Melting Snowmen Sugar Cookies

  • Preparation time:
  • 1 hour 30 min
  • Total time:
  • 2 hours
  • Plus time:
  • 4 hours cooling time
  • Makes:
  • 25 to 30 cookies
Melting Snowmen Sugar Cookies

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Melting Snowmen Sugar Cookies

Enlist the help of your little pastry chefs to make these adorable sugar cookies.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter , at room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tsp vanilla

Decoration

  • 1 1/4 cup white royal icing
  • large marshmallows
  • pretzel sticks
  • sour candy belts , cut into strips
  • large orange candy sprinkles
  • black gel icing
  • chocolate-caramel cups , such as Rolo
  • chocolate coins

Royal icing

  • 3 egg whites
  • 1/4 tsp white vinegar
  • 5 cups icing sugar
  • 2-3 tbsp cold water

Directions

  • Stir flour with baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
  • Beat butter with sugar, using an electric mixer on medium-high, in a large bowl until fluffy, 2 to 3 min. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture until combined. Divide dough into 3 portions. Form each portion into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.
  • Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Lightly flour your counter. Roll out 1 portion of dough to 1/4 in. thick. Using a 3-in. round cookie cutter, cut out circles. Arrange 2 in. apart on prepared baking sheets. Gather scraps and re-roll dough to cut out more circles. (Chill dough again if it is getting too soft.)
  • Bake in centre of oven until cookies just begin to brown around the edges, 10 to 12 min. Let cookies stand on baking sheets for 5 min. Remove cookies to a rack to cool completely, about 30 min. Repeat with remaining dough.
  • Spoon about 2 tsp royal icing onto a cooled cookie. Using the back of the spoon, drag icing to the edge of cookie in a random fashion. (It’s OK if it looks messy.)
  • Cut a small piece off a flat end of a marshmallow. Place remaining marshmallow, sticky-side down, on wet royal icing.
  • Break a pretzel stick in half and arrange on either side of the marshmallow “head.”
  • Wrap a sour candy belt “scarf” around the base of the head.
  • Using royal icing as glue, stick an orange candy sprinkle in the middle of marshmallow for the “nose.”
  • Use black gel icing to pipe eyes, mouth and buttons onto cookie.
  • Make a hat by using royal icing to stick a chocolate-caramel cup onto a chocolate coin, then on top of the marshmallow. Let cookie stand until icing is firm, about 2 hours.

Tip

Make your own royal icing by beating 3 egg whites with 1/4 tsp white vinegar in a large bowl using an electric mixer, until foamy. Gradually beat in 5 cups sifted icing sugar until combined. Increase speed to high and beat until icing is thick but still foamy, 3 to 7 min. Stir in 2 to 3 tbsp cold water to thin the icing to desired consistency. It should be thick and smooth.

Originally published in the Today’s Parent November 2015 issue. Photo: Tony Lanz.

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