Build your own sweet snowmen in the warmth of your kitchen. These Snowflake Filled Snowman Cookies are made by stacking three cookies together. Each snowman has a clear candy belly so you can see the candy snowflakes inside.
I sent some snow in the form of these sweet Snowflake Filled Snowman Cookies to Los Angeles last week. Do you suppose anyone there felt a chill in the air when these little guys arrived?
To actually send snow would have been tricky, so I had to get creative and didn't have to look further than my sprinkle drawer. Don't laugh, but I actually have 5 sprinkle drawers. I often find inspiration there.
As I picked up a jar of Wilton Snowflake Sprinkles I was having fun watching the little candies swirl around the jar as I shook it. I visualized all the fun things you can do in the snow and being my favorite snow day activity is to build a snowman, I decided that's what I should do...build some snowmen using the snowflake sprinkles.
My first thought was to make a piñata style cookie with the snowflake sprinkles hiding inside the cookie, like my Christmas Minion Piñata Cookies, Apple Piñata Cookies, Sombrero Piñata Cookies, Ladies Hat Piñata Cookies Cookies, or Sunshine Piñata Cookies but I thought it would be more fun to actually see the snowflake sprinkles in the snowman's belly.
To fill my snowman cookies with snowflakes, I made pinata-style cookies, but added a fun twist. This time instead of hiding my candies inside the cookies, covered by a top cookie, I created a see-through candy window so the snowflakes appear as though they are in the snowman's belly.
The top cookies are made just like stained glass cookies where you melt candy in a hole inside a flat cookie.
To make the clear candy glass window in these snowmen cookies you can use Isomalt, as I did when I made my Googly Eyed Cookies you can make your own clear hard candy, or you can crush and melt clear mint candies.
What is isomalt?
- Isomalt is a sugar substitute that is often used to create sugar decorations because it melts easily and it resists crystallization much better than the boiled sugar. It's available in sticks and tiny crystals.
- It is a sugar-free product that doesn't promote tooth decay, has little or no impact on blood sugar, and won't stimulate the release of insulin, however, if does often bring about gastrointestinal problems.
- You can sprinkle the isomalt crystals into the hole in these cookies and they will come out nice and clear.
Use Crystal Clean Mints instead.
- When making these cookies I opted to use Arcor's Crystal Mints. They have a really nice mint flavor and can easily be crushed and melted in these snowman cookies.
- The candy glass window made using these mints won't be quite as clear as if you use isomalt, but you can definitely see the snowflakes through the candy window and they taste better.
Snowflake Filled Snowman Cookies Video
Watch the video tutorial to see how these are made then scroll down through the pictures and instructions below to see the step-by-step photo tutorial.
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How to make Snowflake filled Snowman Cookies
Supplies Needed to make these Snowman Cookies:
- Snowman Cookie Cutter
- I used a Wilton snowman cookie cutter, but unfortunately, it's no longer available. You can use any snowman cutter you like just as long as it's large enough to cut a circle out of its belly.
- round cookie cutter that fits so that you get about a ¼-inch wall around the hole in the bottom of the snowman
- I used a 1 ½-inch round cutter.
- food processor, meat mallet, or the back of a heavy pan to crush the candies
- parchment paper
- baking sheets
1. Cut out snowman cookies from sugar cookie dough.
- Make the cookie dough according to the recipe below.
- Roll dough out to 3/16th inch thickness.
- Cut out 28 snowmen, re-rolling dough as needed.
Tip for helping cut-out cookies keep their shape:
- Roll out the dough on a silicone baking mat, then remove the excess dough, and freeze the cut-out cookies on the mat for about 5 minutes until they become firm.
- Peel the cookies off the mat and set them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Your cookies will look like perfectly shaped snowmen if you do this.
- You can also roll the dough out on the parchment paper and do the same. It's a little more challenging because the paper will want to wrinkle. You can tape the edge down to your counter to help with that.
2. Cut holes for the candy window.
- Use the round cookie cutter to cut the bellies out of those 28 snowmen cookies.
