How to Create Realistic Moss Cookies

Written by Mike Tamplin • Apr 18, 2014

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Take your cookie decorating to the next level!

Trace cookie designs with ease with the Akaso mini projector.

I'm so late to posting my Easter cookies this year, but that's okay. What I'm about to show you could work for any occasion.

When I was searching for springtime inspiration, I randomly came across a brilliant post by Andrea of It's the Life. She shows how to easily make an edible moss effect for cakes and cupcakes. It's genius really. Luckily, with a few tweaks to Andrea's method, it works for cookies, as well.

Creating Realistic Moss Cookies

As Andrea describes in her post, the secret to getting a realistic moss effect that you can eat is graham cracker crumbs. Green food coloring and the brown undertones of the crackers really give the cookies an earthy quality.

I had two types of graham cracker boxes in my pantry. Both would work perfectly fine for moss cookies. If you buy the pre-made graham cracker crumbs you can skip the crushing step I describe below.

Decorating Process

Step 1

Crush graham crackers to crumbs

Place 4 to 5 graham crackers in a Ziploc bag. Seal the bag and use a rolling pin to crush the crackers into fine crumbs. Set aside.

Step 2

Thin green food coloring gel with alcohol

I had a difficult time spreading color throughout the graham cracker crumbs using Americolor food gels alone. To help incorporate the color, I thinned the food gels with a small amount of vodka. (The taste of vodka dissipates once the crumbs are dry.) I used a mixture of Electric Green, Mint Green, and Leaf Green to get the moss shade I was looking for.

Step 3

Mix color in with crumbs.

Pour the color mixture in the Ziploc bag with the crumbs. Seal the bag and massage the color until the crumbs are an even color green throughout.

Here’s a drying tip!

If you find the crumbs are too soggy after adding the liquid, don't fret. Pour the bag of crumbs into an oven-safe pan. Roast them in 200 degrees for a few minutes to dry them out. Any previously wet chunks should break apart easily.

Step 4

Store Crumbs in a Container

Once the color is incorporated, pour the crumbs in an open container. The crumbs should look like the picture below.

Step 5

Flood top of the cookie

On any cookie shape of choice (I used a bunny silhouette), flood the top of the cookie with 20-second royal icing. I tinted the icing a mossy green to hide any empty spots after we apply the crumbs.

Step 6

Wait.

Once the cookie is flooded, wait 5 to 10 minutes for the icing to firm and slightly crust. This will prevent the crumbs from sinking in the icing.

Step 7

Sprinkle Crumbs over the Cookie

For this next step, I like to use Sugarbelle's method of sprinkling over wax paper for easy cleanup. (Another tidy alternative method is to use a coffee filter, as demonstrated by avid sprinkle user, Michelle at Make Me Cake Me).

Sprinkle the crumbs over the entire flooded surface. Once the cookie is covered in crumbs, lift and gently shake off the excess.

Step 8

Set Cookie aside to dry

Once the excess crumbs are removed, set the cookie aside to dry completely. (At least 8 hours or overnight.)

Step 9

Pour Excess Crumbs back into Container

After setting aside the cookie, use the wax paper as a funnel to pour the excess crumbs back into the container. Repeat the steps 5 through 8 with the next cookie.