Easy Graduation Cap Cookies (Print View)

Buttery cookies shaped like graduation caps, decorated with smooth black and yellow icing and festive candy accents.

# What You’ll Need:

→ For the Cookies

01 - 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
03 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
04 - 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
05 - 1 cup granulated sugar
06 - 1 large egg
07 - 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

→ For the Royal Icing

08 - 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
09 - 2 large egg whites or 4 tablespoons meringue powder plus 6 tablespoons water
10 - 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
11 - Black gel food coloring
12 - Yellow gel food coloring

→ For Decoration

13 - Mini yellow M&Ms or candy pearls for tassels

# Method:

01 - In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
02 - In a large bowl, beat softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, approximately 2 to 3 minutes.
03 - Add egg and vanilla extract to the butter mixture, mixing until fully combined.
04 - Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing until dough forms. Divide dough in half, shape into disks, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
05 - Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Roll chilled dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thickness.
06 - Cut dough using a graduation cap or square cookie cutter. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake for 8 to 10 minutes until edges are lightly golden. Cool completely on baking sheets.
07 - In a bowl, beat egg whites or meringue powder mixture until foamy. Gradually add sifted powdered sugar while beating until stiff, glossy peaks form, approximately 5 minutes. Mix in vanilla extract.
08 - Divide icing into portions. Tint the majority black with gel food coloring and a smaller portion yellow. Adjust consistency by adding water teaspoon by teaspoon for flooding consistency or additional powdered sugar for piping consistency.
09 - Outline each cooled cookie with black royal icing. Using a toothpick, spread icing to edges and allow it to set for 30 to 60 minutes.
10 - Pipe a yellow tassel and button on each cap using yellow royal icing and small piping bags. Place a mini M&M or candy pearl at the end of each tassel.
11 - Allow cookies to dry completely before serving or packaging, several hours or overnight.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The dough is forgiving enough that even decorating feels less like stress and more like play.
  • Watching someone bite into a cookie shaped like their own graduation cap is a memory that sticks with you way longer than the cookies do.
02 -
  • Sift your powdered sugar before beating it into the egg whites—unsifted powdered sugar creates grainy, lumpy icing that looks rough no matter how long you beat it.
  • Gel food coloring is non-negotiable here because liquid coloring waters down your icing and makes it too thin, so you end up chasing the right consistency instead of achieving it.
03 -
  • Gel food coloring needs patience—add it drop by drop because a tiny amount goes a surprisingly long way and you can't take color back out.
  • Room temperature butter mixed with room temperature egg whites creates the best icing texture, so don't skip the temperature requirements even though it feels fussy.
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