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Colorful School Supplies Cookies for Family Fun

Buttery sugar cookies decorated with bright royal icing to look like fun back-to-school supplies.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 55 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 24 cookies
Calories 180 kcal

Equipment

  • 2 mixing bowls one large and one medium
  • 1 electric mixer hand or stand mixer
  • 1 Rolling Pin
  • 2 baking sheets
  • 1 parchment paper for lining sheets
  • 1 wire cooling rack
  • 1 Whisk
  • 1 piping bags or small zip-top bags
  • 1 toothpicks for spreading icing and popping bubbles

Ingredients
  

For the Sugar Cookies

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

For the Royal Icing

  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons meringue powder
  • 6 to 8 tablespoons warm water plus more as needed
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For Decorating

  • 1 set gel food coloring red, yellow, green, blue, orange, and black
  • 1 small amount extra powdered sugar or water to adjust icing consistency

Instructions
 

Make the Sugar Cookies

  • Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
  • In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
  • Add the dry ingredients and mix just until a soft dough forms.
  • Divide the dough into two discs, wrap well, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Roll one disc of dough at a time on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4-inch thickness.
  • Cut the dough into school-supply-inspired shapes such as apples, pencils, notebooks, buses, crayons, rulers, and paper rectangles.
  • Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are just set and the tops look matte.
  • Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Make and Color the Royal Icing

  • Beat the powdered sugar, meringue powder, warm water, and vanilla extract until smooth and thick, about 3 to 5 minutes.
  • Divide the icing into bowls and tint with gel food coloring to make red, yellow, green, blue, orange, black, and white icing.
  • Keep some icing thicker for outlines and thin the remaining icing with a few drops of water at a time until it settles smooth in 10 to 15 seconds.

Decorate the Cookies

  • Transfer the icing to piping bags or small zip-top bags with tiny corner snips.
  • Pipe outlines on the cooled cookies first, matching colors to the school-supply shapes.
  • Flood the outlined sections with thinned icing and use a toothpick to spread icing into corners and pop air bubbles.
  • Let the base icing set for 15 to 20 minutes, then add details such as notebook lines, ruler marks, bus windows, crayon wrappers, or apple stems and leaves.
  • Leave the decorated cookies at room temperature for several hours or overnight until the icing is fully set before stacking or packaging.

Notes

Chill the dough if it becomes soft while rolling. Use thicker icing for outlining and thinner icing for flooding. Let cookies dry completely before stacking or packaging. Nutrition is estimated and will vary with icing amount and cookie size.