Layered Palm Tree Cookies
I've always wanted to do a tropical, luau theme cookie set with each passing summer, but one silly thing was holding me back. Palm tree cookies. Seriously, I had no idea how to decorate the palm tree cookie cutter I owned.
You've probably seen or already own the palm tree cookie cutter I'm talking about. It has five sections for leaves that just didn't seem enough to me, and a trunk section that was too thick in my eyes. Determined to figure this cutter out, I sketched and sketched until I came up with a design I think finally works.
The palm tree cookie design I drew up has nine leaves, achieved by stacking them in two layers, and a whimsy, tapered tree trunk. Plus, this is all without having to modify the original cookie cutter shape. Check out below to see how.
Layered Palm Tree Cookie Template
Because the layered palm leaf design could be a bit complicated, I wanted to provide a template to help guide you during the decorating process.
If you have a Kopykake or Pico projector, just print it out (or pull it up on your mobile device) and you’re set. For those without a projector, you can still print it out, cut out the leaf sections, and trace the design onto the cookie with an edible food marker.
You can download the palm tree cookie template HERE.
Decorating Process
TIP: Preventing Icing Craters
Because this design involves filling small sections with flood icing, there's a high chance of craters forming during the drying process. To prevent craters from forming, I highly recommend using thicker consistency flood icing and placing the wet cookie in front of a table top fan to speed up the dry time.
Step 1
Begin by outlining, then flooding the lower layer of leaves with green icing. Give the icing time to set and harden (about 20 minutes).
Step 2
With slightly darker green icing, outline the top layer of leaves, then fill in two leaves that are opposite of one another. Give the icing time to set (about 10 minutes).
Step 3
Once the two top leaves had time to crust over, fill in the remaining two leaf sections. Then add a coconut with medium-consistency, dark brown icing. Wait for the coconut icing to set.
Next, with the same dark brown icing and a #2 tip, outline the palm tree trunk and its sections. Then add the second coconut beside the first one.
Step 4
After the two coconuts had time to set, add a third coconut on top, slightly overlapping the bottom two.
With light brown flood icing, fill every other trunk section and let the icing set (about 1o minutes) before filling the remaining trunk sections.
The final palm tree cookies should look like the picture below. Overall, the layering technique does require more time because of the waiting between each layer, but I think the added dimension makes up for it.
These palm tree cookies were part of a larger luau cookie set I made for the occasion. Please check back in a few days to see how I created the hula girls shown below. I hope you are having a wonderful summer!
