These melted snowman cookies feature a grain-free, drop sugar cookie generously frosted with an almond flavored dairy-free butter cream, then topped with a cute little marshmallow snowman head.
The Story:
It’s cookie season again! This is a fun and easy little winter cookie to kick things off! So festive, so fun, so easy. This is a great holiday project to involve the kids in. You can let them be haphazard about applying the frosting and drawing on the little snowman faces. My boys loved these. Sure to become a favorite for this time of year. Feel free to customize the details, add chocolate candy buttons, or a licorice scarf or pretzel sticks for arms. Enjoy!
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The Ingredients:
Here is the list of ingredients you will need to make these melted snowman cookies.
- Almond Flour: This grain free flour gives structure to the cookies and helps them retain their moisture and chewy texture.
- Tapioca Flour: This grain free flour is a starch flour that aids in acheiveing a fluffy crumb and helps absorb the liquid ingredients.
- Granulated Sugar: Of course, sugar cookies need sugar.
- Dairy-Free Butter: I used Earth Balance butter for sugar cookies, in both the cookie dough and frosting, and it worked beautifully.
- Egg Yolk: I used an egg yolk for the right amount of structure and binding properties for these cookies.
- Baking Powder: Baking powder is the rising agent so the cookies rise and cook properly.
- Xanthan Gum: This helps the cookies retain their texture and helps bind the ingredients together so that the cookies are not too crumbly.
- Almond Extract: In my opinion, the star ingredient! I love almond extract. It’s such a unique flavor and helps round out the flavor profile to these cookies.
- Salt: Just a bit of salt gets added for flavor balance.
- Dairy-Free Buttercream: I made my own buttercream frosting, using just 3 ingredients: dairy free butter, grain free powdered sugar and almond extract. Again, the more almond the better, IMO! You can use regular buttercream, a glaze frosting or store bought frosting. Whatever you prefer!
- Marshmallows: These are used to make the snowman “head” for the cookies. I used Dandies Marshmallows as they are gluten-free, vegan and contain no corn starch (grain-free!).
Step By Step Instructions:
This is a simple, drop sugar cookie recipe. No cutting out required, and I didn’t even pull out the mixer for these!
- Step 1: First, prepare the frosting. By hand, or with a mixer on low speed, cream the butter until smooth.
- Step 2: Then, add in the powdered sugar and almond extract and cream together until smooth and creamy. I have found the most success with dairy-free buttercream when mixing by hand. Dairy-free butter can become soft very quickly when using a mixer, so just go slow and err on the side of under-mixing to begin with. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Step 3: Preheat your oven to 350. Using a fork, cream together your butter and sugar until nice and creamy.
- Step 4: Then, add in the egg yolk and almond extract, and mix again until creamy and well incorporated.
- Step 5: Next, add in your dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together and is holding its shape.
- Step 6: Using a large cookie scoop (3 tbsp), scoop out the cookies and place them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Place the cookies in the oven and bake for 13-14 min until JUST slightly starting to lightly brown. Light sugar cookies= the best sugar cookies. You do not want your sugar cookies to “brown” or they lose the desirable chewy texture.
- Step 7: Now for the fun part, decorating! Add the frosting to the cookies in a ‘puddle’ shape. Cut a marshmallow in half, paint or pipe on colored frosting or food coloring to make a cute little snowman face. Place the marshmallow on the cookie, then paint or pipe on a few little snowman buttons in the puddle. Add any extra details you would like!
Additional Seasonal Dessert Recipes:
The Recipe:
The Finished Product:
Soft, buttery, and generously frosted with a delicious dairy-free buttercream. Fun to make, delicious to eat and perfect for your upcoming holiday festivities! Involve the children in your lives for a magical holiday activity.
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