Little Snow People
Little snow people cookies: holiday snowman cookies shaped from festive dough with three stacked balls, decorated with mini chocolate chip eyes, cinnamon candy buttons, and peanut butter cup hats.
YIELD
1 1/2 dozenPREP
25 minCOOK
30 minREADY
1 hrsThis is kitchen crafting for the December baking spree: three rolled balls of cookie dough in decreasing sizes stacked into little snow people, with pressed-in mini chocolate chips for eyes and red cinnamon candies for buttons. After baking, peanut butter cups get glued on with green icing as hats, and each one gets a piped scarf or bow tie.
The base cookie is a festive cut-out dough (any rolled sugar cookie or shortbread works) that bakes at 325°F (165°C) for about 18 minutes. Lower temperature and longer time is the key. Higher heat browns the cookies too fast and cracks the ball shapes before they set properly.
The 1-inch, ¾-inch, and ½-inch ball sizes are worth measuring rather than eyeballing. Uneven sizes give you snow people that lean or tip, and once baked the proportions can’t be fixed. Pressing the balls just barely together (not mashed) keeps the rounds distinct after baking.
Kitchen Tips
- Chill the dough balls for 15 minutes before baking if they feel soft. Warm dough spreads and the snow people lose their three-tiered shape.
- Press the chocolate chips and cinnamon candies into the dough hard. Loosely placed decorations pop off during baking.
- Transfer carefully from the cookie sheet to the rack. The three-ball shape is fragile until fully cool.
- Mix the icing to a piping consistency: thick enough to hold its shape on the cookie, thin enough to flow through a small tip without tearing the bag.
- Attach peanut butter cup hats on fully cooled cookies. Warm cookies melt the chocolate and the hats slide off sideways.
Variations
- Use mini marshmallows as the head ball instead of cookie dough for a puffier, fluffier-looking snowman.
- Swap peanut butter cup hats for miniature Hershey’s Kisses for a pointier hat shape.
- Dip the bottoms of finished cookies in melted white chocolate and set on crushed peppermint for snowy feet.
Ingredients
Directions
If frozen thaw the Festive Cookie dough in the refrigerator overnight.
Or palce dough in a microwave-safe mixing bowl; cover with waxed paper.
Microcook on 10% power for 5 minutes or until thawed.
For each snow person, shape dough into 3 balls one 1 inch ball, one ¾ inch ball and one ½ inch ball.
Place balls on an ungreased cookie sheet in decreasing sizes with sides touching.
Press together slightly.
Press 2 chocoalte pieces in smallest ball for eyes.
Press 1 red cinnamon andy in middle ball and 2 candies in largest ball for buttons.
Bake in a 325 degrees oven about 18 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are light golden brown.
Cool 1 minute on baking sheet. Carefully transfer to a wire rack; cool.
To make the icing for decorating the cookies, in small mixing bowl stir together the ¾ cup powdered sugar and enough milk o make an icing of piping consistency. Stir in the green food coloring.
To make hats for the snow people, attach peanut butter cups to the heads with icing.
With a decorating bag and writing or star tip, pipe bow ties, belts, scarves or stocking caps on the snow people with the remaining icing.
Lightly sprinkle the snow people with powdered sugar.
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