We’re kicking off with Snowman Cookies! Start with my sugar cookies recipe and cut into holiday shapes. Any shape or size holiday cookie will do—I chose snowmen and snowflakes. But mostly snowmen because they’re so darn cute! Since the cookie shape is completely up to you, I really want you to focus on working with royal icing. I know decorating cookies with royal icing can be intimidating, but here’s what I’ve learned: set your expectations appropriately. Don’t expect to create a fancy intricate design if this is your first time. Start small and go from there. A lot of the decorated sugar cookies I create are extremely simple. And of course, don’t limit them to one time of year! Valentine’s Day cookies, Easter cookies, and Halloween cookies are all equally festive during their holiday seasons. But again, you have to start somewhere. You CAN do this. Watch me make the cookies, shape the cookies, and decorate them:
Sugar Cookie Steps
Whenever I decorate sugar cookies, I always begin with a quality homemade sugar cookie recipe. A recipe that I can always depend on, so all I have to “worry” about is decorating. My go-to sugar cookie recipe produces soft sugar cookies with slightly crisp edges. It starts with butter and sugar creamed together. Add 1 egg and vanilla (sometimes almond extract, yum!), then flour + baking powder + salt. That’s it. Only 7 basic ingredients.
My Sugar Cookie Trick
Notice in the video that I roll out the dough BEFORE chilling it in the refrigerator? That’s my trick! Why? The dough is so much easier to roll out before it’s chilled. But why are we chilling it? So the cookies keep their shape when baked. Wait, why divide in 2? Because it’s difficult to roll out a huge mass of dough. Dividing into smaller sections makes rolling out more manageable. Roll out the doughs until to about 1/4 inch thickness. I like to do this directly on a silicone baking mat. Why? Because you have to chill the rolled out dough in the fridge. And you can’t really pick up a mass of dough you rolled out on the counter, right? Nor can you cut into shapes when the dough is this warm. So roll out on a nonstick surface that you can literally pick up, put on a baking sheet, and place in the fridge. So… make dough, divide in 2, roll out, chill. Got it? After the dough is chilled (you’ll have two of these rolled out doughs ↑↑), cut into shapes. Then bake them.
Let’s Talk Royal Icing
This royal icing is just 3 ingredients: confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder, and water. The trickiest part is landing on the perfect consistency. Sometimes I need more water, sometimes I need less water. But the wonderful thing is that you can manipulate the icing to get the proper consistency by adding more water or more confectioners’ sugar. It’s awesome. You can also use this easy cookie icing for decorating the snowmen cookies, but it’s difficult to pipe fine detail since it’s just a really thick glaze (unlike royal icing, which is quite sturdy). This icing doesn’t set/dry as quickly as royal icing and it’s not as easy to decorate with. That being said, sometimes it’s just the more convenient option! So give it a try if you prefer. (It will dry in about 24 hours, where the royal icing recipe below dries in about 1-2 hours.)
Let’s Decorate Snowman Cookies
Like I mentioned above, I’m not a super fancy cookie decorator. But after much practice over the years, I’m happy to recommend my most-used cookie decorating supplies. Whenever I decorate sugar cookies, I grab a couple basic piping tips: a thin Wilton #1 tip and a wider Wilton #4 tip or Wilton #5 tip. I use the wider tip for big designs, outlining, and flooding. The white snowman’s body and red scarf are done with this wider tip, as well as the snowflakes. I use the thinner tip for smaller detail like the snowman hat, eyes, buttons, and nose. For coloring the icing, I strongly recommend gel colors. I prefer Americolor’s color kit. I’ve had this for a year and haven’t even made a dent in most colors. It’s a GREAT set to have in your kitchen! These cookie decorating tools would be great to add to your holiday wish list. And while you’re at it, be sure to check out my complete guide on Holiday Gifts for Bakers. Lots of fun ideas in there, either for yourself or other baker friends!
Snowman Cookie Decorating Tips
Start small—don’t attempt super intricate designs if you’re a beginner. Take your time. Don’t expect to rush through it! There will be some uglies. There are always some uglies. 🙁 Have fun. Invite friends or family over, grab your kids, or host a cookie decorating day. Make an afternoon or evening of it. Make some chocolate chip cookies to munch on while you work! Don’t stress! It’s just a cookie!
Have fun decorating; I can’t wait to see your cookie creations!
See Your Snowman (and other shapes) Sugar Cookies!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂
