These Snowman Sugar Cookies are the perfect holiday recipe. They’re soft, chewy and full of rich vanilla flavor. Delicious sugar cookie recipe that doesn’t require any chilling, cookie cutters or frosting!
We love sugar cookies and have a lot of favorite sugar cookie recipes. This one is fantastic because it yields perfectly soft cookies, but the dough doesn’t require any chilling or uncommon ingredients. The snowmen are formed with balls of dough – no need to roll any dough out or use cookie cutters! I also really love that there is no frosting! You could absolutely frost the snowmen if you wanted to, but the cookies have lots of flavor, even without frosting.
SNOWMAN SUGAR COOKIES
Snowman Sugar Cookies are made with basic cookie ingredients (flour, sugar, egg, vanilla, etc.). A combination of butter and shortening gives the cookies the perfect consistency and helps the cookies to hold their shape without spreading while they bake. Place three cookie dough balls of varying sizes together to make snowmen – no need for rolling dough out or cutting out any shapes! Once the cookies are baked and cooled, add some chocolate chips for eyes, M&Ms for buttons, and a little bit of decorating gel or icing for the scarf.
INGREDIENTS IN SNOWMAN SUGAR COOKIES
Flour: I usually use all purpose flour, but you can use bread flour, or even pastry flour in this recipe. You can also use a gluten free substitute if needed.
Baking powder and baking soda: These are the leavening agents in the cookies. For best results, make sure neither are old or expired.
Salt – Just a little bit of salt helps all of the other flavors to stand out.
Shortening – Using shortening helps the cookies to hold their shape. You can use regular shortening or butter-flavored shortening if you want more butter flavor in the cookies.
Butter: I use salted butter, but you can use unsalted if you prefer. No margarine! Make sure the butter is softened, but not melted before adding to the recipe.
Sugar: Can’t leave this one out – kind of an important ingredient in sugar cookies!
Egg: Only one egg is needed, but it is important for helping to bind the dough together so that the cookies cook properly and don’t crumble.
Vanilla extract: I suggest using a good quality vanilla extract or a Vanilla Bean Paste.
Mini chocolate chips – You will need 24 mini chocolate chips to give each snowman 2 eyes.
M&Ms – Add 3 M&Ms to each snowman as buttons. Any color you want will work fine!
Decorating gel or icing – You will need a little bit of decorating gel or icing to stick the chocolate chips and M&Ms on the cookies. You can also use this to create scarves for the snowmen!
HOW TO MAKE SNOWMAN SUGAR COOKIES
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
MAKE THE SUGAR COOKIE DOUGH
In a mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a larger bowl, cream shortening, butter, and sugar for about 2-3 minutes, or until light and creamy.
Mix in the egg and vanilla and mix for another 2-3 minutes.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
SHAPE THE COOKIES
Divide the dough into 12 balls that are 3 tablespoons each. Divide each of those balls into 3 parts – ½ tablespoon for the head, 1 tablespoon for the body, and 1 ½ tablespoons for the bottom. Roll into balls.
Place the 3 pieces on a baking sheet so that they are almost touching. Continue with the rest of the dough, keeping each snowman about 2 inches apart.
BAKE THE COOKIES
Bake in batches for 8-10 minutes until the tops of cookies are set and the edges are lightly browned.
Cool on a baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack for cooling. Allow the cookies to fully cool before removing from the cooling rack. It is important to allow the snowman to fully cool before removing from the cooling rack, otherwise they could break apart.
DECORATE THE SNOWMEN
Once cool, push 2 mini chocolate chips into the snowman for eyes. Add a dot of decorating gel to 3 M&Ms and push them into the snowman for buttons. Use decorating gel to draw a scarf on the snowmen.
TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST SUGAR COOKIES
- Do not melt the butter! The butter needs to be softened (at room temperature). Using melted butter will ruin the cookies.
- Spend a little extra time when you mix the butter and sugars. Creaming them together for 2-3 minutes will improve the consistency of your cookies.
- Preheat the oven. This will help your cookies turn out right every time!
- Use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Doing this will make it really easy to remove the cookies from your cookie sheet so that you don’t have to scrape them off the pan. They will just slide right off in perfect shape!
- Make sure not to over bake your cookies. They may not even look totally done on the tops, but if the bottoms start to brown, I take mine out and they are perfect!
How to store Snowmen Sugar Cookies
Store in a covered container at room temperature for 3-5 days. You can also freeze the cookies by placing them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2-3 months. Place wax paper in between each snowman before freezing to make sure they don’t stick together.
VARIATIONS TO TRY
- You can make smaller snowman cookies by using a smaller amount for each one. The cooking time will need to be adjusted accordingly.
- Regular chocolate chips can be used in place of M&Ms for the buttons.
- If you want to frost the snowmen before decorating them, you absolutely can. You can make a simple buttercream frosting by mixing 4 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 1 tsp vanilla and about 2-4 tablespoons of milk (based on how thick you want the frosting). Spread over the cooled cookies before decorating.
MORE FUN HOLIDAY COOKIE RECIPES TO TRY:
- CHRISTMAS TREE TWIX COOKIES
- NO BAKE GINGERBREAD COOKIES
- CHOCOLATE RITZ CRACKER COOKIES
- PEPPERMINT CUT OUT COOKIES
- PEPPERMINT SNOWMAN COOKIES
- RED VELVET CHRISTMAS COOKIES
- PEPPERMINT BARK COOKIES
- FROSTED EGGNOG COOKIES
- BEST GINGERBREAD CUT OUT COOKIES
- FROSTED ROSE SUGAR COOKIES
- PEPPERMINT SHORTBREAD COOKIES
- MINT CHRISTMAS COOKIES
- HOT COCOA COOKIES
- FROSTED GINGERBREAD SUGAR COOKIES
These Snowman Sugar Cookies are the perfect holiday recipe. They’re soft, chewy and full of rich vanilla flavor. Delicious sugar cookie recipe that doesn’t require any cookie cutters or frosting!
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