back in the microwave and melt in 10 second increments.
While chocolate is wet, add black confetti sprinkles for eyes and buttons, as well as orange chocolate sunflower seeds for the noses. Allow chocolate to dry completely before moving on to the next step.
Once chocolate has dried, add a small amount of melted white chocolate to a plastic sandwich bag, seal, and snip off one corner. Carefully pipe scarves onto your snowmen. While chocolate is still wet, cover liberally with sanding sugar in desired colors.
Allow chocolate to dry completely before gently brushing excess sugar off with a pastry brush.

Notes

* How to measure flour properly: Use a kitchen scale to measure flour for accurate results every time. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland cookies that don't spread properly.
Storage: Cut out sugar cookies will keep for 5 to 7 days in a tightly sealed container at room temperature. To help keep cookies fresh, place a slice of bread in the cookie container and replace when it dries out.
Freezing: Cookies can be frozen for up to three months. To thaw, place on the countertop to bring to room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
To prevent spreading: Use parchment, not grease. Chill your dough before rolling out. Chill dough a second time on the baking sheet just before baking. Don't place dough on a hot baking sheet.
Decoration variations: Eyes, nose, buttons, and scarf can be piped on with dyed buttercream frosting instead of sprinkles if desired. Do not add food coloring to white chocolate - it will seize. Mini M&M's make great buttons. Any round sprinkles can be used for eyes and buttons. Cookies can also be dusted with coarse white sugar to add 'snow' texture.

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