easy vanilla orange snowman cookies
These things are so cute I just want to eat them up. Isn’t that what people say about babies too? That’s really disturbing.
Could not waltz through the season of holly and jolly without a precious cutout sugar cookie, but I couldn’t justify merely any ole white sugar and butter dough. Enter these Easy Vanilla Orange Snowman Cookies. No, they don’t resemble yellow snow at all, but contain a surprising kick of citrus in each bite thanks to fresh orange zest and a hint of orange liqueur. Last year we enjoyed Vanilla Mint Snowflakes, so why not make some snowmen to frolic around in the snowflakes?
These cookies are soft, melt in your mouth, a level above ordinary, and so damn adorable you actually might not even want to eat them. Please do, though, for the reasons listed adjacent.
Icing Artist of the Year
I encourage all levels and abilities of artist to embark on the quest of Cookie Decorating: An Unexpected Journey. While I’m pretty creative in many facets, my forte is certainly not the pristine and gentle hand required of next-level cookie art. That’s the thing, though. Cutouts should be fun, and flawed, but they should also taste like magic.
Before the designing, though, comes the dough. The dough is a great, soft sugar cookie ball hinted with orange, from zest and liqueur, and ginger. The liqueur is optional, but adds a depth of citrus zest alone doesn’t quite reach. They’ll still be fantastic though either way.
I always sift sugar with citrus zests because the tiny potent particles incorporate so much better into the dough. Toss the orange zest with the sugar, then beat the combo with softened butter until creamy. Beat in an egg, then some vanilla extract.
For the dry ingredients, whisk flour, baking soda, ginger, and salt. Whip into the wet ingredients, in two turns, until just combined. If the dough seems too sticky, add in another tablespoon or two of flour until a nice cohesive ball forms.
Aggressively flour a flat work surface and a rolling pin. Divide the dough in half and roll into a 1/4 inch thick square or rectangle. Or trapezoid. I don’t care. Cut out snowman shapes with a cookie cutter and lay on parchment lined baking sheets with a bit of space between. These cookies don’t spread much. Freeze the sheets for 15 minutes to harden up the cookies. Repeat with remaining cookie dough. I got around 30 cookies from the whole batch!
Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
Move the cookies to the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350. The cookies will puff up a touch, but not enough to render them frightening caricatures of snowmen wrought from the nightmares of three year olds. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Now for the joy of the season: decorating! Whip up an easy icing of powdered sugar, vanilla, maple syrup, and a bit of milk to thin. Scoop out 1/4 cup of the icing and color this small segment orange. I used a plant-based dye and needed 8 drops of yellow and 1 of red to achieve the orange hue I wanted.
In a microwave safe bowl, melt some dark chocolate until smooth. You can either use a piping bag with a thin tip or a quart freezer bag with a thin bit cut off the tip as your chocolate-carrying vessel.
Spoon and spread vanilla icing over the cooled snowmen. My cutouts had hats thanks to this cookie cutter, so I halted my icing spread at the implied brim and sprinkled with some white glitter. Let the icing harden for about 5 minutes. Using your weapon of choice, pipe on the hats (if you have hats), eyes, mouths, and buttons. Laugh at the obscenity of your snowman’s expressions. I ended up with everything from presentably happy dude to grumpy German man. Finish with a small stroke of orange icing for the nose. I used a toothpick.
Let the decorations solidify for 15-20 minutes before storing the snowmen. I recommend a big enough container to let them hang in one layer. If you have room in the fridge, set them in there to prevent humidity from melting any of the decoration.
A couple days ago, we had a beautiful bar cart delivered and the guys set up the whole ordeal for us. I gave J a pair of the cookies to hand out to the deliverymen, and the recipient sounded so delighted at the offering that it really just made me smile the rest of the night. Gifting these little friends in a cookie box, or just as random handouts, is sure to inspire happiness. How could anyone resist those faces, even if they’re a bit, ah, misshapen?
Tried this recipe out? Leave a comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons butter, softened
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 tbsp orange zest
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 tbsp orange liqueur
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
vanilla glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- milk to thin, as needed
- orange food dye
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Sift the orange zest into the sugar until evenly distributed. In a large bowl, cream the orange sugar with the butter for 2-3 minutes until fluffy. Whip in the egg, then beat in the orange liqueur and vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, baking soda, and salt. In two turns, beat into the wet ingredients. If the dough seems too sticky and unable to be rolled out, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time until a cohesive ball forms.
- Generously flour a flat work surface and a rolling pin. Divide the dough in half and roll one half into a 1/4 inch thick rectangle. Using a 4 inch snowman cutter, cut out snowman shapes and set onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with all remaining dough.
- Set the baking sheets in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to harden. Remove and bake 8-10 minutes until lightly golden on the edges. Cool 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the icing, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon at a time of milk until spreadable. Remove 1/4 cup of the icing and, using orange food dye or a combination of yellow and red, color the icing orange. My choice dye needed 8 drops of yellow and 1 drop of red to create the color I wanted.
- In a microwave safe dish, melt the chocolate chips until smooth.
- Spoon the white icing onto the cooled cookies. Let harden. Scoop the chocolate into a piping bag with a thin attachment, or snip the corner off a quart sized freezer bag, and draw on the hats, eyes, mouth, and buttons. Use a toothpick to draw the noses. Let harden. Eat right away, or store in a single layer in the fridge for up to 5 days.
