How to Make Scarecrow Cookies
There's this weird hangup I have about fall.
I basically love everything there is about this time of year -- the cooler temps, the leaves changing color, the kids back in school, the pumpkin spice lattes, etc. You name it, I pretty much love it. Except one thing. Scarecrows.
Scarecrows are like straw-filled autumn clowns. And clowns can make anyone a little uneasy.
That being said, I've always wanted to make scarecrow cookies, but with a particular goal in mind. I wanted these scarecrow cookies to be as non-threatening and as cheerful as possible. I wanted these cookies to bring a smile to people's faces, not put fear in their eyes. You know what I mean?
I think (hopefully) I met that goal with this latest batch of fall-themed cookies.
Scarecrow Cookie Cutters
I've added five new autumn designs to my shop. In this new collection of cutters is this pair-- a scarecrow girl and a boy design.
These scarecrow cookie cutters are available in a number of sizes. For this tutorial, I’ll be decorating the LARGE-sized girl scarecrow. However, the steps to decorate the boy version are very similar and can be applied as well.
Template for the Scarecrow Cookies
To help with the decorating process, I made a PDF template of all the new autumn designs, including this scarecrow cookie design.
You can download the new Autumn 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 the colors used for these scarecrow cookies, you will need the following suggested colors:
- Ivory royal icing. (I used Americolor Ivory.)
- Pink flood icing. (I used just a tiny touch of Americolor Tulip Red.)
- Straw piping and flood icing (I mixed Americolor Gold with a touch of Americolor Egg Yellow.)
- Teal Blue icing (I used my favorite autumn blue.)
- Green medium icing (I used Rainbow Dust Olive.)
- Orange piping icing (I used Americolor Orange).
- Black icing (I used Americolor Super Black.)
Step 1
For those without a projector, begin by making a guideline for where the hat, hair, and face sections should be. I made a template with template plastic from the PDF file above and used a food marker to draw the guideline on the cookie.
Step 2
Begin by outlining and fill the face section, then immediately add two pink circles for the cheek color. Shake the cookie smooth and let it set for 10 minutes.
Next, outline and fill the top hat section with teal blue icing. Let this icing crust over for about 20 minutes.
Step 3
Once the icing had time to set, add the hair in alternating sections with straw-colored icing.
With orange icing, add a nose detail.
Step 4
Now it's time to add the fine details. With black icing, add the stitched smile and eyes. With green icing, add the hat band and the hair ties.
Lastly, add the outline detail on the straw hair. (I used a #1 PME tip for this.) With a food pen, draw on the lashes and eyebrows.
Step 5
After the scarecrow cookies were completely iced, I still felt they were missing something. So to add a little fall flair to these, I attached a fondant sunflower.
The sunflower mold that I used can be purchased here.
Video Tutorial
The steps above are demonstrated in the time-lapsed video below.
To accompany the girl and boy scarecrow cookies, I included a new crow bird cutter design. Also, I reused the pumpkin cutter I released last year for this set, as well.
I have a few more fun fall ideas coming, including a platter design and an easy stencil set, so please check back soon. Autumn is my favorite time of year and I'm excited to share what I have planned next.
