How to Make Bookworm Cookies

There’s a few things I've grown to appreciate about cookie decorating. One being, as the years progress, there's plenty of opportunity to improve upon, or reinvent, cookie designs from the past.

For instance, I loved these Apple Bookworm cookies from a few years ago. However, looking back at the design, there are a few things I wish I did differently. Specifically, I wasn't totally thrilled about how I made the face.

Now, fast forward to today. This is my new design for back-to-school bookworm cookies. This time around, I changed up the face to give these cookies more life. The cheeky smile adds a little more personality, while the bigger eyes elevate their character.

Bookworm Cookie Cutters

There are two versions of bookworm cookie cutters available in the shop.

Isolated Bookworm - This cookie cutter is just the bookworm by itself. It's larger in scale and lacks the book detail on the bottom for quicker decorating.

Bookworm on a Book - This version has a bookworm resting on a book. The book provides enough area to add a personalized name, making it a great gift option.

Template for the School Supply Cookies

To help with the decorating process, I made a PDF template available for all the back-to-school supply designs shown.

You can download the 2018 back-to-school supply 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 bookworm cookies, you will need the following suggested colors:

• Green flood icing (I mixed Americolor Gold with Mint Green.)
• Darker Green piping icing (I mixed the Green icing above with a touch of Americolor Forest Green.)
• White medium consistency icing. (I used Americolor Bright White.)
• Black medium icing (I used Americolor Super Black.)

Note: These bookworm cookies have body section details that are kind of complex. I would recommend using a projector to help the decorating process if you have one.

Step 1

For those without a projector, mark the guidelines where the eyes and body sections should be, as shown. 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

Next, outline over the body guidelines with the darker green icing using a #2 icing tip. Let it set up for about 15 minutes before moving on.

Then, fill in the individual sections with the lighter green flood icing. Be careful not to fill over the outline. Be sure to fill in non-adjacent sections first, then fill in the remaining after the icing has set. Below is how I progressed through the flooded sections. Let this base layer dry completely (about 2 to 4 hours).

Step 3

Once the green body sections have dried and set, it's time to add the eyes. Begin by adding them one at a time.

Fill a single eye area with white icing first, then immediately add a black dot of icing. Wait about 20 minutes before adding the other eye. Allow both eyes to set up for about another 20 minutes before moving on.

Step 4

Next, add the eyeglass frames and ear hook with black icing.

Lastly, with the darker green icing, add the cheek and smile lines. Also, add any lines around the body that might need some definition, like the neck and back hump edges.

Video Tutorial

The steps above are demonstrated in the time-lapsed video below.

As mentioned above, an alternative cookie design is available of a bookworm on a book.

These book version cookies were sized appropriately to fit inside a 4"x4" gift box. Also, they create enough space to add a personalized name.

For reference, the font I used for the names in the example images above is Grenouille.