Melted Snowman Cookies

5 from 3 votes

Melted Snowman Cookies are a cute and tasty winter treat! Peanut butter cookies topped with a peanut butter cup, melted white chocolate, and candy decorations bring these adorable snowmen to life.

Prep Time20

Cook Time8

Total Time28

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: melted snowman cookies

Servings: large cookies

Author: Chelsea Lords

Cost: $9.52

Equipment

Ingredients

Cookies (Or Use Store-Bought Cookies Instead!)

16 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 cup, melted
1 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
1 cup granulated sugar plus some extra for rolling cookie dough balls
1 cup creamy peanut butter see note 1
1/8 teaspoon almond extract optional -- see note 2
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-2/3 cup all-purpose flour see note 3

Decorating

12 ounces miniature peanut butter cups 1 bag, unwrapped
8 ounces mini peanut butter cups 1 bag; these are even smaller than the miniature ones; they come in a bag unwrapped.
Orange jimmies sprinkles
Miniature chocolate chips
1 (11-ounce) bag white chocolate chips see note 4

US - Metric

Instructions

Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone liner and set it aside.
In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the butter until it’s melted. Set aside to cool back to room temperature (hot butter will melt sugars and cause greasy cookies). Once at room temperature, use a spatula to scrape every bit of butter into a large bowl and add brown and granulated sugar. Mix with a large whisk until smooth.
Add peanut butter, almond extract (if using), and vanilla extract. Mix until combined. Add in 1 egg and mix just until ingredients are incorporated, then add the other egg. Continue mixing until the ingredients are just incorporated. Add baking soda and salt and mix until just incorporated. Add flour and again mix until just incorporated. Don’t overmix.
Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 325°F. Scoop the cookie dough and roll into large balls that are each 3 tablespoons in size (don’t make these smaller) and if desired, roll dough balls in some extra granulated sugar. Place dough balls on a lined sheet pan—6 cookies at a time, leaving ample room for spreading.
Bake for 8–14 minutes. Ever so slightly underbaking the cookies will keep them soft and chewy. (They also bake a bit more on the cookie sheet when removed from the oven). Be careful to not overbake these cookies!
Remove the cookies and allow them to cool on the sheet pan 5 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.
When the cookies are almost completely cooled, but not all the way, gently press an unwrapped miniature peanut butter cup into the center of the cookies. Let the cookies finish cooling completely. (If the cookies are fully cool, it’s fine, just attach the Reese’s with melted white chocolate.)
Once the cookies are completely cooled (you can chill them if you’re in a warm kitchen), melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave. Microwave the chips (don’t add oil or anything) in bursts of 20 seconds, stirring between each burst for 10 seconds until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Using a small spoon, spoon white chocolate over the miniature peanut butter cup. Tap the cookie on the counter a few times, then add another spoonful of white chocolate on top if needed. Again, tap the cookie a few times to get the white chocolate to spread out smoothly.
Run a very sharp serrated knife under very hot water. Dry and cut off the base of a miniature peanut butter cup. Place some of the melted white chocolate on the bottom of a mini peanut butter cup and attach it to the cut miniature cup. Repeat the process to make more snowman hats.
Immediately press in the “hat” (see above step) to the top of the “head” of the snowman, then add 2 mini chocolate chips (placed upside down) below the hat and 1 orange sprinkle below the chocolate chip eyes (see note 5). Repeat with remaining cookies. Allow them to harden at room temperature.

Video

Notes

Note 1: I love and highly recommend Skippy® Creamy Peanut Butter for these cookies (not sponsored). I don’t recommend a natural peanut butter that needs stirring.

Note 2: Almond extract is completely optional; almond extract adds an additional nutty flavor to the cookies if you’d like that. If you have some add it in, but it’s not essential.

Note 3: Measuring flour can vary widely from person to person and is usually the culprit for cookies not working out. If you have a food scale, use that instead. 385 grams is perfect for this recipe!

Note 4: Use good, high-quality chocolate chips (I love Ghiradelli®) or white chocolate melting wafers/baking bars for best results. Let the chocolate slightly cool before spooning it on top of the peanut butter cup. Instead of touching the white chocolate, tap the entire cookie on the table to smooth the chocolate in an even layer. Tapping also helps the white chocolate to spread into an irregular “melted snow” look.

Note 5: White chocolate has a tendency to set up fast, so you’ll want to add the hat, eyes, and nose as quickly as possible. Decorate 1 cookie at a time instead of adding decorations in batches.

Storage: Keep cookies in a sealed container at room temp for up to 5 days. To freeze, drop dough balls onto a sheet pan and freeze until solid. Move to a sealed container or bag and freeze for 3 months. Bake straight from the freezer, adding a few minutes to the bake time.

Nutrition