Melted Snowman Cookies Recipe – good, adorable snowman cookies with candy scarf and buttons that look like they are “melting” on a cookie! Snowman cookies are so adorable – they make solid party favors all winter long, are great for Christmas cookie exchanges, great to decorate together, and are fun to customize!

Melted snowman cookies look fussy and complicated – but they are actually easy to make, and so good! These cookies are one of our favorite treats with homemade hot cocoathey are sweet but not too sugary (despite the marshmallow!), and so adorable.

At Avdaye, we add lots of tips in all of our recipes – because we are a home cook without any formal training, and we find we are more confident making dishes when we understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. Our goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

Snowman Cookies

Making these good easy cookies from scratch couldn't be easier – first, we're going to make a good, easy sugar cookie base for our cookies, then a melted snowman icing base to top with a marshmallow and some fun candy decorations! You can set up a big table to make these cookies for a party, and let guests make their own cookies – we like to make themes and have fun white elephant style prizes for different cookies. Our daughter calls them Olaf cookies!

How To Make Snowman Cookies

For the Royal Icing:

Meringue powder (6 tbsp) – Meringue powder helps the royal icing whip up fluffy, dry smoothly, and harden perfectly for decorating snowman details.
Powdered sugar (8 cups) – Powdered sugar creates a smooth, sweet base that gives royal icing its classic structure and bright white color.
Warmed water (10 tbsp) – Warmed water activates the meringue powder and helps achieve the ideal piping and flooding consistency.

For the Sugar Cookies:

Unsalted butter (1 ½ cups) – Unsalted butter adds rich flavor and creates a tender, buttery sugar cookie base.
Granulated sugar (1 ½ cups + more for rolling) – Granulated sugar sweetens the dough while extra sugar adds a subtle crunch when rolling the cookies.
Large eggs (2) – Eggs bind the dough together and give the cookies structure and softness.
Vanilla extract (1 tablespoon) – Vanilla extract enhances the cookie's flavor with warm, classic sweetness.
All purpose flour (3 cups) – All-purpose flour provides the foundation and structure needed for sturdy yet soft cookies.
Baking powder (1 ½ tsp) – Baking powder helps the cookies rise slightly, keeping them thick and tender.
Sea salt (1 tsp) – Sea salt balances the sweetness and enhances all the flavors in the dough.

Decorations:

Marshmallows (24) – Marshmallows melt slightly in the oven to create the signature “melted snowman” look.
Food Coloring Gels – Black, Orange – Gel food coloring is used to tint royal icing for snowman eyes, mouths, and carrot noses.
Strawberry Licorice Laces (24) – Strawberry licorice laces make fun, flexible scarves for decorating each snowman.
Sugar Crystals (¼ cup) – Sugar crystals add sparkle and a festive crunch for finishing touches, if desired.

Steps to Make Melted Snowman Cookies

Make Cookies Dough

In a medium bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, egg, milk and vanilla. Then add the flour (start with 2 cups), baking powder, and salt. Beat this until well blended. If the dough is still sticky you may mix in another ¼ to ½ cup of flour.

Chill

Divide the cookie dough into 2 equal size disks. Wrap these and place them in the fridge for 1 hour (or until firm).

Roll and Cut

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to ¼ inch thick. Use a 2 ½ inch, lightly floured cookie cutter to cut out as many cookies as you are able to. Place the cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake and Cool Completely

Bake at 375 degrees for 7-10 minutes or until the edges are golden. (They can cook quickly so watch carefully after the 5 minute mark.) When the cookies are removed from the oven, move them to cooling racks to cool completely before frosting them.

Make Icing

Sift together the powdered sugar and meringue powder. Add 5 tablespoons of the warm water. Use a stand mixer with a whisk attachment to beat at high power for 10 minutes. Check the consistency. Add more water if the icing is too thick and is so still that it will barely move. If it is too thin, beat longer, it thickens the longer you beat it.

