Coconut Snowman — A Sweet December Tradition to Share Alongside the Warmth of Champurrado

Christmas season, year seven. The machine hums. Thirty-five tamale orders — a new record, surpassing the pre-pandemic high of thirty. Approximately seventeen hundred tamales. Sofia's production plan is a document, not a napkin: timelines, staffing, inventory, delivery logistics, and a contingency plan for equipment failure ("If the steamer breaks, use the large pot with a rack — tested capacity: forty tamales per batch at sixty minutes." She tested it. She tested the contingency. She is sixteen in July. She tested the backup plan.). The production team: Yolanda, Graciela, Sofia, Leticia, and me. Five women. Seventeen hundred tamales. Rosa would be proud of the number and suspicious of the document. Rosa's production plan was: start early, don't stop, make more than you need. Three lines. No contingency.

Luis Jr. told me he's going to propose to Andrea. Not at dinner. In the garage. He pulled me into the garage — the Gutierrez processing room — and said: "Mom, I'm going to ask Andrea to marry me." I said: "When?" He said: "On Christmas." I said: "At dinner?" He said: "After dinner. On the porch." I said: "The porch is cold in December." He said: "I'll bring a blanket." He is twenty-one and he is going to propose to his girlfriend on the porch of his mother's house with a blanket, and the porch and the blanket are the most Luis Jr. proposal elements possible: simple, practical, the proposal of a man whose romanticism is expressed through logistics, not grand gestures, which is the romanticism of a military man whose gestures are measured in reliability, not extravagance.

I made champurrado and ponche for the bakery's December offerings. The seventh December. The champurrado is thicker this year — I've been adjusting the recipe annually, a quarter cup more masa, a cinnamon stick longer in the pot, and the seven years of adjustment have produced a champurrado that is mine, distinct from Rosa's, a champurrado that has evolved through the years the way I have evolved through the years, each adjustment making it more itself, each December making it more mine.

Seven Decembers in, and the champurrado has finally become mine — but a warm cup of champurrado deserves something to set beside it, something the hands can hold between sips, something festive enough to earn a spot in the bakery case next to the ponche. That’s exactly how this Coconut Snowman found its way into our lineup: we needed a treat as cheerful and uncomplicated as Luis Jr.’s porch proposal, something that could sit on the counter during the great seventeen-hundred-tamale production and make the whole room smile without asking anything complicated in return.

Coconut Snowman

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 20 min | Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 3 cups sweetened shredded coconut, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• Candy-coated chocolate pieces, mini chocolate chips, and pretzel sticks for decorating
• Orange-flavored candy or gummy candy, cut into small triangles, for the carrot nose
• Fruit leather or thin licorice strips for the scarf

Instructions

1. Make the base mixture. Beat the softened cream cheese with a hand mixer until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar gradually, mixing on low until fully incorporated. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts.
2. Add coconut. Fold in 2 cups of the shredded coconut until evenly distributed throughout the mixture. The dough will be soft but shapeable; if it feels too sticky, refrigerate for 10 minutes.
3. Shape the snowmen. Divide the mixture into two portions — one slightly larger than the other — for each snowman. Roll the larger portion into a smooth ball about 2 1/2 inches in diameter (the body), and the smaller portion into a ball about 1 1/2 inches in diameter (the head). Press together gently so they adhere.
4. Coat with coconut. Roll each assembled snowman in the remaining 1 cup of shredded coconut, pressing lightly so the coconut clings evenly to the surface.
5. Decorate. Use mini chocolate chips or candy-coated chocolates for the eyes and buttons. Press in a small triangle of orange candy for the carrot nose. Insert pretzel stick arms on both sides of the body. Wrap a strip of fruit leather or thin licorice around the neck as a scarf.
6. Chill and serve. Place the finished snowmen on a parchment-lined tray and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before serving to help them hold their shape. Serve alongside champurrado or hot ponche for a complete holiday spread.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 280 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 13g | Carbs: 40g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 110mg