These adorable Melted Snowman Cookies will bring smiles to everyone’s faces on a chilly day. A chewy sugar cookie base is topped with vanilla frosting and decorated to resemble a melted snowman for a fun winter treat!
Readers love our classic cream cheese sugar cookies topped with sugar cookie frosting. Today’s recipe teaches you how to make a creamy icing on a classic cut out cookie.
Why This Recipe Works
These Christmas cookies are cute and delicious – and really fun to make!
Kids can help get creative with the decorations, and these cookies are great for a little baking project on a cold winter day!
- The base is a perfect, simple sugar cookie that is just 5 basic ingredients and easy peasy to make!
- The cookie dough is rolled out and cut into circles to be the base of the melting snowman.
- After the cookies are cooled, they are topped with a thin layer of creamy vanilla frosting, then the decorations get added!
- Use a marshmallow for the snowman’s head, then decorate his face, add a scarf and attach 2 small pretzel sticks for his arms.
- Serve these cookies on a bed of coconut flakes for a snowy scene!
- The recipe makes 24 cute snowman cookies.
Ingredient Notes
The sugar cookie base is made with just butter, sugar, vanilla, flour and baking powder; ingredients you probably have on hand already. And you don’t even need to chill the dough!
The rest of the ingredients are for the snowman decor, and you can get as creative as you like here.
- Flour – Regular all-purpose flour works great for these cookies. You’ll need a little extra for flouring your surface before you roll out the dough.
- Vanilla Extract – Be sure to use PURE vanilla extract, not imitation. Try our homemade vanilla extract for best results.
- Vanilla Frosting – You’ll need about 2 cups of vanilla frosting. Feel free to use our homemade frosting or our homemade sour cream frosting.
- Snowman’s Face – A small tube of black gel icing works great for making the snowman’s eyes and mouth, and a small orange jimmy looks great for a “carrot” nose. Or use melted chocolate or mini M&M’s for the face and “buttons.”
- Snowman’s Scarf – Use any color you like to dye some of the frosting to pipe on for the scarf. You can also swap red licorice to use for the scarf.
Easy Directions
STEP 1. Make the cookie dough. Cream the butter and sugar until well combined. Add the vanilla extract then stir in the flour and baking powder until combined.
STEP 2. Shape the cookies. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll to about ¼-½-inch thickness. Cut out circles and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
Bake the cookies then cool completely before adding frosting and decorations.
STEP 3. Decorate the cookies. Spread a thin layer of vanilla frosting over the cooled cookies. Press a marshmallow into one side to get it to stick.
Next, add the decorations for the snowman’s face – eyes, nose and mouth. Then dye some of the remaining vanilla frosting and pipe around the marshmallow to make a scarf.
Finally, break the pretzel sticks in half and press into the frosting to create the snowman’s arms.
Serve the cookies on a bed of coconut flakes to look like snow.
Tips and Tricks
- Measure the flour correctly. Use my tips for how to measure flour to get the best results from my recipes.
- You can use a lid from a mason jar or a 3-inch circle cookie cutter to cut out circles for these cookies.
- Cool the cookies completely before decorating. It’s hard to wait, but the cookies need to be all the way cooled or the frosting will melt off.
- Want to make this recipe even easier? You could use store-bought cookie dough and store-bought vanilla frosting and then use this guide for making your melted snowmen on top.
- Switch it up. Use our homemade chocolate chip cookies as the base instead!
Recipe FAQs
No, chilling the dough is not necessary for this recipe. Once the dough is made, roll it out on a floured surface to cut into circles and bake.
Sure! You can add 1-2 teaspoons of your favorite flavoring, such as almond or orange extracts, to give these cookies a different twist.
Yes, you can freeze the baked cookies, without the decorations, for up to 3 months. Thaw then decorate.
These cookies will stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Keep in a single layer so the decorations don’t get smudged.
More Holiday Favorites
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- Ricotta Cookies
- Lebkuchen
- Chocolate Fudge Recipe
- Snowball Cookies
- Cranberry Christmas Cake
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Melted Snowman Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- ½ cup salted butter softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour plus extra for rolling
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
For the Topping
- 24 regular size marshmallows
- 1 tub vanilla frosting 16 ounce
- Green food coloring
- 24 small stick pretzels
- 24 orange jimmies for nose
- Black gel icing small tube
- Coconut flakes for snow, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter with sugar until well blended. Add in vanilla extract. Stir in flour and baking powder.
- On a lightly floured surface, turn out the dough and roll to about 1/4-1/2-inch thickness.
- Using a lid from a mason jar, or a 3-inch circle cookie cutter, cut out circles and place on cookie sheet.
- Bake cookies for 7-9 mninutes, until bottoms are lightly golden. Cool on wire rack completely before decorating.
- Frost cookies with vanilla frosting (just a thin layer, you won't use all of it yet). Add a marshmallow to one side of each cookie, pressing into the frosting so it will stick. Use a toothpick to dollop the front of the marshmallow and press an orange jimmie in the center for the nose.
- With the remaining frosting, tint green (or any color) for the scarf. Pipe the scarf around the base of each marshmallow.
- Using the black gel icing, dot on eyes and mouth (or use melted chocolate).
- FInally, break each pretzel stick in half and press into frosting to create arms.
- Place cookies on a platter lined with coconut flakes (for snow, optional).
Notes
- You’ll need about 2 cups of vanilla frosting. You can use our homemade frosting or our homemade sour cream frosting is perfect too.
- Cookies stay fresh in airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Change up the decorations. Use mini M&M’s for face and “buttons.” Use red licorice for scarf.
