Back to School Cookies with Royal Icing
- Sarah Roberts
- Aug 1
- 3 min read
TL;DR:
Three easy royal icing cookie designs for back-to-school season, including woodgrain alphabet blocks, apple print cookies, and a mini cookie desk! These beginner-friendly cookies look advanced but are simple enough to tackle, even if you’re new to cookie decorating.
Heading back to school?
Whether you’re homeschooling, packing lunchboxes, or just nostalgic for fresh pencils and planners, these three royal icing cookie ideas are the sweetest way to celebrate the season.
I’m decorating:
Woodgrain alphabet blocks
A desk cookie with edible royal icing "stickers"
An apple pattern cookie with wet-on-wet technique
And the best part? These cookies look like you’ve been decorating for years, but they’re actually perfect for beginners.
Woodgrain Alphabet Blocks
I’m starting off with a flood icing base. To create the realistic woodgrain effect, I striped a piping bag of light brown royal icing with dark brown gel food coloring. This simple technique creates a beautiful dimension with almost no effort.
Once the base dries, I switch to what I call toothpaste consistency icing to pipe the A, B, and C. Lay a piece of parchment paper overtop, gently press, and let dry completely. When you peel away the paper…voila! You’ve got perfect flat letters that mimic vintage wooden blocks.
📚 Pro Tip: I teach this and other piping tricks in my “Cookie Calligraphy Class” inside The Cookie Classroom, a “pay what you can” library of online cookie decorating tutorials for all skill levels!
"Cookie Calligraphy Class" teaches you how to write beautifully with royal icing, no projector required! Pretty cool, right? I’ll guide you step-by-step so you can skip the frustration and jump straight into the creative flow you’ve been craving.
Mini Desk Cookie with Transfers
This little desk layout is the most fun to build. I created royal icing transfers ahead of time by piping small book and paper shapes onto parchment paper and letting them dry. Once your desk cookie is flooded and set, you can stick these transfers right on like edible stickers.
Decorating tip: Let your creativity shine! Arrange your desk layout however you like, include a tiny pencil, planner, or even a coffee mug.
You can find links to all my favorite cookie decorating tools and products, mentioned above, HERE.
🎒Did you love back-to-school shopping as a kid? I couldn’t get enough of fresh notebooks and planners. (The pens + journals aisle at Target is still my happy place.)
Apple Pattern Cookie
I’m using a wet-on-wet technique for this one, meaning you’ll pipe your apples while the background icing is still wet. I used a yellow flood base and dotted on simple red apple shapes and green stems. The result is playful and so satisfying to create.
These have Home Sweet Homeschool piped on top, which is extra special in our house, We’re entering our second year of homeschooling and have loved every minute. If you're curious, I’ve shared a few short videos on our family’s homeschool journey on my Instagram and Tik Tok.
The Satisfying Final Touch…
After your cookies dry completely, it’s time for the parchment paper peel, one of the most satisfying steps! Carefully remove your paper and reveal your crisp details underneath. There’s nothing like that reveal moment.
Whatever classroom your kids are returning to this fall, make sure to mark the season with something sweet. These back-to-school cookies are beautiful, doable, and delicious.
Let me know in the comments, which design is your favorite? And don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube so you never miss another decorating video.
You can find links to all my favorite cookie decorating tools and products, mentioned above, HERE.
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