Owl Cookies with Big Eyes
I think owls are super cute! We have them at our house and I can hear them all night long hooting at each other. It is really neat and kinda eerie at the same time. As I sat on the porch Friday night drinking a cup of coffee, I heard several of them and decided to make some colorful owl cookies. I don’t have an owl cutter so I had to come up with something on my own. I am pretty sure every cookier owns these cutters.
Can you tell what cutters I used? Would you believe it is and egg cutter and a heart cutter? Well, it is.
Supplies for Owl Cookies:
Use any colors you want for this but here is the list of colors I used.
AmeriColor Sky Blue Thick & Flood Icing
AmeriColor Electric Yellow+ a tiny bit of Wilton Buttercup Yellow Thick & Flood Icing
Wilton Juniper Green + Americolor Electric Green Thick & Flood Icing
AmeriColor Soft Pink Thick & Flood Icing
Wilton Violet Thick & Flood Icing
White Outline Icing
AmeriColor Electric Orange  Outline Icing
Black Outline Icing
White Pearlized Sugar Pearls
Eye Template White & Black
- To make the Royal Icing Transfer eyes, you will need, wax paper, tape a flat surface to pipe on and a pattern if you want your eyes to be the same size. Click here for my other RI Transfer tutorial.
- Print the templates above for this step or if you want to make the patterns yourself follow these step: trace 2 different sized decorating tips for the eyes. The large one is a cupcake tip and it is #9FT and the small one is a #2 PME. Remember, when you make RI Transfers, make extra because sometimes they break.
- First, pipe the small circles black. While they are wet, add a White Pearlized Sugar Pearls for the sparkle in the eyes. Let them dry completely. When they dry, carefully remove them from the wax paper.
- Pipe the large circle white. While the white is still wet, drop the black part of the eye in the center. The good thing is, you can make these a few days ahead of time. The bad thing is these have to dry completely before you start your owls.
- I uses an egg cutter from a bag of cutters I got at Wal-Mart at Easter. You can use any egg cutter you have.
- Once you cut out the egg, move the bottom of the egg cutter to the top of the egg and cut it off. The lower you cut, the fatter your owl will be.
- Cut the wings out with a heart cutter. You need 2-half hearts. Mine was a weird shape so I cut 2 and flipped one over.
- Once you have your heart wings, trim them with the egg cutter.
Repeat the dots overlapping them slightly and continue up the body.
Cutest owl cookies EVER? Ummmm … yeah! bRiLlIAnT!
Awe, thanks!
I love them. They are adorable. I think the hardest thing looks like the RI eyes. I get so impatient that I am sure to mess those up! Thanks for such a great tutorial.
I had a hard time with that step also Marci! I wanted them to dry immediately! I have a new plan. When I have left over icing, I am going to use it to make eyes so I always have some on hand.
I love everything about these! From the feather technique to their silly eyes – perfect! 🙂
I just love these and the simplicity of how they come together to look complicated! Thanks for always sharing your talents 🙂
Thank you for stopping by Laura. I am glad you like them:)
Love the feathers! That is so smart. And the large eyes are perfect. Going to have to come up with a reason to try these. I think they would be great in some Halloween colors.
I can’t wait to make them in Halloween colors! If you make some Brandi, please tag me! I would love to see them.
dude. these guys are soooooo great!!
Thanks Michele!!
Can u make em for me I would like to buy 2 dezon if so
I am sorry but I don’t sell cookies. I don’t have a Licensed kitchen and I prefer to teach others instead of selling.
If you chose to make them, let me know if you have any questions. 😉
This tutorial is brilliant and your cookies are awesome! Thank you!!!
Thank you Miss Cuit! I think you are pretty brilliant yourself! 😉
Lisa! This is the best owl tutorial ever! I love how you did the feathers and those eyes are amazing (as well as do-able!). I really love the feather technique and can’t wait to try it…maybe even ruffles for a dress! Thank you for sharing!
Christine! Ruffles on a dress would be perfect!! Tag me if you make some! Awesome idea!! 🙂
Fantastic! I love all the dimension in the big bubbly eye to the ruffles (gorgeous!) to the nose. Also, great use of cutters!