Ice Cookie

Drop a dollop of icing onto the middle of the cookie and carefully spread out towards the edges. You can make this as solid or messy as you'd like – after all – it's a MELTED snowman cookie.

Add Snowman Head

Place one marshmallow on each cookie to represent the head of the snowman.

Add Buttons and Arms

When you are ready to add the eyes and buttons, add some black gel coloring to some of the icing and pipe on arms and eyes. Do the same with orange food coloring to make icing for the carrot nose. Then drop pn some mini m&ms for buttons, a licorice for the scarf and some sprinkles for fun!

Finish and Enjoy

The royal icing will take about 2 hours to dry. If you need the icing to firm up more quickly, you can refrigerate them.

Kitchen notes

Add flavor. Want to kick these cookies up a notch? You can add flavored extracts to the royal icing, and even the cookies, to add more flavor. You could add almond extract or peppermint extract, or even lemon, raspberry, or vanilla extract. You will want to start with 1 teaspoon.

Add color. If you'd like to add color to your icing for some bright and colorful snowmen, go for it! You could use food coloring, but we prefer to use gel color instead because you get a more intense color and don't need to use as much.

Cut marshmallows in half if needed so they melt evenly and don't completely slide off the cookie.

Use toothpicks or piping tips for precise eyes, mouths, and scarf details.

Use gel icing or melted chocolate for faces and details since they set quickly and hold their shape.

Melted Snowman Cookie FAQs

Can we make the icing ahead of time?

Yes, it may be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Once you've brought it to room temperature you may need to whisk it smooth again

Our meringue isn't whipping up, what is going wrong?

It is important to use grease-free bowls and utensils when you are working with meringue. We would start over, using a glass bowl if possible, that is clean, and for better chances, you could chill the bowl and attachments as well.

What can we use instead of meringue powder?

You could substitute pasteurized egg whites. You will substitute pasteurized egg whites (or 6 Tablespoons of pasteurized egg whites from a carton). Whisk the egg whites until foamy, then beat in the powdered sugar at medium speed for 5 minutes. Adjust the water as needed.

Can we use mini marshmallows instead of large ones?

Large marshmallows are best for the classic melted look, but mini marshmallows can be used if stacked together.

What's the best way to draw the snowman faces?

Gel icing, melted chocolate, or edible food markers work best for clean, detailed faces.

How should we store melted snowman cookies?

Store in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature to prevent smudging.

Can we freeze melted snowman cookies?

We don't recommend freezing, as marshmallows can become sticky and lose their shape when thawed.

Other Christmas Cookies You'll Love

You can find the rest of our Christmas cookie recipe archives here.

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Ingredients

6 tbsp Meringue powder
8 cups powdered sugar
10 tbsp warmed water
1 ½ cups unsalted butter
1 ½ cups granulated sugar, + more for rolling
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
24 Marshmallows
Food Coloring Gels – Black, Orange
24 Strawberry Licorice Laces
¼ cup Sugar Crystals, optional

Method

To make the cookies, preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.
In a large bowl cream the butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs. Cream 3-5 minutes till light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture and beat till combined. Chill for at least an hour in the refrigerator.
Sprinkle sugar on the counter and roll the dough till about the thickness of a half dollar coin. Use a round cutter to cut out the cookies. Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking tray.
Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the edges were slightly brown and center is barely set. Cool completely before icing.
Beat all the royal icing ingredients until icing forms peaks (7-10 minutes). Let it sit for 15 – 30 minutes to let air bubbles rise naturally or gently stir the top to release air before dying.
Arrange cookies apart on parchment paper. Spread icing on each cookie allowing the icing to drip over edge to look like melting snow. Split the remaining icing into two piping bags, dye one orange and one black, set aside.
Add a marshmallow on each cookie while icing is still wet.
Decorate the cookies with the black royal icing for eyes and arms, orange royal icing for carrots noses, M&M's for buttons, and licorice for a scarf.
Sprinkle the cookies with sugar crystals for a snowy effect. Wait about 2 hours for the frosting to set and enjoy!