Description
Delightfully festive Snowman Sugar Cookies with a tender texture and perfect sweetness, decorated with colorful royal icing to bring holiday cheer. These cookies are easy to make, fun to decorate, and stay soft for days, making them perfect for gifting or enjoying at your holiday gatherings.
Ingredients
Scale
Cookie Dough
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed for rolling and work surface
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
For Decorating
- Royal Icing
- Red gel food coloring
- Black gel food coloring
- Orange gel food coloring
Instructions
- Prepare Dry Ingredients: Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until completely smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract (if using) and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat again if needed.
- Combine Dough: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. The dough will be a bit soft; add an extra tablespoon of flour if too sticky.
- Divide and Roll Dough: Divide the dough into 2 equal parts and place each on a lightly floured parchment or silicone baking mat. Roll out each portion to about 1/4-inch thickness, using more flour if needed.
- Layer and Chill: Dust one dough piece lightly with flour and place a piece of parchment on top. Place the second rolled dough on top, cover with plastic wrap or foil, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or up to 2 days.
- Preheat and Prepare Baking Sheets: Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C) and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- Cut Cookies: Remove the dough stack from refrigerator. Peel apart the top dough, and use a snowman cookie cutter to cut shapes. Re-roll scraps to cut more cookies.
- Bake Cookies: Arrange cookies 3 inches apart on sheets. Bake for 12 minutes, until lightly browned around edges. Rotate baking sheets halfway if needed.
- Cool Cookies: Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
- Prepare Colored Icings: Divide royal icing into 4 portions: leave one white and color the others red, black, and orange with gel food coloring to desired shades.
- Pipe White Icing: Fit piping bag with Wilton #4 or #5 tip, fill with white icing, pipe borders and fill inside edges of each cookie leaving space for hat.
- Let White Icing Set: Allow the white icing to set completely, about 2-3 hours at room temperature or place in refrigerator to speed up drying.
- Decorate Details: Using piping bags fitted with Wilton #1 tip, pipe the red scarf, black hat, eyes, mouth, and buttons, and pipe the nose with orange icing.
- Let Icing Set: Allow all icing to set fully for 2-3 hours before serving or storing.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Fully decorated or plain cookies freeze well up to 3 months, separated by parchment in freezer-safe containers. Thaw in refrigerator or at room temperature.
- You can freeze dough at step 3 by dividing, flattening into disks, wrapping, and thawing in refrigerator before use.
- Room temperature butter is essential; it should be cool to the touch but soft enough to beat smoothly.
- Use a coupler when decorating to easily switch piping tips between colors with the same bag.
- Almond extract enhances the dough flavor; you can substitute with maple, coconut, lemon, or peppermint extracts or add spices like cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.
- Snowflake cookie cutter and blue sprinkle bead can be used for a winter variation with sparkling sugar.
- Store cookies covered tightly at room temperature for up to 5 days; refrigerate for up to 10 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 150 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 80 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg
