How to Make a Valentine Astronaut Cookie Set

Sometimes, when a cookie cutter design is released, I often think "you know, it could also work as 'this'" or "wouldn't it be cool if it was changed to 'that'?"

That's basically what happened when the Balloon Teddy Bear Set was released last year. I had other ideas spinning around in my head, thinking of alternatives to that same concept.

That's where this Astronaut cookie set came to be. Having a chubby astronaut floating below a heart-shaped moon balloon was a design worth recreating.

Valentine Astronaut Cookie Cutter Set

Just added to the shop for the upcoming Valentine's Day season is this Balloon Astronaut cookie cutter set.

The cookie cutters are available in Regular and Large sizes. However, for this tutorial, I'll be decorating the LARGE size.

For reference, you can see both sizes illustrated below. My personal preference would be the LARGE size though.

Templates for the Valentine Astronaut Cookies

To help with the decorating process, I made a PDF template available for all the new Valentine's Day cookie cutter designs, including this astronaut and moon balloon set.

You can download these cookie templates HERE.

If you have a Kopykake or Pico projector, just print it out (or pull it up on your mobile device) and you are good to go. For those without a projector, follow the suggested steps below by tracing the design onto the cookie with an edible food marker.

The Decorating Process

For these astronaut cookies, you will need the following suggested colors:

• Dark Gray royal icing (I mixed Americolor Super Black with a touch of Americolor Peacock.)
• Light Gray icing (I mixed a little of the Dark Gray icing above with fresh white icing.)
• Pink icing (I used Wilton Pink.)
• White icing (I used Americolor Bright White.)

Step 1

For the astronaut cookie, begin by filling in alternating white sections of the body. Start with sections that don't touch either other first. Then as they dry, fill in the remaining sections, as shown.

Step 2

Next, add the dark accents like the helmet visor, the hands, and the foot treads.

Then finish the cookie by adding the pink elements and outlining the white sections for definition.

Step 3

For the moon balloon cookie, begin applying a thin layer of dark gray icing. I used an offset spatula.

Let this icing dry.

Step 4

Next, with light gray icing, outline moon crater circles and fill around the circles, as shown. Let this icing fully dry for at least an hour.

Finish the cookie by added a rough texture. I piped on extra gray icing and used a food-only paintbrush to dab the surface repeatedly until I got the textured surface I was going for.

Step 5

The last step is to add a little flair with a fondant bow. I used this bow mold from Amazon. I attached a piece of twine to the back of the bow and attached both to the cookie with a little bit of royal icing. (This can be easily popped off before eating.)

Valentine Astronaut Cookie Set Video Tutorial

The steps above are summarized in this time-lapsed video I put together.

Here's the completed 2-piece set. (Shown is the LARGE size set option.)

For a size reference, here are a few suggested box recommendations:

LARGE- This size astronaut and balloon set will fit in these “7 3/8″ x 5 1/2” boxes from Paper Mart.

REGULAR- This size astronaut and balloon set will in this BRP cookie box (7" x 4 3/8" x 1.25").

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