These Teddy Bear Cookies with Royal Icing are easy to make following these simple steps. They can be used as birthday or baby shower party favors or on a Teddy Bear Dessert Table.
I first made these Teddy Bear Cookies as favors for my daughter's friend birthday party.
Then, I made them again for her family party two weeks later as a dessert for her Golden Teddy Bear Party. The dessert tables featured one side of the table with polar bear treats and the other with teddy bear treats.
These cookies were the teddy bear version of Easy Polar Bear Cookies. Other treats on the table included Golden Teddy Bear Chocolate Covered Oreos, Polar Bear Paw Cookies, Chocolate Bear Paw Cookies, Polar Bear Cake Pops and Teddy Bear Cake Pops.
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Supplies
- your favorite shortbread cookie or cut out sugar cookie dough
- ¼-inch wooden dowel rods
- rolling pin
- teddy bear cookie cutter
- Easy Royal Icing
- tan and brown food coloring gel
- black royal icing powder or black food coloring gel
- disposable piping bags
- plastic tip coupler
- small round piping tip, such as #2 or #5
Bake the Cookies
Flour a work surface like a cutting board or mat.
Roll your favorite sugar cookie or shortbread cookie dough out to ¼-inch thickness. I use ¼-inch diameter wooden dowel rods as guides for my rolling pin on each side of the dough to ensure an even thickness.
Cut the dough with a teddy bear cookie cutter.
Place the cut dough shapes on parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Bake the cookies, one tray at a time, for 5-7 minutes, until baked through but not brown.
Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and allow cookies to cool for 1 to 2 minutes before removing them to a wire rack, then cool completely before adding royal icing.
Outline the Cookies
Mix up outline consistency royal icing. Add the icing to a disposable piping bag fitted with a small round tip, such as a #2 or #5, using a plastic tip coupler, if desired.
Pipe the outline of the bear as shown below.
Allow the outline to dry at least 1 hour before flooding.
Flood the Cookies
Prepare flood consistency brown royal icing and transfer to a piping bag fitted with small round tip.
Pipe icing in the outer ears and paws of each bear cookie.
Then, mix up flood consistency tan icing and fill the inner ears and body of the bears.
Allow the icing to dry for several hours, then flood the head and arms with flood consistency brown royal icing.
Allow the icing to dry fully before adding the fine details.
Add Final Details
Mix up light tan royal icing to just slightly thicker than flood consistency. Place it in a piping bag fitted with a small round tip, like a #5.
Pipe on an oval for a snout and the paws. While actual polar bears have 5 toes, I was only able to fit 4, just like on these Easy Polar Bear Paw Cookies.
Repeat on all of the cookies. Allow to dry.
Mix up the black royal icing to outline consistency and place it in a disposable piping bag. Snip off a very small opening and push some icing through onto a paper towel to make sure the icing is ready to pipe.
Pipe on two eyes and a nose.
Allow the royal icing to dry completely before storing.
Storage
Store the cookies in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature. If you need to stack them, use a piece of aluminum foil to separate the layers to prevent grease transfer from underneath the top cookie onto the design of the bottom cookie.
To package the cookies for favors, make sure they are completely dry. Add them to clear cellophane treat bags and tie with thin ribbon.
Gluten Free Option
You can make Iced Vanilla Shortbread Cookies using a gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour, such as Bob's Red Mill, in place of all purpose flour. This produces a more fragile, crumbly cookie, but the flavors are identical.
📖 Recipe
Teddy Bear Cookies with Royal Icing
Equipment
- 2 ¼-inch wooden dowel rods
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 teddy bear cookie cutter
- disposable piping bags
- Plastic tip coupler
- small round piping tip, such as #2 or #5
Ingredients
- 1 batch your favorite shortbread cookie or cut out sugar cookie dough (see note)
- Easy Royal Icing (see note)
- tan and brown food coloring gel
- black royal icing powder or black food coloring gel
Instructions
Bake the Cookies
- Flour a work surface. Roll the cookie dough out to ¼-inch thickness. You can use ¼-inch diameter wooden dowel rods as rolling pin guides to ensure an even thickness.
- Cut the dough with a teddy bear cookie cutter.
- Place the cut dough shapes on parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Bake the cookies, one tray at a time, for 5-7 minutes, until baked through but not brown.
- Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and allow cookies to cool for 1 to 2 minutes before removing them to a wire rack, then cool completely.
Outline the Cookies
- Mix up outline consistency brown royal icing. Add the icing to a disposable piping bag fitted with a small round tip, such as a #2 or #5, using a plastic tip coupler, if desired.
- Pipe the outline of the bear. Allow the icing to dry at least 1 hour.
Flood the Cookies
- Prepare flood consistency brown royal icing and transfer to a piping bag fitted with small round tip.
- Pipe icing in the outer ears and paws of each bear cookie.
- Mix up flood consistency tan icing and fill the inner ears and body of the bears.
- Allow the icing to dry for several hours, then flood the head and arms with flood consistency brown royal icing. Allow the icing to dry fully.
Add Final Details
- Mix up light tan royal icing to just slightly thicker than flood consistency. Place it in a piping bag fitted with a small round tip, like a #5.
- Pipe on an oval for a snout and the paws on each cookie. Allow to dry.
- Mix up black royal icing to outline consistency and place it in a disposable piping bag. Snip off a very small opening and push some icing through onto a paper towel to make sure the icing is ready to pipe.
- Pipe two eyes and a nose onto each cookie.
- Allow the royal icing to dry completely before storing.
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