Melted Snowman Cookies turn soft peanut butter cookies into adorable little snowmen with creamy white chocolate “snow” and mini peanut butter cup heads for the cutest, tastiest winter treat.
Author’s Notes
How Peanut Butter Cups Saved the Snowmen!
Melted Snowman Cookies aren’t new to the internet, but I’m excited to share my take! If you love chocolate and peanut butter, this one really delivers!
Most versions use halved marshmallows for the snowman’s head, but they harden fast and honestly don’t taste that great. I made them last year and while they were cute, they weren’t all that delicious.
So I switched things up and used mini peanut butter cups instead. They stay soft, taste amazing, and melt right into the peanut butter cookie base. You can even use my Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie if you want a chocolate chip base instead.
Ingredients In Melted Snowman Cookies
| Ingredient | Helpful Tip |
|---|---|
| Peanut butter cookies (homemade or storebought) | Use thick, soft cookies so the “snow” spreads well and the peanut butter cup stays put. |
| Miniature peanut butter cups | These make the cutest snowman heads! Be sure to get the miniature ones not the “minis” |
| Reese’s Minis | Stack on top of the larger cups for an easy little snowman hat. |
| White chocolate chips | Gently spoon on top of the cookie and then tap the cookie on the counter to help the “snow” spread into a smooth, melty look. |
| Mini chocolate chips and orange sprinkles | Add the eyes and nose while the white chocolate is still soft so they stick easily. |
Storage
Melted Snowman Cookies Storage
- Store Cookies: Store cookies in a sealed container at room temp for up to 3 days.
- Freeze Dough: Place formed dough balls onto a sheet pan and freeze until solid. Move to a sealed container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Bake from Frozen: Bake straight from the freezer. Bake a few mins longer until edges are set and centers are soft.
More Fun Holiday Treats:
Christmas
Peppermint Bark Recipe
Quick And Easy
Christmas Brownies
Desserts
Peppermint Fudge Recipe
Desserts
Santa Cookies
Melted Snowman Cookies
Melted Snowman Cookies layer peanut butter cookies, mini peanut butter cups, and creamy white chocolate for a festive cookie that somehow tastes even better than it looks!
Video
Equipment
- Large sheet pan (15" x 21")
- Parchment paper or silicone baking mat
Ingredients
Cookies (Or Use Store-Bought Cookies Instead!)
- 16 tablespoons unsalted butter melted (1 cup)
- 1 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar plus extra for rolling cookie dough balls
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter see note 1
- 1/8 teaspoon almond extract optional
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2-2/3 cup all-purpose flour see note 2
Decorating
- 12 ounces Miniature Reese’s Cups unwrapped
- 8 ounces Reese’s minis
- Orange jimmies sprinkles
- mini chocolate chips
- 1 (11-ounce) bag white chocolate chips see note 3
Instructions
- Line a large sheet pan with parchment or a silicone mat. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl and let it cool to room temperature. (Warm butter will melt the sugars and cause greasy cookies.) Scrape the cooled butter into a large bowl. Add both sugars and whisk until smooth. Add peanut butter, almond extract (if using), and vanilla. Whisk to combine. Mix in one egg until incorporated, then mix in the second egg. Whisk well until mixture is creamy.
- Add baking soda and salt; whisk to combine. Add flour and swap to hand mixers. Mix until the dough just comes together. Cover and chill the dough for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Scoop dough into 3-tablespoon balls. Roll in granulated sugar (if desired). Place 6 cookies per sheet, leaving plenty of room to spread. Bake for 8 to 14 minutes. Slightly underbaking keeps them soft and chewy. Let cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
- When cookies are mostly cool (but still a tiny bit warm), press a miniature peanut butter cup just above the center of the cookie. (If cookies are fully cool, attach the peanut butter cup with a dab of melted white chocolate instead.)
- Microwave the white chocolate chips in 20-second bursts, stirring well between each one, until smooth. Spend extra time stirring so the chocolate melts gently and doesn’t overheat.
