No fancy decorating needed with these adorable & super EASY decorated snowman cookies! Use your favorite cut out sugar cookie recipe, white icing, and some mini M&M's to create the cutest snowman faces!
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These decorated snowman cookies are an easy way to get into the holiday spirit & bake with the kids! They're cute, they taste great, and they're simple enough for even young bakers. If you like making decorated Christmas cookies but don't like all the fancy decorating, these are for you. Let's get started!
Materials for Decorated Snowman Cookies:
- Cut out sugar cookie dough (recipe below): homemade or premade Pillsbury works just fine!
- White cookie icing (recipe below) or buttercream frosting (you can also use canned or for a super quick icing, check out how to make icing with icing sugar and water.
- Miniature M&M's
- White sanding sugar (optional)
- Round cookie cutter (or glass cup): I used a 2.5" circle. No snowman cookie cutter needed!
How to Make Easy Snowman Sugar Cookies
Step 1: Roll Out Dough & Bake
Roll out your sugar cookie dough to about ⅜-1/2" thickness and use your round cookie cutter (or a glass) to cut circles in the dough. (⅜" is my purple ring on the Best Rolling Pin for Sugar Cookies.)
Place cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake according to recipe instructions (my cut-out sugar cookie recipe is below!).
Tip: Since these are circle cookies & it's fine if they spread a little, there's no need to chill the dough!
Step 2: Frost or Ice Cookie
After cookies are fully cooled, spread, pipe, or dip your cookies into white icing or frosting. For a smooth finish like shown in the photos, you can use the simple powdered sugar and water icing included in the recipe below and then dip the tops (allow the excess to drip off before flipping back over). For a fluffier frosting, try my buttercream Christmas Cookie Frosting.
Tip: Pop any air bubbles with a toothpick or fork. You want to do this right away or else the frosting will harden.
Step 3: Add M&M faces
Have an adult cut 12 brown mini M&M's in half to create the smiling mouth. To decorate the snowman faces, press on 2 brown M&M's for the eyes, 1 sideways orange M&M for the carrot nose, 2 red M&M's for the rosy cheeks, and then finish it off with the half brown M&M. If desired, you can add 2 green M&M's to a blank cookie to create a button body.
For an added touch, once faces have been added, sprinkle on a small amount of white sanding sugar.
Note: If you're using the powdered sugar icing in the recipe below, you need to work fast and press the candy M&M's into the icing right after icing the cookie. Because the icing hardens fast, waiting too long will create cracks in the icing when you press on the candy.
Step 4: Enjoy!
Let the iced snowman cookies sit for 1-2 hours to completely harden. Store in an airtight container or serve on a holiday cookie platter and wait for everyone to tell you how adorable your decorated snowman cookies are!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make these without M&M's?
If you don't have mini M&M's you can use mini chocolate chips and then pipe on the orange nose with icing (they also make cute carrot sprinkles!). If you don't have chocolate chips, you could decorate the entire face using piped frosting (but if doing this, I recommend using a buttercream or traditional royal icing because this quick icing won't hold it's shape well).
Easy Decorated Snowman Cookies
Ingredients
- Cut Out Sugar Cookie Dough
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons water (luke-warm) can also use milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt optional, see notes
Toppings
- Miniature M&M’s
- White sanding sugar optional
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Instructions
- Cut sugar cookie dough into circles, bake according to recipe instructions, and let cool.
- To make icing, combine powdered sugar (2 cups), lukewarm water (2-3 tablespoons), a pinch of salt, and vanilla extract (1 teaspoon) in a medium-sized bowl. Mix until smooth.
- Add more water or powdered sugar until it reaches your desired consistency. If using a piping bag, about 2 tablespoons of water is best (you want the icing to be about the consistency of pancake batter). If dipping or drizzling the icing, 3 tablespoons of water will likely be needed. See notes below for storing and freezing notes.
- To decorate, immediate press M&M's into wet icing. Have an adult cut 12 brown mini M&M’s in half to create the smiling mouth. To decorate the snowman faces, press on 2 brown M&M’s for the eyes, 1 sideways orange M&M for the carrot nose, 2 red M&M’s for the rosy cheeks, and then finish it off with the half brown M&M. If desired, you can add 2 green M&M’s to a blank cookie to create a button body.For an added touch, once faces have been added, sprinkle on a small amount of white sanding sugar.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe! This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
Notes
- Work Quickly: If you're using the powdered sugar icing in the recipe below, you need to work fast and press the candy M&M's into the icing right after icing the cookie. Because the icing hardens fast, waiting too long will create cracks in the icing when you press on the candy.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
- Freezing: While this quick icing does freeze, it does get a bit sticky upon thawing. If you plan to freeze the iced cookies, wait until they are hardened and then layer between pieces of parchment. When it's time to serve, remove from freezer and immediately lay the cookies in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Again, note that the icing will likely have moisture and be a bit sticky. If you plan to freeze your cookies, I'd recommend using my buttercream Christmas Cookie Frosting instead.
- Salt: while this is naturally a sweet icing, you can mix in ⅛ teaspoon salt to cut the sweetness.
Decorating Tips:
- Consistency for Drizzling: If you are using it to drizzle over brownies, cookies, bundt cakes, or quick breads then you will want it a bit thinner (closer to 2 tablespoons of water)
- For Dipping Sugar Cookies: For dipping, you want it to have a thinner consistency (closer to 3 tablespoons of water)
- For Piping or Spreading on Sugar Cookies: For decorating sugar cookies, you will want it a bit thicker like pancake batter so that it doesn't run off the cookies (closer to 2 tablespoons of water).
Betty
Love how easy these are!! definitely making with the grandkids this Christmas.