Snowman Donuts

These snowman donuts are the best powdered sugar holiday treat which are equal parts adorable, easy, and fun! In just a little over an hour you'll have 12 of the cutest little snowman donuts which not only look so wintery and fun, but are also so moist with the best-spiced flavor.

These cute snowman donuts are easy themed treats that would be so perfect for any holiday parties this year, a winter break or snow day project, or to bring in for a fun class party treat! They start with a classic baked donut recipe which has a subtle spiced flavor, making these donuts extra great for the holiday season. Once baked, finishing the donuts themselves is as easy as rolling them in some powdered sugar until they're perfectly sweet and fluffy! Decorating them to ensure they look like little snowmen is also so much fun, and is fairly quick and easy too.

Each donut snowman is decorated using marshmallows, black gel or frosting, orange sprinkles, and some red licorice. The instructions go into detail on how to decorate the cute little snowman face, as well as any substitutions that could be used for any of the decorating ingredients. These donuts are not only moist, fluffy, and delicious, but they're also perfect for this time of year. They are a fun Christmas project that would be the perfect addition to a winter party, to enjoy on Christmas morning, or for an easy breakfast idea this winter! If you also think that baking is the best part of being in the kitchen this time of year, then you should give this fun recipe a try.

If you're looking for another recipe that would be perfect for Christmas morning, you'll love our Cinnamon Bread Pudding, or if you're looking for another donut recipe, be sure to try our Cinnamon Toast Crunch Donuts.

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love these Snowmen Donuts
• Ingredients for the Donuts
• Step by Step Instructions for the Snowman Donuts
• Tips for Making these Donuts
• FAQs
• Storing and Freezing
• 📖 Recipe

Why You'll Love these Snowmen Donuts

• They're the cutest treat! Not only do they taste amazing, but these homemade donuts are so cute and will bring a smile to your face this time of year.
• They're quite easy. While some decorated desserts can often be time-consuming and a bit difficult to execute, these donuts are very easy to bake as well as decorate. If you have little guys at home, this could definitely be added to your list of winter DIY projects.
• It's a great powdered sugar donut recipe. While decorating the snowman's head is super fun, these powdered sugar donuts on their own are delicious, making them a great recipe for you to add to your baking collection to enjoy throughout the year.

Ingredients for the Donuts

The donuts themselves have a pretty basic list of ingredients, many of which you may already have in your fridge or cabinets. The decorating ingredients were easy for me to find in my local grocery store, but I have provided substitution ideas for some of them as well!

• Flour - Make sure to accurately measure the flour using preferably a kitchen scale, or the scoop and level method. Too much flour will make the donuts dense and dry.
• Sugar - This donut recipe uses slightly less sugar as the powdered sugar coating will ensure they're perfectly sweet enough.
• Baking soda - Just a little which is activated by the sour cream.
• Baking powder - Also a little to ensure the donuts are perfectly puffy!
• Salt - Just a little to help bring out the flavors.
• Cinnamon - Adds a subtle spice flavor which makes these donuts extra delicious for this time of year!
• Nutmeg - Pairs well with the cinnamon and adds a little more spice.
• Milk - Keeps these donuts tender and moist.
• Sour cream - Favorite way to ensure the donuts are nice and soft while also giving them a little richness!
• Melted butter - This makes these donuts extra easy because it ensures you will not need a mixer to make these donuts. Just make sure when you add the butter to the ingredients that it is slightly cooled.
• Vanilla extract - Just a little so that it's not overpowering.
• Canola oil - A neutral-flavored oil that also creates a very moist donut.
• Eggs - Just 2 in this recipe!
• Powdered sugar - For coating the donuts once they are baked and cooled. Depending on how much you want on your donuts, the amount needed may be more or less than 1 cup. If you want them to have a very powdered exterior, gently press them into the powdered sugar instead of just rolling them through.
• Water - When sticking on the marshmallow snowman heads, if you just try and stick the cut-in-half marshmallow to the powdered sugar, it will not stick very well and unfortunately it will likely fall off! To avoid this, dip the sticky half in a bit of water, and then stick it to the powdered sugar donut. The purpose of this is to wet the powdered sugar, which in turn creates a sticky seal so that the head stays in place.
• Marshmallows - I used 12 regular-sized marshmallows and used a serrated knife to cut them in half. Each half is used for one of the snowman heads.
• Black icing or gel - I was able to find a small tube of black icing at my local grocery store which works perfectly for drawing on the eyes, mouth, and buttons. You'll just need to fit the tube with a small piping tip if it doesn't already have one. If you can't find black icing or gel, mini chocolate chips or even a bunch of brown mini M&M candies would work great in place. 
• Orange sprinkles - If you can't find orange icing or gel like I couldn't, then 12 orange sprinkles work perfectly for the snowman's nose! I was able to pick these out of a multi-colored pack of sprinkles. Just dab a bit of the black icing onto the sprinkle so that it sticks to the marshmallow. An orange M&M would also work.
• Red licorice - A string of red licorice is wrapped around the marshmallow to make a mini red scarf! If you cannot find separate strands of red licorice, then Twizzlers sells a "pull n peel" option which work great. You'll just want to cut a bit off the end of each piece as they're a little too long.