- Re-roll the remaining dough and cut out 14 more snowmen. Do not cut the bellies out of those cookies.
- Refrigerate cookies for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Crush clear candies.
- Meanwhile, unwrap the mints and crush them into fine crumbs.
- I used my food processor, but you can put them in a heavy-duty zip-top bag and whack them with a meat mallet or the back of a heavy pan.
- You want to crush these to almost a powder so a food processor will be the easiest choice.
4. Bake the cookies and fill the bellies with candy.
- Pop one pan of cookies in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Remove and immediately sprinkle crushed mints into the holes in each cookie, filling each about ¾ full.
- Put the snowman cookies back in the oven for about 3 minutes.
- Keep an eye on the cookies. You just want the candy to melt.
- If left in the oven too long, the candy will bubble and then your candy windows will be full of bubbles.
- If needed, rotate the pan midway through this cycle so that the candy evenly melts in all the cookies.
- You'll want to fill 14 of your cookies with the mints and leave 14 with holes.
5. Bake.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely before removing them from the baking sheet.
- Bake the remaining cookies for 11-13 minutes.
- You don't want them to brown, but they should look set.
6. Decorate snowman cookies.
- Heat the Bright White Candy Melts on high in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir, 30 seconds, stir, then 15-second increments, stirring after each until melted.
- Pour candy melts into a squeeze bottle with a small opening. I use a Squeezit Mold painter which comes with pastry tips and I use a round tip with a small opening (a #3 pastry tip.)
- Pipe white chocolate over the head of a snowman cookie with a candy belly. Immediately add two black pearl eyes and one orange candy-coated sunflower seed nose.
- Next, pipe on the middle snowball, adding 3 black pearls.
- If you don't want to use sugar pearls you can pipe the black dots on using either black candy melts or dark cocoa candy melts.
- Then pipe a thick line around the bottom snowball.
- NOTE: For shiny cookies, decorate one cookie at a time, then pop it in the freezer for 3-5 minutes.
7. Assemble the cookies and fill them with snowflake sprinkles.
- Pipe some white candy melts on the backside of a cookie with a hole in it. Set it on top of a solid cookie. Sprinkle snowflakes in the hole.
- Pipe some candy melts on the backside of a cookie with the candy belly, Set it over the snowflake-filled cookie.
- Allow the cookies to dry for 10 minutes before moving.
How to store these cookies.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
- Metal cookie tins keep your cookies freshest longest, about 2 weeks.
- Rubbermaid or Tupperware will work well too and should last a little over a week.
- If you store the cookies in zip-top bags, they will keep for 5-7 days.
If you prefer, you can decorate your cookies using royal icing. I just like working with candy melts or chocolate better.
You can find supplies needed to create this recipe on Amazon. I earn a small commission when you use the sales links in this post to make a purchase at no extra cost to you.
I found my Wilton Two Piece Snowman Cutter at Kroger this year (2014) but couldn't find it on Amazon, so I added a link to a similar cutter. The original plastic cutter came with a top hat attached to the snowman. Any snowman cutter should work for this project.
I also added a link to some cute snowman cookie boxes that would be perfect for these cookies.
4.75" Primitive Tinplate Sn...Shop on Amazon
Cambie - Arcor Crystal Mint...Shop on Amazon
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Printable Recipe
- 4 - 4 ¼ cups all purpose flour; I start with 4 cups, then add more if needed
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup butter, softened slightly
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon almond or peppermint extract
- 15-20 clear mint candies; I used Arcor candies, crushed to a fine powder
- 1 bag Wilton Bright White Candy Melts
- 14 orange candy-coated sunflower seeds
- 70 black sugar pearls
- 1 jar Wilton Snowflake Sprinkles
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Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl.
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Set aside.
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Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
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Stir in eggs, vanilla, and almond extract.
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Add dry ingredients and stir just until it's mixed in.
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Roll out dough to 3/16 of an inch. Cut 28 snowman cookies.
