Cooking with Kids: Snowman Cupcakes

In the eleven years we’ve lived in the DC area, we’ve experienced all sorts of wild weather—from tornado warnings, to behemoth snowstorms, to record breaking heat.  Yesterday’s weather took the cake though for weirdness though.  Over the course of 24 hours, we got snow, then rain, then sleet, then hail, then “thunder snow” (so the news called it), and then 8-inches of wet, heavy snow.   My friends’ Facebook statuses are littered with tales of 11+ hour commutes home last night and widespread power outages.  Thankfully, we live very near the Metro, so my husband’s commute wasn’t too horrible, and while our electricity did flicker several times, it never went out completely.  

But now, I’m left snowed in with five kids home from school yesterday, today, probably tomorrow.  We needed something fun and sweet to entertain us…like these cute little snowmen cupcakes.  With a little inspiration from an old Family Fun magazine,  some long-lost cupcakes we found in the freezer, and some leftover goodies from another project a few weeks ago—these cute fellows were born.  Fun for the kids, sweet to eat, and a snowman without the freezing toes!     

For more fun snowy day food projects see my Snowman Cookies and my  Groundhog's Day cupcakes. 

Click here for printable recipe. 

The ingredients: 
Baked cupcake
White frosting
2-3 large marshmallows
2 stick pretzels
1 Oreo cookies, “lid” separated from the cream filling
1 Junior Mint
1 orange gumdrop or candied orange slice
Fruit roll-up, cut into a narrow 7-8-inch long strip
Black decorating gel

Directions:  Frost the cupcake with white frosting.  Pressing down firmly with your hands, flatten 1-2 large marshmallows (depending on how high you want your snowman).  Gently spear the flattened marshmallows with a stick pretzel, leaving a small stem at the bottom to anchor into the cupcake.

  Add a whole, non-flattened marshmallow to the top for the head—pushing and squishing until it is stable and looks the way you want it to.  Using the small stem at the bottom of the pretzel, anchor it into the cupcake. 

Now for the fun part….decorating the snowman!  First break a stick pretzel in half and gently spear into the sides of the snowman, to be the arms.  Make sure they are placed low enough to accommodate the scarf and the face. 

Next, take the “lid” off of an Oreo cookie and spread a small amount of frosting onto the bottom.  Place on the snowman’s head to be the hat.  Dab a small amount of frosting onto a Junior Mint and place in the center of the Oreo, to finish the hat.  

Next, using  a pair of scissors, cut the orange gumdrop into a very small wedge shape, to be the carrot nose.  Using the point of a sharp knife, make a small hole in the top marshmallow where you would like the nose placed.  Place the orange gumdrop into the hole, using the tip of the knife if necessary. 

Next, using a pair of scissors, cut a fruit roll-up into a long narrow strip, measuring about 7-8-inches long.  Tie around the “neck” as a scarf. 


Lastly (and you definitely want to save this for last, so it doesn’t smear during the other steps), use the black decorating gel to pipe on the snowman’s eyes and mouth. 

Now step back and show off your handiwork, taking as many pictures as mom deems necessary.


Then do what you’ve wanted to do since the beginning…..eat and enjoy!   

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If you're looking for another fun cupcake project...don't forget to check out my cute Groundhog's day cupcakes for Groundhog's Day coming up next week. We've been making them every year for the last decade or so,  for the kids to share with their school classes