See recipe card below for quantities.

Step by Step Instructions for the Snowman Donuts

The donuts are quick and easy to make, and decorating them doesn't take too long at all since this recipe makes just 12 donuts. The total time is just over an hour, making them not a super time-consuming bake.

Step 1: Preheat oven and prepare pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray two 6-cavity donut pans with cooking spray.

Step 2: Combine dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Step 3: Whisk wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, sour cream, butter, vanilla extract, and canola oil. Add eggs one at a time, mixing in between each addition.

Step 4: Combine dry and wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix with a spatula until just combined, being sure not to over mix.

Step 5: Bake donuts. Scoop or use a piping bag to divide the batter between the greased donut pans. Bake for 13-17 minutes until they are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Do not over bake.

Step 6: Cool donuts. Once donuts are done baking, let cool partially in the pans until they're no longer hot but still warm (about 10 minutes), then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 7: Coat with powdered sugar. Add powdered sugar to a medium bowl. Once donuts are cool, roll and press them in the powdered sugar, making sure to get some in the center of each donut, then return them to the wire rack.

Step 8: Decorate snowman marshmallow head. Pour water into a small bowl. Dip the sticky part of each marshmallow half first into the water, then press firmly on to the donut. Repeat with all donuts. Fit the black icing or gel tube with a small piping tip if it doesn't have one already. Draw dots for the snowman eyes and smile on to each marshmallow. Put a bit of frosting on to each orange sprinkle then stick them on the marshmallow as the snowman's nose.

Step 9: Finish decorating snowmen. Pipe a few buttons on to the bottom of each donut (see picture) with the black icing or gel tube, making sure to press down firmly when piping so that the icing sticks to the powdered sugar. Wrap around a strand of red licorice as a scarf (see picture). Enjoy!

Tips for Making these Donuts

• Don't over mix the donut batter or over bake the donuts, as this will lead to dense and dry donuts that aren't as fluffy! I recommend using a toothpick to test the donuts right at 13 minutes, and then removing them as soon as the toothpick comes out mostly clean. I also recommend using an oven thermometer to ensure that your oven temperature is accurate.
• Make sure to dip the sticky bottom half of each marshmallow in the water before sticking it to the donut. Even though it seems like the marshmallow would just stick to the powdered sugar, the powdered sugar is so dry that it just leads to the marshmallow falling off.
• If the strands of red licorice are unwinding and not staying around the marshmallow, you can also lightly wet them and press the center of each twist together to help it stick to itself.

FAQs

Storing and Freezing

The donuts can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days. If you want to make them ahead of time, I would recommend adding the decorations the day you plan on serving them, but they can be completely made in advance if needed!

The un-decorated donuts can also be frozen in the freezer for up to 3 months and then thawed in the refrigerator overnight before adding the decorations. I don't recommend freezing them once they're decorated.

If you make this recipe we would absolutely love if you left a star review and/or comment! Also, make sure to tag us on Instagram @doublethespoonfuls so we can see what you create.

📖 Recipe