Back to School Cookie Decorating Ideas

🍎 Back-to-School Cookie Inspiration: Sweet Ideas for the Classroom Season

TL;DR:

Looking for back-to-school cookie ideas? This post is packed with creative design inspo (pencils, apples, chalkboards), decorating tips, packaging suggestions, and a freebie! Whether you're baking for teachers, kids, or customers, these ideas will help you design sets that stand out, sell out, and spread smiles.

Backpacks are zipped. Lunches are packed. And around here at Sarah Grace Cookie Co., it’s officially cookie season. As a homeschooling mom, back-to-school looks a little different in our house, but it’s still something worth celebrating (especially with cookies)!

Whether you’re decorating for:

• a teacher gift

• a classroom party

• or your at own cozy kitchen-table classroom

these back-to-school cookie ideas could be your sweet starting point!

🎥 Psst… did you catch the TikTok inspiration video? Scroll, watch, and then come back—I'll wait! 😉

Crayon Watercolor Back to School Cookies

These watercolor crayon cookies are super easy to create by simply flooding the base layer with white royal icing. After allowing the flood layer to dry completely, you can use gel food coloring and lemon extract to create this watercolor effect. Its an easy technique for beginners, especially when you use an edible ink marker to create those fine details and a name if you want, once the "watercolor" on the painted cookie is dry.

You can find links to all my favorite cookie decorating tools and products, mentioned above, HERE.

Get My Favorite Tools in My Amazon Storefront

Back to School Cookies with Royal Icing Transfers

I've shared about transfers in previous posts, like Easy Cookie Decorating Ideas Basically, you're creating a little royal icing "sticker" by piping on parchment paper.

After it dries you can peel it away from the paper and "glue" it onto the cookie with more icing.

The cute worm, butterfly, pencil cup, and banner on the cookies below are all transfers.

Below, you'll see what royal icing transfers look like before going onto the cookie. You can freehand these or place a printed image under your parchment paper, so its like coloring.

To create this edible chalkboard look on your cookies, use a dark color background and paint with white gel food coloring on top once the royal icing is dry.

I love this simple, but so pretty wood grain effect on these bookcase cookies. Its easy to create by flooding with light brown royal icing, then adding some concentrated brown gel food coloring with a dry brush and a light touch over the icing.

💡 PRO TIP: Mix one “wow” cookie with a few simple designs to save time but still impress!

6 Quick Cookie Decorating Wins

Want to add that extra touch? Try these ideas:

1. Use edible markers to draw lines on notebook cookies.

2. Layer icing for dimension—think puffy erasers or crayon tips.

3. Add shimmer dust on apples for that teacher-worthy glow.

4. Play with fonts: bold for names, cursive for messages.

5. Stick to a color palette—primary colors work great for school vibes!

Royal Icing Transfers- Want to make cookie decorating easier and more fun? Check out the video below for a more in depth tutorial

💡 PRO TIP: Want to speed up your decorating and still look like a cookie rockstar? Use royal icing transfers! Prep them ahead of time—like mini crayons, apples, or chalkboards—and simply pop them onto your cookies when you’re ready to decorate. It’s a total time-saver and gives you crisp, clean shapes every time.

Packaging Ideas That Sell (or Just Make People Smile)

🎥 Wondering how to package your decorated cookies for selling or gifting?

Watch my YouTube video for step-by-step tips on keeping your cookies safe and beautiful:

👉 Packaging Sugar Cookies – How to Package Decorated Sugar Cookies to Sell

Your cookies deserve a good “first impression.” Try one of these packaging upgrades:

• Mini cookie gift sets in clear boxes with crinkle paper

• Custom gift tags like “First Day Fuel” or “Teacher Treats”

• Ribbon-wrapped sleeves for easy grab-and-go gifting

Craving more packaging inspo?

Dive into my full guide on Sugar Cookie Packaging Ideas 👉 Read it here!

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Why I Bake These Back to School Cookies Every Year

Back-to-school is a moment of change, and cookies are a way to add sweetness, celebration, and encouragement.

Take Action Before You Leave

• Save this post to Pinterest (so you remember them in the midst of the back to school chaos)

• Watch the TikTok inspiration video again for a quick recap

• Share your back to school cookies on social and tag @sarahgracecookieco so I can give your posts some love

  
  

Whether your little ones are headed to a classroom or learning around the kitchen table like ours, a sweet start to the school year is always a welcome tradition.

Let’s bake something beautiful, and make this school year extra sweet!