Thanks Michelle! This is a fun technique! I can’t wait to use it again. As for the cutters, I didn’t have an owl and really hate to hand cut! LOL
Hand-cutting = pain in the petunia!! 🙂
Oh these are amazing. I have wanted a “fat” little owl cutter but they were too expensive, thank you for the tutorial. I love owls too, they really look so smart!!
Hey Brendag, the good thing about using the egg as the cutter, you can make him really fat if you want. You could even use a circle to make them fatter if you want. I didn’t want to pay a lot for a cutter I won’t use that much either. So, I did it the Sweet Sugar Belle way and went hunting through my cutters!
well aren’t those the cutest owls ever and I learned a new technique, yay!!! LIsa, you rock!
NO!! YOU ROCK Karen!!! 😉
DARLING!!!!! These are sooo sweet!!!! Just love how they each have a personality…. Question…when you did the eyes….did you actually pipe around to form a circle or did you use a tip and just squeeze the bag till the to achieve the circle. Seems every time I squeeze to get a perfect circle…the eyes get to thick and get craters…any suggestions??
Hi Amalia, I used thick icing and placed the tip close to the wax paper. Then, I squeezed the piping bag and let the icing build up. When I had the amount of icing I wanted, I stuck a boo boo stick in the center and move it around some. That helps get the air bubbles out so it doesn’t cave. Gravity will naturally pull it down some but if you build up your icing, it will hold its shape better than piping a circle and filling it. Hope this helps!
Great tutorial. I am making owl cookies for a baby shower in September, so this was very helpful. I had planned to make fondant eyes, but I might give the white sugar pearls a try! For some reason I am not receiving your feeds via email even though I have signed up multiple times, so I’m glad I caught your post on Facebook.
Thanks for letting me know about my emails not coming through. I will check into that. Please let me know when you make the shower cookies. I can’t wait to see them:)
These are wonderful and an amazing tutorial! You knocked it out of the park, Lisa!
Blessings, Donna B.
You are so sweet Donna! You always make me smile! Thanks so much for being you!!
Lisa, these are the cutest owls! I love the texture of the feathers. Once again, thank you for an awesome tutorial!!
Awe thanks TriciaZ. I am glad you like the texture:)
These are so cute. I cannot imagine watching someone eat such a creation? I used your photo for my desktop background, it makes me smile!
You just made my day Rebecca! You are so, so sweet!! 😉
love, love, LOVE these! Seriously can’t wait to try them—thanks for the darling tutorial! 🙂
Thank YOU Christie! I hope you have fun making them. Tag me if you do! I love seeing what people make:)
These are absolutely adorable!
Thanks Elizabeth! Your sweet!
Your owls could not be any CUTER!!! LOVE those eyes!
Lisa, I had an experience a couple years back which involved driving at night, a curvy country road, an owl, and a shattered windshield. Perhaps your cookies will help me get over that mini trauma. 🙂
Oh My Goodness SUE!! I can’t believe it shattered your windshield! I hope you can get over that mini trauma. My daughter came home a few years ago and a large owl was in our driveway eating a rabbit and it traumatized her for a while! LOL She finally got over it because she thinks owls are really, really cute!
These are gorgeous! Love!
Thanks Sugar Flower! I love the name Sugary Flower!!
These are TOO stinkin’ cute Lisa!! Love them!
Thanks Samantha!!
Oh, my goodness! I cannot get over your cookie brilliance!! I love how you did the feathers on the chest!!! Such wonderful dimension and, as always, another great Lisa idea! Seriously, these little guys could not be any cuter!!
Thanks Tracy! I am glad you like them!
Oh…my!!! I just read the text and… pearlized sugar pearls?! You are just entirely too awesome, Lisa! What a fantastic idea! I bow down to your cookie cleverness!
Oh geeze! I made owls this weekend too! I wish you had posted this on SATURDAY!!! I see some things I wish I’d done differently!!! Love these, L!!
Thanks! I LOVE your owls SweetSugarBelle!! You are amazing!!!
Love them! I love the smoosh technique for the middle feathers!
Thanks Melissa! 😉
i like it barley!
Wowie! These are so vibrant. Love the colors and the way you did the feathers. ADORABLE lil guys.
Thanks Andrea!
Sooooo cute! I want to do that! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks Lucia! If you make them tag me in a photo so I can see them;)
Of course, I will do that! 🙂
YOU are a genius! Stand up and take a bow!!
