Now is the winter of my discontent.* Mild temperatures are nice and all, but I want SNOW. I want sledding and snowmen and rosy cheeks and warm mugs of hot chocolate drunk slowly while reading the New York Times Style Section (don't judge) and watching the snow fall outside my window. Alas, it is not to be. And given that for the first time in recent history I've made it through the winter without losing a pair of boots to salt stains and water damage, I guess I should be thankful. But, well.... I'm not. I still want snow. Luckily these adorable melting snowman cookies take me back to the magical times of yesteryear aka last year when I knew what being cold felt like. I made them for a party and they were a HUGE success. And quite tasty, if I do say so myself.
Melting Snowman Cookies
Ingredients:
Make the royal icing by beating 4 cups of confectioners sugar, 3 tablespoons meringue powder, and 6 tablespoons of warm water until stiff peaks form. This will take about 10 minutes. Transfer half of the icing into a bowl and add 1/2 teaspoon of water at a time until the icing get slightly runny.
Place a piece of tinfoil or parchment paper on a tray, and arrange the cookies on top. Spoon some of the runny royal icing onto each cookie and spread it around with the back of the spoon, allowing the icing to drip over the edge of the cookie.
Before the icing fully sets, grease a plate with butter or shortening. Place several marshmallows on the plate and microwave for approximately 20 seconds, stopping the microwave before the marshmallows double in size. With well-greased fingers to avoid stickiness, smoosh a marshmallow onto each cookie to make the "head." Repeat until each snowman has its own little mushy face.
Now comes the fun part- decorate however you wish! I used mini chocolate chips for buttons and then put food coloring in the remaining icing and piped scarves, bows and hats onto my snowmen. I used Wilton's cookie icing in orange and black for the faces and hands (if you do this, do NOT microwave the icing for the full time suggested on the bottle- it will be too runny. I had several deformed, sinister-looking snowmen as proof of that fact, but my family ate them before they could be photographed.)
*This reference is not as random as it may seem. I saw Richard III at BAM last week and it was AMAZING. A very long production (3.5 hours), but the actors were fantastic, the set production was striking, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Plus, Kevin Spacey is badass. Go see it if you have the chance!
- sugar cookie dough (use your favorite recipe)
- marshmallows
- royal icing (confectioners sugar, meringue powder, warm water)
- food coloring or premade cookie icing
- mini chocolate chips
Make the royal icing by beating 4 cups of confectioners sugar, 3 tablespoons meringue powder, and 6 tablespoons of warm water until stiff peaks form. This will take about 10 minutes. Transfer half of the icing into a bowl and add 1/2 teaspoon of water at a time until the icing get slightly runny.
Place a piece of tinfoil or parchment paper on a tray, and arrange the cookies on top. Spoon some of the runny royal icing onto each cookie and spread it around with the back of the spoon, allowing the icing to drip over the edge of the cookie.
Before the icing fully sets, grease a plate with butter or shortening. Place several marshmallows on the plate and microwave for approximately 20 seconds, stopping the microwave before the marshmallows double in size. With well-greased fingers to avoid stickiness, smoosh a marshmallow onto each cookie to make the "head." Repeat until each snowman has its own little mushy face.
Now comes the fun part- decorate however you wish! I used mini chocolate chips for buttons and then put food coloring in the remaining icing and piped scarves, bows and hats onto my snowmen. I used Wilton's cookie icing in orange and black for the faces and hands (if you do this, do NOT microwave the icing for the full time suggested on the bottle- it will be too runny. I had several deformed, sinister-looking snowmen as proof of that fact, but my family ate them before they could be photographed.)
*This reference is not as random as it may seem. I saw Richard III at BAM last week and it was AMAZING. A very long production (3.5 hours), but the actors were fantastic, the set production was striking, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Plus, Kevin Spacey is badass. Go see it if you have the chance!
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