Description
Snow globe cookies bring winter magic to holiday dessert tables. Delicate sugar cookies with royal icing and miniature festive scenes provide a whimsical treat you’ll adore sharing with family and friends.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 ¾ cups (350 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsps vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup (100 g) clear hard candies (e.g., Jolly Ranchers or clear mints)
- Royal icing (store-bought or homemade)
- Festive sprinkles, small edible decorations, or mini holiday candies
Instructions
- Dry Ingredients Preparation: Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl until thoroughly combined and aerated.
- Butter Mixture Creation: Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl, whipping until the mixture transforms into a pale, voluminous consistency with a cloud-like texture.
- Wet Ingredients Integration: Blend egg and vanilla extract into the butter mixture, ensuring complete and smooth incorporation.
- Dough Formation: Fold dry ingredients into wet mixture, gently mixing until a uniform dough emerges, being careful not to overmix.
- Dough Chilling: Divide dough into two equal disks, wrap individually in plastic, and refrigerate for one hour to enhance flavor and texture.
- Oven Preparation: Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line baking sheets with parchment paper, creating an ideal baking environment.
- Dough Shaping: Roll chilled dough to a consistent 1/4-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface, ensuring even cookie bases.
- Cookie Cutting: Use circular cutters to create base rounds and decorative frames, strategically cutting snowflake or intricate designs from half the rounds.
- Candy Placement: Sprinkle crushed clear candies into frame cookie cutouts, preparing for a translucent, glass-like effect.
- Baking Process: Arrange cookies on prepared sheets, maintaining spacing, and bake for 8-10 minutes until edges turn delicately golden and candies melt completely.
- Cooling and Stabilization: Allow cookies to cool entirely on baking sheets, ensuring candy centers solidify and set perfectly.
- Assembly and Decoration: Connect base and frame cookies using royal icing, creating a seamless snow globe effect. Embellish with festive royal icing designs, miniature candies, and sprinkles to craft enchanting holiday scenes.
- Final Presentation: Let assembled cookies set completely, transforming them into delightful edible gifts or stunning decorative centerpieces.
Notes
- Chill Dough Properly: Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour to prevent spreading and maintain cookie shape during baking.
- Control Candy Melting: Use finely crushed clear candies and distribute evenly to create smooth, glass-like centers without burning.
- Prevent Sticking: Dust work surface lightly with flour when rolling dough to avoid cookies adhering and tearing.
- Handle Delicate Frames: Use a thin spatula when transferring cut-out frame cookies to prevent breaking intricate snowflake or circular designs.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 25
- Calories: 215 kcal
- Sugar: 10 g
- Sodium: 95 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 29 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg