Stacked snowman cookies are easy for kids to make for the holidays! Round sugar cookies frosted and stacked with eyes, carrot nose, mouth, and buttons!
You might also like our Christmas sugar cookies (with tips and tricks for decorating), our gingerbread cookie boxes, or our bakery style sugar cookies.
Watch our step by step video!
If you’re looking for a fun baking activity to do with the kids this holiday season, these stacked snowman sugar cookies totally fit the bill. They are easy to bake, easy to frost, and easy to decorate! The idea for these cute snowman cookies was inspired by Taste of Home and their chocolate version that was decorated with royal icing and brushed food coloring.
Stacked Snowman Cookies
Snowman cookies start out with a sugar cookie base. You can use whatever kind of sugar cookie dough you want, but my recipe is pretty darn good and my most popular recipe this time of year. The cookies are bakery-style soft and loaded with vanilla and almond extract flavoring.
Once baked and cooled, the cookies are frosted, stacked, then decorated! I used snowman sprinkles to make decorating easy, but frosting and piping bags work well too.
DOES SUGAR COOKIE DOUGH NEED TO BE REFRIGERATED?
Some recipes call for refrigeration, but this one doesn’t. If you’d like to make it ahead of time you can wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and then use it later, but this is a great last-minute recipe because refrigeration is not necessary.
HOW LONG WILL these snowman SUGAR COOKIES LAST?
These will stay fresh for about 3 days, but you can freeze them (frosted or unfrosted) for months. The black eyes and buttons will stay fresh for 3 days before the color starts to run a bit. Using back frosting is another option, but these sprinkles are easier for kids.
How fun would a platter of these be at a holiday party?
Snowman Sugar Cookie Recipe
Scroll down for a printable version
Cookie Dough Ingredients
- 1 c. butter softened
- 1/2 c. shortening
- 1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 tsp. almond extract
- 4 c. all-purpose flour
- 1/2 c. cornstarch
- 2 tsp. baking powder
Frosting Ingredients
- 1/2 cup softened butter
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3-4 Tbsp. milk
Sprinkles
- snowman eyes, nose, and buttons sprinkles
- chocolate sprinkles for mouth (or use more black sugar ball sprinkles)
These are the round cookie cutters (biscuit cutters) that I used.
In a large mixing bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer) combine butter, shortening, and sugar. Beat until fluffy. Turn the electric mixer down and add egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Add baking powder. Stir in flour* and cornstarch and mix until soft dough forms.
Lightly flour your working surface and shape the dough into a large ball. Roll the dough out to desired thickness using a rolling pin (I usually do 1/4- 3/8″) and use a circle cookie cutter to cut into 3 different sizes of round sugar cookies. For reference, I used a 3″, 2″, and 1 1/4″ cutter.
Carefully transfer cut-out cookie shapes with a spatula to a baking sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cookies will be soft. Let sit on a baking sheet for 5 minutes before carefully moving to a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.
Whisk frosting ingredients together and spread over cookies. Stack a large, medium, and small frosted sugar cookie to create a snowman.
Add candy and sprinkle eyes, nose, mouth, and buttons. The frosting will set slightly making these cookies easy to serve on a platter.
Note: you can use frosting and piping tips to create the details on the cookies instead of sprinkles if you’d like.
Store cookies at room temperature, and cover the baking sheet in plastic (once the frosting is set up a bit) to keep cookies fresh.
Stacked Snowman Sugar Cookies Recip
Stacked Snowman Cookies
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Dough
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon almond extract
- 4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup corn starch
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3-4 Tbsp. milk
Instructions
Cookies
- In a large mixing bowl combine butter, shortening and sugar. Beat until fluffy. Turn mixer down and add egg, vanilla and almond extract. Add baking powder. Add flour* and cornstarch and mix thoroughly. *Start with 3 1/2 cups of flour, and if the dough seems too soft add the last 1/2 cup of flour.
- Lightly flour your working surface and shape dough into a large ball.
- No refrigeration necessary.
- Roll dough out to desired thickness using a rolling pin (I usually do 1/4- 3/8″) and cut out with round cookie cutters in 3 sizes. Carefully transfer cut out cookie shapes with a spatula to a baking sheet.
- Bake on baking sheets at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cookies will be soft. Let sit on baking sheet for 5 minutes before carefully moving to a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.
Buttercream Frosting
- Whisk frosting ingredients and spread over cookies. Stack a large, medium and small cookie on top of eachother to create a snowman.
- Add candy and sprinkles for eyes, nose, mouth, and buttons.
Notes
Nutrition
WHY DO YOU USE A COMBINATION OF CORNSTARCH AND FLOUR FOR SUGAR COOKIES?
Corn starch softens the dough making it feel like a cloud. It also makes for a softer sugar cookie.
WHY DO YOU USE BOTH BUTTER AND SHORTENING FOR SUGAR COOKIES?
I like using both for flavor (butter) and texture (shortening).
Welcome! I'm Brandy, mother to 5 darling kiddos and a cute black lab named Toby. My husband is in the Coast Guard so we've lived all over the place, turning each house into a home. I love baking, sewing, making cute things with my kids, and sharing what I've learned with all of you!
Hi! Should we use salted or unsalted butter for both the cookies and frosting?
I use salted butter for everything. 🙂