Let me show you how to make graduation hat cookies.  You don’t have to order your cookies you can make them yourself! So if you know a preschool, Kindergarten, high school, or college graduate you’re in luck these sugar cookies will be a perfect addition to your celebrations.

Graduation Hat candies are another fun treat for a grad party. Of course, you will need a graduation card for the grad. These cards are printable and have a clever way to include some cash! We made a DIY lighted marquee sign for our party. Here are more graduation ideas.

graduation cookie on plate

Sugar Cookie Decorating Tips and Resources

  • sugar cookies and royal icing recipes  and tips and tricks
  • graduation cookie cutters can be found at craft stores or baking supply stores
  • If you want to put your cookies on a stick, roll them out nice and thick, cut them out, then put them on your pan.  Chill them on the pan for about 20 min or so.  Take them out and insert the stick, centered in the thickness of the cookie.  Chilling them will keep them from distorting when you put the stick in.
  • Put a toothpick in the top of the frosting squeeze bottles to keep them from getting .clogged and dried out.   Remember how fast royal icing dries.   
  • Bubbles in your frosting are the enemy to smooth cookies.  After you fill a cookie with royal icing, you will notice slight bumps.  Take a toothpick and pop em!  But do this right away!  As it starts to dry, it will leave a mark that won’t smooth over.

Graduation Cap Cookies Supplies

  • sugar cookie dough
  • rolling pin
  • oven
  • baking sheets
  • graduation cap cookie cutter
  • royal icing
  • food coloring
  • squeeze bottles
  • pastry tips (#2 and #3)

two black graduation cap cookies

How to decorate Graduation Hat Sugar Cookies

First thin royal icing out with a little water to make different consistencies. We are going to need a stiff (30 second or more) and thin consistency (about 8 seconds) in the same color. The stiff icing is used for piping and the thin icing for flooding. This frosting can be put is pastry bags or squeeze bottles.  I love using squeeze bottles because, for me, they are really manageable.
squeeze bottles un decorated graduation cap cookie on baking tray
You start by outlining your “hat” with the thicker icing.

 

grad cap cookie with blue outline of frosting

 

Then immediately “fill” with the thinner consistency icing. You can use the tip of the bottle to spread it around. Then, if you see any air bubbles, pop them with a toothpick!

 

step by step how to decorate graduation hat cookies

 

This layer of frosting will take about 12 hours to dry completely, but you can frost your detail on top after about 2 hours. You will use the same, thick consistency frosting to outline the hat. When you let the base layer dry, then frost on top, it creates dimension.

two cookies outlined and flooded graduation hat cookies with blue icing

 

You will use the thick consistency icing to make the tassel. I do a few lines, then let it dry, then a few more lines, etc. Then you will make one more dot of color as the button that holds the tassel on.
how to add tassel on grad hat with cookie icing

 

You can see the final product here. If you notice a little variegation in the blue, it is because dark colors of royal icing can often take 24 hours to reach their full color. Patience is a virtue in cookie making!
blue graduation cap cookies on a hat

 

If you draw a few lines, then come back to it here and there, you will get a nice 3D effect with your tassel. Drying between lines is the key to tassel success! Look at those awesome graduation cap cookies.
black grad cookies on white plate

 

Cellophane and ribbon make everything better, so why not wrap them up for a little favor? I made these tags for my cookie gifts and you can download them too!
graduation cookies wrapped in cello bag with printable tag
Here are graduation tags for you to use!
printable go grad tags

 

Thanks so much to Cindy for letting me share some cookie love with you today! You are welcome to check out my cookies and other DIY goodies on over on beeinourbonnet.com anytime!

 


About Cindy Hopper

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Comments

  1. I just want to Thank You for the instructions as I am not good at piping cookies but I am excited to try the bottle technique and for the Grad tags – these are perfect!

  2. I tried my best to recreate these but they did not come out as nearly as pretty as yours!

  3. where do i get the bottles. can find large ones but not small ones.

  4. still unable to download graduation tags. could really use them by the weekend. Do u know when this will be fixed?

  5. Would love to print the “go grad” tags, but the link didn’t work…please help! (the link goes to “an apple for the teacher” instead. Thank you!

  6. The link to download the graduation tags connected to an apple for the teacher tag instead.

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