I had planned to make these melted snowman ginger cookies all weekend. It was just fate that it happened on the day we had a foot of snow dumped on us.

Hello, Minnesota Winter. I see you’ve decided to join us this year. Lucky for you I have a kitchen full of candy melts, flour, sugar and spices.

Snow all you want to. I will sit inside and eat so many cookies that I become big enough to be my own snow plow. Who’s winning now, Mr. Snow?

Ah. I see you are. By keeping me outside for 30 minutes attempting to dig my car out, and then snowing 4 more inches in the early hours of the morning so I have to do it all over again.

Snow: 1. Kathleen’s fingers: 0 degrees.

I suppose that’s what I get for gleefully crafting sad little melted Frostys on top of my ginger cookies during a winter storm warning. But this being winter in Minnesota, I’m pretty sure I’ll have a chance for Round 2 any day now…

Ingredients (cookie recipe adapted from Martha):

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons molasses
• 1 large egg
• 1 bag of white candy melts
• 2 Hershey’s bars
• Long sprinkles (Jimmies some people call them)
• Mini chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, allspice, and pepper.

2. With an electric mixer, cream butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses and egg. With mixer on low, gradually beat in flour mixture until just combined. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic, and freeze for 20 minutes.

3. Divide dough into 1-inch balls, and place at least 4 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. You’ll need the space, because this dough recipe spreads like crazy. Press to flatten.

4. Bake until brown, rotating sheets halfway through, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

5. Once the cookies are at room temperature, prep your decorating space. Break apart all the segments of the Hershey’s bars, and cut 2/3 of those segments in half, to make the square for the top hat. Carefully slice the remaining segments into 1/8-inch slices (lengthwise) to make the brim of the hat.

6. Melt your candy melts according to the instructions on the package, and spoon a dollop on a cookie, spreading it in a blobby-melty snowman shape (technical term of course). Before the candy melt can harden (about 60 seconds) press on a hat, two mini chocolate chips for eyes, sprinkles for the nose and mouth, and 3 more mini chocolate chips for buttons.

7. Continue decorating the remaining cookies, and feel free to sample the decoration materials as you go. We only cook with the best at The Culinary Capers, so occasional taste testing is mandatory!