I am IN LOVE with these!! The colors, the textures, the amazing huge eyes. I need to try this technique soon!
I love these little owls sooo much – probably the cutest owls “owl” ever see!!! 🙂
Wow!! You are one talented lady. Just visited your blog for the first time. I’m amazed. Thanks for the step by step, I think just maybe I could create something close!
Wow Lisa…you just made an “owl” person out of me. I’ve never seen such cute ones! These are definately tops in my book, and ones I can’t wait to try! Bless you for sharing! Love em!!!
Ingenious , adorable and fun. Plus what a great tutorial. My grandson absolutely loves owl and I will try to make these for him. However, in the meantime I just baked up some fish cookies and was trying to figure out how I was going to make Nemo’s big eyes. Lisa, you just made my day and realllllllly made me smile.
What RI recipe did you use?
Hi Ashley,
I use this icing recipe: http://thebearfootbaker.com/2011/12/antonis-royal-icing/
For the feathers, you need to make it thick so it will hold it’s shape. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Lisa
OMG!!!! It´s a beautiful work!! and it´s very sweet of you to shared with us how to do it.
I send you a lot regards…from CHILE….
🙂
Ingenious use of your cookie cutters. These owl are as beautiful as they are adorable.
Thanks Paula! SweetSugarBelle has give me courage to look at cutter differently! LOL
I love your cookies. I just don’t like hard icing, i.e. Royal icing, on cookies. I’m a buttercream fan. Would I be able to do this with buttercream, especially the ‘flooding’ part? Thanks for your input.
Julianne, I have a friend with a blog called The Partiologist. She uses buttercream icing. I have had the pleasure of eating her cookies and they are delicious! You should check out her recipe. On this post it says email me for the recipe: http://thepartiologist.blogspot.com/2012/03/eggstra-eggstra-sugar-cookie-tutorial.html
Oh these are so cute! And I have to make some of those adorable eyes too! Thanks for sharing your creativity Lisa!
I love the cookies they will be great for my daughters 2nd birthday coming up Sept. 19. thank you for sharing god bless.
I love the feather technique! I have been wanting to try that on cakes, as it is very popular right now. I never would have thought to try it on cookies!!!! Thanks!
Hi, A Big Thank You They Are So Sweetttttttttttttt
Oh Lisa, these are darling! I LOVE the feather technique.
My 3 yr. old adores owls; I don’t know where he picked it up. Every time we drive past an exit sign on the highway that has Hooters listed as one of the places nearby to eat, he says “OWL! HOOO HOOOO!” LOL. Mama may have to make him some of these owl cookies. 🙂
Oh my gosh Lisa,
I’ve been seeing owl cookies popping up everywhere and your’s is my absolute favourite!!! Its soooo cute!
My whole family loves owls, sounds like our surname :0P
Amazing! So Cute!!! I can’t stop saying that, but they are SOOOOO cute!! <3
Those are adorable owls!!! I have been on an Owl kick lately…..so I really love these!! Thanks for showing how you did it!!
Lisa thanks for this owl cookies….it is wonderfull, kiss
I am glad you like them Ruth! 😉
Ich liebe Ihre Seite,nun sind meine Zwillingsenkelchen begeisterte Bäcker;-) Vielleicht ist es möglich mehrere Anleitungen hier zu zeigen,damit meine Beiden es nachbacken können,wenn sie Omilietag haben;-) Ich bin begeistert von Ihren Talent,ein riesiges Kompliment.Habe sie bei Facebook entdeckt und meinen Freunden weiter empfohlen.Liebe Grüsse aus Bonn/Deutschland
Hi Lisa! I just love your wonderful owl cookies! The feather technique is a great idea! Thank you so much for sharing your talents with a cookie decorating want-a-be. I am getting some cookie decorating supplies together so during the winter months I can give cooke decorating a try. I look forward to all of your future creative cookie decorating ideas.
Thank you so much for the idea. They are beautiful I’m making these for my daughters 21st birthday. She is owl crazy. She is going to love these. I love the idea of using the egg cookie cutter for the shape. I couldnt find a fat owl cookie cutter anywhere.