- Spoon white chocolate over each peanut butter cup and gently tap the cookie on the counter to help it spread. Add more chocolate if needed and tap again.
- Warm a serrated knife under very hot water, wipe dry, and slice the base off a miniature Reese’s cup. Dab melted white chocolate on the cut side and attach a Reese’s Mini on top. Quickly press the hat onto the snowman’s “head,” then add 2 mini chocolate chip eyes (upside down) and 1 orange jimmy for the nose. Repeat with remaining cookies, microwaving the white chocolate again if it starts to firm up. Let set at room temperature.
Final step! Please let us know how it was by leaving a review.
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter works best. Avoid natural peanut butter that separates.
Note 2: For accuracy, use a scale (385 grams).
Note 3: Use good-quality chips or melting wafers. Tap the cookie rather than touching the chocolate to smooth it. White chocolate sets fast. Decorate one cookie at a time.
Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. To freeze dough, place formed dough balls on a sheet pan, freeze until solid, then transfer to a sealed container or bag for up to 3 months. Bake dough balls straight from frozen, adding a few extra minutes until the edges are set and the centers are soft.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 370kcal | Carbohydrates: 43.2g | Protein: 6.3g | Fat: 20.9g | Cholesterol: 36.4mg | Sodium: 91.6mg | Fiber: 2.3g | Sugar: 30.5g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Variations
Switch Things Up
- Snowman cupcakes: Bake cupcakes (any flavor), frost with cream cheese frosting, add a peanut butter cup, drizzle melted white chocolate, and decorate like this recipe.
- Chocolate snowman cookies: Use Chocolate Cookies as the base and decorate the same way.
- Sugar snowman cookies: Use Peppermint Sugar Cookies and top with a Rolo instead of a peanut butter cup. Skip the hat and add mini M&Ms for buttons.
- Add glitter: Sprinkle edible glitter for extra sparkle.
Melting Snowman Cookie Recipe Tips
- Peanut butter cups: Press a peanut butter cup into cookies that are almost cool. If the cookies are fully cool, attach it with a little melted chocolate.
- White chocolate: Let the melted white chocolate cool slightly, then spoon it on and gently tap the cookie to smooth it into a melted-snow look. If the chocolate is too hot, it will melt the peanut butter cup.
- Decorate quickly: Add the hat, eyes, and nose right after the white chocolate goes on, since it firms up fast. Decorate only one cookie at a time.
Made these last year and everyone is still talking about them and they insist I make again this year. We paired these with watching Hot Frosty movie!
How fun! I’m so happy to hear this! Thanks so much for sharing!
Made some changes to make these a bit smaller, much easier to decorate, and less trouble to stack a batch in a cookie tin:
Used a cookie scoop for a smaller size.
Made a winter scarf by cutting a fruit roll up/tape, rather than make a hat per recipe.
Poured one layer of melted white chocolate for the body, let it cool.
Used frosting to glue a white chocolate melting wafer (for the head) to the body, and poured small second layer of melted white chocolate over the wafer to finish the head.
Placed the scarf around the head, added eyes and nose.
(I had to bake the dough at least 14 minutes, and it was still chewy.)
Thanks so much for taking the time to share this!
yummy! Turned out so cute!
YAY! Thrilled to hear this! Thanks Marcy! 🙂
Awesome recipe!!
Thanks so much Tammi! 🙂
FYI: Your print link is broken and I am unable to print the whole recipe. (It just brings you to another window of the same webpage) Trying to print the webpage results in weird page breaks and missing ingredients/instructions on the printed page.
Hey Heidi! Thanks so much for letting me know; is there anyway you could tell me what browser you’re experiencing the problem in? I can’t replicate it and neither can my developer 🙁 Any details you could provide would be so helpful! Thank you!
Can you freeze them
I’d freeze the rolled cookie dough balls and bake the frozen dough from the oven! I wouldn’t recommend freezing already decorated cookies