How to Make Hat Cookies More Interesting

There are many hat cookie cutters available with a basic design in mind when it comes to decorating them. However, here's a way to put a twist (literally) on the design to add more interest to the standard hat cookie.

No offense to traditional hat cookie lovers. I just wanted to share that by drawing the design at an angled, off-to-the-side perspective (as shown above), it adds a little more flair with very little added effort. Most importantly, there is no need to change the shape of the cookie itself.

Decorating Process

These hat cookies were made using the hat cutter from this Wilton Snowman Cutter set. Here's an example of how to use this angled hat design for St. Patrick's Day.

Step 1

Begin by sketching out the band and brim on the cookie using a food marker. Then fill the top and bottom parts of the design with green royal icing. Give the icing time to set.

Step 2

After the green icing had time to crust over, fill the middle portion with black icing. Let the black icing set before adding a buckle with gold icing.

To add dimension to the hat cookie design, add another layer of green icing for the side brim. Let the cookie dry completely for a a few hours.

Step 3

Lastly, add the final details. With a #2 piping tip and green icing, outline the brim of the hat and the top of the hat. For additional flair, add white shine accents with a food-only paintbrush and white food gel coloring.

This hat cookie design can be used for a number of occasions and themes. Aside from St. Patrick's Day, you could use this design for pilgrim hats at Thanksgiving, snowman hats at Christmas, or Steampunk-themed top hats, just to name a few.

These St. Patrick's Day hat cookies were part of a set of cookies I made for the holiday. Check back in a few days to see how to make the rainbow pot-of-gold cookies you see in the picture above.