Happy Birthday to your daughter Trisha! I hope she has a great day and I am honored you are making these for her! (((Bear Hug))))
Seldom do I make cookies following someone’s design exactly….but these cute owls were so perfectly adorable they didn’t require any adaptations! I created a batch of these guys yesterday and they’ve been a hit with everyone I’ve shared them with! Thank you so much for the wonderful tutorial! =)
I am so glad you enjoyed the tutorial and everyone enjoyed your owl cookies. They are fun to make and I can’t wait to make them in Halloween colors for the neighborhood kids. You made my night;)
Darling!! and soooooo yummy looking…:)
thanks for sharing and making me smile.
melissa from WA
I’m new to decorating and am LOVING it. I am also loving discovering all of these awesome cookie decorating sites. Your cookies are amazing. Thank you for your wonderful tutorials. I am far from an artist but can copy and follow instructions great! Thanks again!!
Adorable!
I don’t know how I didn’t see these before. They are absolutely adorable!! I never would’ve thought of pairing the heart and egg to make these. And I love how you did the feathers. So cute!
Hello Lisa, I absolutely love these. Do you bake to sell? My daughter is having her 1st birthday and I would love to have some of these. I can’t find a bakery to do them in my small town.
Wow I’ve done tht technique on a cake, never thought to use it on cookies! That’s brilliant deff something im gonna use:)
I am glad you are going to use it on cookies now. It is a fun technique to make:)
The best owls ever!!!
I absolutely love these owls! Sooooooo cute =)!
Hi Lisa,
I have been searching for owl cookies for my daughter and this are by far the cutest!
One question though, how many days in advance can I make the eyes? Or the whole cookie itself. I have plenty going on, want to see what I can get done in advance.
Thanks for sharing your amazing ideas!
Ana
Hi Ana. You can make the eyes weeks in advance. I suggest you make the white part of the eye and let them dry for a long time (days or even a week) so when you add the black it doesn’t bleed into the white. You can store them in a cool dark place in an airtight container and they will last a very, very long time.
You can make the cookies in advance also but, I personally don’t make them more than a few days because I like them really fresh. Again, store them in a airtight container once they are completely dry.
Happy Birthday to your daughter! Hope her party is wonderful!!
These are like the cutest cookies ever! They look insanely time consuming though. Love them! 🙂
Thank you so much for the tutorial on this precious owl! It is adorable!
Hello,
I LOVE these cookies and what a great tutorial. Thank you for sharing 😉
I don’t know if anyone already asked this question, but I wanted to know if the ruffle are royal icing? if not, will I be able to stack my cookies because I am doing owls cookies for a best friend but I have to ship them to her.
Hi Yashira, yes they are made from royal icing so you will be able to stack them when they dry. 😉
Per la prima volta vedo questo bellissimo blog. Cercavo idee per dei gufi! Sono meravigliosi e spero tanto di riuscire ad avvicinarmi a quel che hai fatto tu. Grazie!!!
What consistency would you say the “thick” icing (ie the feather icing) is? More than outline icing, or the same? Thanks!
Hi Sarah,
It is thicker than the outline icing. It needs to be thick enough to hold it’s shape so when you pipe a peak it will stay.
Hi Lisa,
Thanks! So would you say it’s a normal frosting consistency? Like buttercream-esque? Or is that too thick?
Hi, Â totally love your tutorials and all your tips! I’m still a baby on this cooki business and I love creating and finding new ( easier) ways of doing things, my question is how can I stop color bleeding when I’m using wet on wet or transfers on my cookies? Tanks in advance ?
Hi Sara,
Do you live in a humid climate? I use a thicker base icing before adding the RI transfers or the second wet on wet color. You have to work fast but it seems to help. Let me know if it works. 😉
Hi there! Love these sweet little cookies! My question is, does placing separate wings and baking the cookies make a weak spot in the cookie where it’s likely to break? Seeing this blew my mind and opened up so many options, I just worry that the separate cookie pieces make the cookie fragile!Â
Hi Lesia,
Anytime you cut pieces of cookie dough and add it to another cookie you are creating a weak spot. A solid cut cookie is always stronger but keep in mind just because it’s weaker doesn’t mean it’s going to break. The icing will act as support and make the cookie stronger.
So if you attached a thin candy cane, like your planting a flower growing out of the top of a snowman’s head, it could break easily. Attaching wings to the owl are stronger because the connection to the two pieces of dough cover a larger area. By adding the icing, you are making the connection stronger.
Hope that helps!
Lisa