Snowman Sugar Cookies (Starbucks Copycat Recipe)
Indulge in homemade joy with these Starbucks snowman cookies! Soft and festive, this copycat recipe brings the magic of the season to your kitchen.
These adorable snowman cookies are totally fun to make during the holiday season! I’m a huge fan of Starbucks, the coffee, the baristas and the bakery style treats. So creating cute Starbucks snowman cookies has been at the top of my list for a while now.
I love the classic version of the snowman shapes with the red scarf and chocolate snowman hat. Starbucks has recently come out with snowman shortbread cookies dressed up in white-chocolaty icing with ear muffs that are super cute too!
Too busy to make this right away? Pin it for later! Pin this easy recipe to your favorite board on Pinterest and it will be waiting there when you’re ready.
Today I’m sharing how easy it is to make homemade cookies, it’s a great way to get into the holiday spirit!
Sugar cookie dough is super versatile and easy to make with only a handful of ingredients from the grocery store. You will need simple ingredients like unsalted butter, granulated sugar and all purpose flour.
How darling are these adorable snowmen cookies?! These Christmas cookies are great for baking exchanges and gift wrapping in boxes or bags because, once dry, they are easy to store flat.
Be sure to set aside enough time to decorate the cookies, you may even want to spread it out over a few days. When adding details it’s important to wait until the layer of flooded icing is completely dry otherwise the icing may crack and the colors will bleed.
Before you get started make sure that you have everything that you need to make and decorate these cookies. I found our cookie cutters and icing bottles at Michaels but you can also order them from Amazon below.
This post contains affiliate links.
Sugar cookie supplies:
- KitchenAid Stand Mixer
- Baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Rolling pin
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Snowman cookie cutter
- Icing bottles
- Wire cooling rack
- Cookie scribe or toothpick
- Food writer
This is my grandma’s classic sugar cookie recipe – time tested and delicious. The only thing that I have changed over the years is swapped out shortening for butter.
Snowman cookie recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 4 Tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Tip: Pre-made sugar cookie dough can be used to create these cookies as well. Simply add 1/4 cup of flour to the dough, combine well and roll as directed. You could also use premade cookies and simply decorate them with your own royal icing.
Directions:
1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine dry ingredients. Add butter, egg, milk and extract. Mix on medium speed until a soft dough forms.
3. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least one hour. This helps to prevent the dough from spreading when baked.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
5. Dust your surface with flour and use a rolling pin to roll the dough to 1/4″ thickness on the floured surface.
6. Use cookie cutter to cut snowman shapes from the dough. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet.
7. Bake until the cookies are lightly brown around the edges, about 7 minutes.
8. Place the cookies on a wire rack to cool.
This recipe will make about 30 large snowman cookies.
Use my Easy Royal Icing Recipe to make your own icing for these cookies! You will need orange, brown, black, red and white royal icing that has been tinted with food coloring. You will also need white candy sprinkles for the scarf.
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups confectioners powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsp meringue powder
- 8-12 Tbsp room temperature water
- 1 tsp clear vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- Gel food coloring
Instructions:
1. In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, combine sugar, cream of tartar and meringue powder.
2. Add 8 tablespoons of water, the vanilla and beat for 1 minute on low.
3. Continue to add water one tablespoon at a time until the icing slowly drizzles from the whisk when lifted.
4. Separate the icing into small bowls and add gel food coloring to reach the desired color.
5. Mix well and pour into icing bottles.*
* I prefer to use icing bottles over a piping bag because I find them easier to handle.
My royal icing tips:
- If the icing is too hard, add more water one drop at a time.
- If the icing is too soft, add more powdered sugar one teaspoon at a time.
- Icing can be stored at room temperature in a an airtight container for up to two weeks.
- To use, mix the royal icing with a hand mixer so that it becomes smooth and shiny again.
- Flood consistency is reached when a spoonful dropped onto a flat surface takes 10 – 15 seconds to become completely smooth.
These instructions will show you how to decorate a Starbucks snowman cookie like these ones. You can really get creative though and have fun with the process! There is no right or wrong way to decorate pretty holiday cookies.
How to decorate these adorable cookies:
1. Outline the cookie with white icing, leaving the hat area un-iced. Flood the outline with white icing. Allow that to dry (about 30 minutes) before flooding the remaining area with icing.
2. When the white icing is completely dry add snowman details using the same technique. Brown hat, red scarf, orange nose, black eyes etc.
3. Before the red icing dries, sprinkle with white non-periels (sprinkles).
These adorable Starbucks snowman cookies turned out to be simply darling! Far easier to create than you would think, all you need is a little patience and practise. These soft sugar cookies make a delicious treat during the Christmas season!
Recipe notes:
Allow the icing to completely harden for at least four hours before packaging or storing the cookies. You can cover them in plastic wrap or place them in a single layer between a piece of parchment paper.
These look amazing wrapped in cellophane or packed up in a cookie box.
If you love these Starbucks snowman cookies, please share them on Facebook or Pinterest so that others can enjoy them too!
Starbucks Snowman Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup butter room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 4 Tbsp milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- 1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- 2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, combine dry ingredients. Add butter, egg, milk and extract. Mix on medium speed until a soft dough forms.
- 3. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least one hour. This helps to prevent the dough from spreading when baked.
- 4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- 5. Dust your surface with flour and use a rolling pin to roll the dough to 1/4" thickness on the floured surface.
- 6. Use cookie cutter to cut snowman shapes from the dough. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet.
- 7. Bake until the cookies are lightly brown around the edges, about 7 minutes.
- 8. Place the cookies on a wire rack to cool.
Nutrition