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Cut circles out of 14 of those cookies.
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Roll remaining dough out to 1/16 of an inch thickness.
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Cut out 14 more snowmen.
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Freeze cookies for 30 minutes until firm.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
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Set chilled cookies on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
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Bake the whole cookies and 14 of the cookies with holes for 11-14 minutes until set.
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Bake the remaining trays of 14 cookies with holes for 10 minutes.
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Remove and spoon in the crushed candy filling the hole ¾'s full.
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Return to oven and melt for about 3 minutes.
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Allow all cookies to cool completely.
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Decorate the candy belly cookies using white candy melts, sunflower seeds, and black sugar pearls.
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Freeze for a few minutes until the candy melts harden.
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Attach one cookie with a hole to a whole cookie using candy melts.
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Fill the hole with candy sprinkles.
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Attach a decorated snowman cookie on top using candy melts.
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Let dry.
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Repeat.
This post was originally published on December 16, 2014.
You can package each snowman cookie in its own clear cellophane bag then snuggle them down into a festive box or tin to give as Christmas gifts.
This is how my snowmen traveled to Los Angeles.
Be sure to check out all my fun Christmas Recipes and all these fun 3-D Pinata Style Cookies...
Mason Jar Cookies with Candy Glass
Christmas Present Cookies filled with candy
3D Candy Filled Graduation Cap Cookies
- Irresistible Sweets with Dixie Crystals® - July 13, 2024
- How to make peanut butter? - February 15, 2024
- OREO Penguins - December 20, 2023
Connie Curley
These cookies take patience but so worth it. Yummy, delicious & adorable. So cute my grandchildren didn't want to eat them... until I told them there were more. 🥰😋😘
Beth Klosterboer
Hi Connie, I am so happy to hear how much you and your grandchildren enjoyed their snowman cookies. I hope you have fun making more of my festive recipes.
jan
Hi,
I know it's not christmas time anymore but the kids will still love these for easter. Is it possible to make the pastry and freeze it to use later on? Thanks so much for your help and great recipe!
Beth Klosterboer
Hi Jan, You can make the cookie dough and freeze it in a zip-top bag for up to 3 months. To keep it fresh for more than a month, I like to double bag the dough. I hope you have fun making cookies for Easter.
Jan
Thank you for your reply! We will be trying these in a different shape 🙂
Nikki
Love these, tried recipe last night. Not making snowman making Santa with circle cut out belly. My dough was a little tuff tried to add a little more soft butter and splash of whole milk.
It wasn’t rolling out very well, so tried to chill it for a little that seemed to help.
I’m gonna try again using same dough any suggestions for me?
Beth Klosterboer
Hi Nikki,
I love the idea of making Santa's with a cut-out belly. I'd love to see pictures when you are done! If your dough is too stiff, there is too much flour in it. It's very frustrating, but measuring cups are not all the same. I've tested many different cups and have found that some can measure up to a tablespoon more. If you have a scale, you can measure out 128 grams or 4.5 ounces for every cup of flour. If you do not, be sure to spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then scrape across the cup to remove any excess. If you dip your measuring cup into the flour and simply scoop out the flour, you can compact the flour thereby adding too much to the dough. Give that a try and let me know how your next batch of dough turns out.
Kathy
Your instructions were pretty thorough. I was able to make the cookies with a similar cookie cutter. Thank you for the great tutorial. The hardest part for me was using the melts to create the snowman details. I had fun making them and hopefully the family will have fun eating them.
Beth
I'm so glad to hear you had fun making these cute snowman cookies and I hope your family loves them! 🙂
Anastasia
Hello! Can’t find clear candy. What can I use instead? Thank you
Beth
Hi Anastasia, You can use Isolmalt or you can make your own homemade candy. The trick with using homemade hard candy is keeping it from caramelizing and turning brown. Just watch it closely if you make your own.
ggrizzy
hi! your cookies are awesome! i tried it and it turned out ok. only problem is, after a few days, the candy started to melt (i used fox hard candy for the window). would it be better if i used isomalt? (i live in a place where it’s quite humid😞)
Beth
I'm glad the cookies turned out well for you. I'm not exactly sure what Fox hard candy is so it's hard for me to tell exactly what happened. I do know that if boiled sugar is not brought up to the correct hard crack temperature of 154 °C (309 °F) it can become sticky over time. That is why many people who make hard tack candy cover it in powdered sugar. Isomalt is a bit more forgiving but I have also made these types of cookies using clear mint hard candies that I melted. You can see that recipe here - https://hungryhappenings.com/mason-jar-cookies-with-candy-glass/
Sharon Schroeter
Oh Beth, your Snowflake Filled Snowman Cookies are so unique. I know my grandkids would go crazy for them. Would it be possible to freeze the dough? I don't have big blocks of time & if I could do parts, it would help. I wanted to do your Snowmen for Christmas, but never had enough time. I thought maybe I could do something similar with hearts for Valentines day?
I made your Frosty Snowman Pretzel Heads for their cookie exchange at school--they were the first ones to disappear!
You are amazing--constantly coming up with new & fun ideas!
Thank you
Beth
Hi Sharon, I'm so happy to hear you plan to make a version of these cookies. Snowmen cookies will make a great treat all winter long. You can definitely freeze this dough. I do it all the time. Just flatten it out and place it in a large zip top bag. I usually double bag it if I don't have a freezer bag. Then just thaw it out either in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter until it's soft enough to roll.
I'm so glad your Snowman Pretzels were a huge hit at the cookie exchange. I actually showed up at an event to find someone had made them too.
Maria
Hi, these are fantastic! I'll be making these for all the kids in my family this year and I'd like to get them done early. Can they be frozen successfully, even with the melted mint windows and sprinkles? Thank you!
Beth
Hi Maria, I am so happy to hear you plan to make these snowman cookies. I have not tried to freeze them but do believe you might have a few issues if you do. Not only would you have the possibility of the candy cracking but there is a definite chance that the candy window would get sticky or even foggy if frozen. Sometimes sprinkles lose their color once frozen so the snowflakes might not look great either. And the candy melts would also become sticky.
My suggestion would be to make the cookies and bake them then freeze just the cookie part. Then thaw them out on a day you have time to decorate. Then preheat your oven and put a baking sheet in the hot oven for 10 minutes. Pull it out and set the cookies with the holes in them on the pan, sprinkle on the candy, then put the pan back in the oven to melt the candy. It may take a bit longer being the edge of the cookies won't be hot.
Then you can get them decorated. I know this isn't the same as getting them all done ahead of time, but you'd be more than half way there by baking the cookies ahead of time.
Have fun! I hope the kids love them. 🙂
Cynthia Sullivan
CAN YOU USE A REGULAR SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE LIKE ETHYL'S SUGAR COOKIES FOR THE SNOWMAN AND PRESENT COOKIES? THANKS
Beth
Cynthia, you need to make sure you are using a sugar cookie that wont' spread. I am not familiar with Ethyl's Sugar Cookies so I do not know whether this will work or not. If the cookies hold their shape well then you can definitely use it .
Brian Pittman
I love these cookies. These are very cute. You're very creative.
Beth
Thank you so much, Brian!
Marvin
I am retired now and just started cooking. I was mechanic by trade and want to just follow instructions, These snowman cookies looks like a challenge but, I am willing to try. All the instructions look very clear except for that window in the snowman bottom. HOW do you make that little candy window? The instructions may be in there but, not clear to me. Thanks for your help.
Beth
I ground up crystal clear mints into a fine powder then filled the holes in the cookies (that have been baked for 10 minutes) with the powder then popped the cookies back in the oven for about 3 minutes until the candy melts. If you watch the new video you can see this process in action. I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any more questions.
Natalie
What a cute and fun idea for cookies for holiday season! So creative and just perfectly made ♥
Beth
Thank you so much Natalie!