I think it’s fair to say that global warming does exist based on the cute little evidence I’ve placed before you. In all seriousness though, I’ve baked you melted snowman cookies to kick off the most delightful baking season of all. I’m very excited about these cookies, because I developed my own cookie recipe! I’m not talking about the snowmen themselves. I’ve seen cookies decorated like this for years. It is the plain cookie that the snowman rests on that has me all jazzed up. I have just recently purchased the book Ratio, and it’s been a revelation. In this book, Michael Ruhlman has given the ratio for all sorts of baked goods. For instance, the ratio for a basic cookie is 3 parts flour, 2 parts fat, and 1 part sugar. That’s it. From there, though, you can add on and create any type of cookie you want. I started with this basic recipe and loved it. Then I made it again and added an egg yolk, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. It was even better. Then I tried it again, but this time I added a whole egg, along with the egg yolk, vanilla, and salt. I continued to add and subtract certain ingredients until I got the flavor and texture that I wanted. Now, I am well aware that I’m not inventing the wheel. I ‘m just so excited to springboard from these ratios and let my imagination fly. It’s only the beginning.
Like I said before, I’ve seen the melted snowman cookie all over the place, but it was this cute video on YouTube that walked me through it. These adorable little guys are very yummy. The cookie has a semi-soft texture with a lovely buttery, vanilla taste. For the white icing, I made a batch of Faux Royal Icing (thank you Wendy from The Monday Box), and added a 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract. However, I cheated, and bought ready-made colored icing for the snowman’s details. It was easier.
Okay, so the cookie base is a simple vanilla bean sugar cookie. You cream the butter and sugar, add the flavor (vanilla bean paste), add in the eggs, mix in the flour/salt mixture and it’s done. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
When it’s time, roll out the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap to prevent it from sticking to the counter top and the rolling pin. This dough is a bit crumbly, so you may need to roll it out in portions.
Bake the cookies in a 350 degree F. oven for about 8 minutes, rotating half way through. Once they are out of the oven and cooled completely it’s time to decorate. With a piping bag full of white icing, pipe out an irregular circle and then fill in that circle. I used a #4 tip.
Place a slightly melted marshmallow near the top of the cookie. I microwaved the marshmallows for about 10 to 15 seconds.
Use a #2 tip to pipe out black icing for the eyes, mouth, and stick arms.
Use a #3 tip to pipe out the “carrot” nose. Apply more pressure at the base, and then slowly pull the tip out while releasing the pressure to make the end skinnier. Finally, use a #101 or #103 tip for the scarf.
- 14 TBS. plus 1 tsp. (200 g) Unsalted Butter, softened
- ½ cup (100 g) Granulated Sugar
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Bean Paste or Vanilla Extract
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 2 and 1/4 cups plus 2 TBS (300 g) All-Purpose Flour
- ¼ tsp. Salt
- Some Salt for sprinkling
- 16 to 20 Marshmallows
- Piping bag fitted with #4 tip filled with White Icing
- Piping bag fitted with #2 tip filled with Black Icing
- Piping bag fitted with #3 tip filled with Orange Icing
- Piping bag fitted with #101 tip filled with Red Icing
- Piping bag fitted with #103 tip filled with Green Icing
- In a bowl, mix the flour and salt. Set aside.
- In a bowl connected to a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and mix until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla, and eggs until combined. Finally add the flour and salt and mix until just combined. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let soften for 15 minutes.
- Once the dough has softened, knead it a few times. With your rolling pin, gently flatten and roll the dough out between two large pieces of plastic wrap. You might need divide the dough in half and roll out smaller sizes, as the dough can get a bit crumbly. Roll out to ¼-inch thickness.
- Cut out your shapes, and using a thin spatula, transfer them to the baking sheets. Sprinkle each with a smidgeon of salt, and then bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are slightly golden brown at the edges.
- Cool the cookies on a wire rack.
- With the white icing piping bag, pipe out an irregular circle. Fill in the circle with the white.
- Place the marshmallows (enough for each cookie) on a plate, and microwave in 5 second increments until the bottoms begin to melt. Place a marshmallow by the top edge of each cookie.
- With the black icing piping bag, pipe out eyes, a mouth, and stick arms.
- With the orange piping bag, pipe out a “carrot” nose. Be sure to apply more pressure at the base, and then slowly release as you pull out.
- Finally, using the red and green piping bags, pipe out a scarf on each snowman.
- Enjoy!
- Standing mixer with whisk attachment
- Two baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Plastic wrap
- Rolling pin
- 3-inch round cookie cutter
- 5 piping bags
- #2 tip, #3 tip, #4 tip, #101 tip, and a #103 tip
