Let’s break down the process of making these adorable Snowman Cookies. It’s simple and straightforward, and I’ll walk you through it every step of the way!

1. Preheat Your Oven
Start by preheating your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats to prevent the cookies from sticking.

2. Make the Cookie Dough
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. This is your dry mixture.

In a separate large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the softened butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy—about 3-4 minutes. Add in the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract, and continue mixing until combined.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in batches. Mix until the dough comes together. It may seem a little crumbly at first, but keep mixing, and it will eventually form a soft dough.

3. Roll Out the Dough
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it out to about 1/4 inch thick. Using a round cookie cutter or a glass, cut out circles for the snowmen’s bodies. You can make them as big or as small as you’d like!

4. Shape the Snowmen
To create the snowman’s shape, cut smaller circles for the heads and larger circles for the bodies. Gently press the head circle on top of the body circle to create the snowman shape.

5. Bake the Cookies
Transfer the cookies onto your prepared baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden. Keep an eye on them, as you don’t want them to over-bake. Once done, remove them from the oven and let them cool completely on a wire rack.

6. Make the Royal Icing
While your cookies cool, prepare the royal icing. In a bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, egg whites, and lemon juice until stiff peaks form. If you’re using meringue powder, follow the package instructions.

Once the icing is ready, divide it into separate bowls, depending on how many colors you want. Use food coloring to dye the icing for the snowman’s scarf, buttons, eyes, and hat.

7. Decorate the Snowmen
Once the cookies have cooled, it’s time to decorate! Start by using a piping bag (or a ziplock bag with the tip cut off) to outline and fill in the body of the snowman with white icing. Use the same technique for the head.

For the eyes and buttons, use mini chocolate chips and gently press them into the icing. For the carrot noses, you can either use orange fondant or melt orange candy melts and pipe out small carrot shapes.

Decorate the scarves and hats with colored icing and sprinkles. Use pretzel sticks as arms, and be sure to let the icing dry for about 1 hour.