How to Decorate Chalkboard Cookies with Royal Icing

If you’re looking for a fun and classic back-to-school cookie project, these rectangular chalkboard cookies are the perfect mix of charming and delicious!

Decorated rectangular cookies like chalkboard displayed on a lined paper.

BACK TO SCHOOL CHALKBOARD COOKIES STEP-BY-STEP

In this step-by-step tutorial, I’ll show you how to decorate chalkboard cookies with royal icing – complete with a woodgrain-style frame and adorable, tiny red apples for that classic classroom touch.

THINGS YOU NEED

Get all the tools and supplies in Haniela’s Amazon Shop
Rectangular Cookie Cutter, alternatively, you can use other shapes
Back To School Cutter Set
Gel Food Coloring: black, brown, red, green
Tipless Piping Bags
Scribe Tool
Edible marker – brown, black(optional)

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COOKIE CUTTER

To make the cookies, I used a rectangular cutter with rounded corners, and I used my Fresh Lemon Royal Icing.

ROYAL ICING COLORS AND CONSISTENCIES

I used royal icing to decorate cookies. You can use standard meringue-based royal icing made with egg whites, vegan icing (using aquafaba), or glaze icing.

Black Icing: piping to a thick consistency (chalkboard layer)
White Icing: piping consistency (writing, chalk, chalkboard layer)
Red Icing: 20-second consistency (apples)
Green Icing: piping consistency (leaves)
Brown Icing: 20-second consistency

CHALKBOARD LAYER

Let’s start with the chalkboard layer.
Spread a thin layer of thick consistency black icing across the cookie, leaving the edges empty (steps 1-3).
Then, to create that signature washed-out look, spread a small amount of white icing over the black icing (steps 4-7).
Let the icing crust for about 5-10 minutes (step 8).

Spreading black and white icing over the cookie.

FRAME

To make the frame around the chalkboard, use 20-second consistency icing.
Pipe the inside frame first (steps 1-2).
Then outline the whole cookie (steps 3-4).
Fill in the gap between the two frames with brown icing (steps 5-7). If you are experiencing heavy cratering in your icing, you can pipe a zigzag line in the middle of the frame, let it crust, and then pipe the icing over it.
Let the icing fully dry for about 6 to 8 hours (step 8).

Icing a border on a rectangular cookie with brown icing.

WOODGRAIN

To create the woodgrain pattern, use an edible marker and draw the woodgrain lines onto the dry brown icing (steps 1-3).

APPLES

To make the apples, use a 20-second consistency red icing pipe.
Pipe an outline and then fill the shape. Use a scribe tool to smooth the icing. (steps 1-4).
Let the red apples crust for 5 minutes before adding a small green leaf. To pipe the leaves, use piping consistency green icing. Basically, you want to pipe a teardrop shape. Squeeze the piping bag to let the icing come out to make the dot, and then slowly pull away to create the teardrop shape to make the leaf (step 5).
To make the stem, instead of using brown icing, you can use brown Jimmie Sprinkles. How fun! For an easier application, use tweezers to pick up a small cylindrical sprinkles and insert it into the red icing, at the very top, by the green leaf (steps 6-7).

PIPE ‘BACK TO SCHOOL’

Lastly, you can add a message of your choice and pipe it onto the chalkboard with piping consistency white icing.
This message can read ‘Back to school’, or you can also personalize it by including a teacher’s or your classmate’s name. It’s up to you (steps 1-2).
Don’t forget to pipe a tiny chalk on the top edge of the wooden frame (step 3).
Let the icing dry for 2-3 hours before packaging cookies (step 4).

Writing back to school on a cookie with white icing.

If you prefer, you can easily personalize each cookie by writing a student’s or a teacher’s name right on the chalkboard surface instead of ‘Back to School’. And for an extra special gift, pair them with pencil-shaped cookies or package them in a bakery box for a thoughtful treat.

Decorated back to school inspired cookies on a notebook paper.

CHALKBOARD COOKIES VIDEO TUTORIAL

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