Want to make your neighbours happy? How about your kids? Maybe your neighbour’s kids? Or your best friend’s cousin’s roommate?
Make them a double-it-up, sweet treat – these Lorax sugar cookies with cotton candy on top.
If they like sweets, and if they have an inkling who Dr. Seuss is, they might love you for making these for them.
And the best part is, is that they’re simple to make… just basic square and circle cookies covered in royal icing, with cotton candy on top, gumballs and a few icing details for the Lorax himself.
I’ll show you how I made them below. Just one thing to make sure you know first though…
Cotton candy (candy floss), is… well, it’s soft, sticky, and it absorbs moisture easily.
Translation – After a while you’ll see things like this:
Just below his nose you can see that the cotton candy ‘melted’ into the royal icing underneath it.
What does that mean?
These need to be eaten soon, quickly, that day, they need to be enjoyed after you make them.
Good if you’re making these as an activity with your kids or making them and giving them away right away, not so good if you want to sell them.
And they certainly can’t be shipped. (Unless you know something I don’t about handling cotton candy. If you do, I’d love to hear, if you’d like to share in the comment section below). Another thing to note – Right now, the climate I live in is really dry. If you live in a humid area, working in an air-conditioned and de-humidified room is probably best.
But really, these are easy and fun to make, and of course, also perfect for kids who’re loving the new movie out in theatres, The Lorax.
Oh and you might be wondering why he’s just a square – I based him on this movie image here.
If you’d like to see a more detailed and completely adorable Lorax (cake pop), visit Bakerella’s site here. Prepare to be charmed by her versions of him!
So how to make these?
Pictorials – Making The Lorax Decorated Cookies
To make these, you’ll need:
- Sugar Cookie Recipe here
- Royal Icing Recipe
- Square and Circle Cookie cutters (size your choice)
- Piping Tips (#1, #2, #3)
- Couplers
- Piping Bags
- Food Gel Colourings
- Cotton Candy (A.k.a. Candy Floss – I bought mine at the Bulk Barn)
- Gray and White Striped Straws
- Orange Gumballs
If you need some more guidance, a good place to start is with this Cookie Decorating Tutorial, and two videos on Icing Consistency and How to Pipe Icing Lines.
How to Make Truffula Tree Cookie Pops
Here’s a video on making cookie pops, which you may like to watch as well.
1) After you’ve made your sugar cookie dough, roll it out to about 1/2 inch thick. I made mine about 3/8 of an inch, and found they were a little fragile.
2) Insert the straw into the dough to make a hole ready for when they’re baked.
3) Place the cookies on a baking sheet, making sure there’s room for the straws to be inserted, after they come out of the oven.
4) Once baked, insert the straws into the holes, while the cookies are still warm. Let cookies cool.
5) Using a #3 piping tip, flood cookies with royal icing and let dry. (Please see the tutorial section if you need a how-to on flooding).
6) Pipe a little bit of icing onto the surface of your cookie and gently place some cotton candy on top. The cotton candy ‘melts’ or ‘shrinks’ easily, so pick it up and rip it lightly. It doesn’t need to be pressed down onto the cookie (that will just flatten it), it adheres easily.
Serve and enjoy!
One little note about adhering cotton candy to your cookie… Above is an example of how much icing I was putting on at first. By my last cookie I found I didn’t need so much – Just a dab or two of icing will do the trick.
How to Make The Lorax Moustache Cookie
Make these cookies on their own, or as a cookie pop. Here’s a video on making cookie pops, which you may like to watch as well.
1. After you’ve made your sugar cookie dough, roll it out to about 1/2 inch thick. I made mine about 3/8 of an inch, and found they were a little fragile.
2. Print a template of The Lorax moustache. I just printed a version of the movie poster, and faced the printer ink upwards while I cut the moustache out with a paring knife.
3. Insert the straw into the dough to make a hole ready for when they’re baked. The next time I make these, I’ll insert the straw in the middle for more sturdiness.
4. Place the cookies on a baking sheet, making sure there’s room for the straws to be inserted, after they come out of the oven.
5. Once baked, insert the straws into the holes, while the cookies are still warm. Let cookies cool.
6. Using a #3 piping tip, flood cookies with royal icing and let dry. (Please see the tutorial section if you need a how-to on flooding).
7. Pipe a little bit of icing onto the surface of your cookie and gently place some cotton candy on top. The cotton candy ‘melts’ or ‘shrinks’ easily, so pick it up and rip it lightly. It doesn’t need to be pressed down onto the cookie (that will just flatten it), it adheres easily.
8. Adhere a gumball to the cookie with royal icing.
Serve and enjoy!
How to Make The Lorax Cookie
1) Once cookies are baked and have cooled, flood cookies with royal icing and let dry. (Please see the tutorial section if you need a how-to on flooding).
2) Using a #2 piping tip, layer the following colours on top of each other, one immediately after another. (Wet on wet icing technique).
3) Pipe a little bit of icing onto the surface of your cookie and gently place some cotton candy on top for the Lorax’s moustache and eyebrows. The cotton candy ‘melts’ or ‘shrinks’ easily, so pick it up and rip it lightly. It doesn’t need to be pressed down too much onto the cookie (that will just flatten it), it adheres easily.
4) Add one finishing touch to The Lorax’s eyes – an orange line around the top half, with a #1 piping tip. They eyes will need to have set a bit (about 15 minutes at least), so you may want to add the cotton candy after this detail.
Serve and enjoy!
Happy decorating!
xo,
Marian
p.s.
Michele says
Thanks so much- those are so cute! My brain gears are grinding though about the cotton candy/moisture problem…. I wish I had some cotton candy so I could test it out. But, I wonder if you used something that was a moisture barrier if that would help. I am thinking, shortening. You would only need a teeny tiny bit. If you try it out let me know what happens. I know grease is royal’s #1 enemy, so it may cause a bigger mess. I know me…now I’m going to go to every grocery store in town to find cotton candy to solve this problem…hehehehe 🙂
Paula says
Marian these are the most adorable and original Lorax cookies I’ve seen. I love them and your ingenuity. Great tutorial and awesome cookies!
Jen says
These are adorable! I made thing 1 and thing 2 cupcakes (from the cat in the hat) and I too had a problem with the cotton candy melting right into the buttercream, within about an hour. If you find a way to resolve this please let us know!!
Sharon says
@ Michele:
You should be able to find cotton candy now that Easter is upon us. If you can’t find it with all the Easter candy then go check the produce department. They sometimes carry it too 🙂 Best wishes!
Evan says
I’m so happy to see this post- especially about the cotton candy! I made “Who” puffs out of cotton candy and they completely shrunk so I didn’t know if you had some special insight I didn’t have, but I’m happy to hear it’s the same all around! Cotton candy or not, I would eat these immediately anyways so it wouldn’t have time to shrink 🙂
Courtney Dial says
I’m speechless.
marian says
@ Michele: That’s a good idea… I’ll have to try the shortening the next time I use cotton candy and icing together. Lol… yes, that sounds like me when I’m on a mission (every grocery store in town). Luckily for me this time, it was at the first store I checked. Good luck!
Hi @ Paula: Thanks!
@ Jen: I will, absolutely! Thanks for dropping by and commenting.
Good idea @ Sharon!
@ Evan: Would be nice if there was a solution, wouldn’t it! Thanks for visiting. =)
Brianne says
Oh my…how deliciously wonderful! (:
Will have to make these with the kids after we see The Lorax!
Leticia says
Love the tutorial! I wish I could make them, but I have none of the ingredients or tools needed… 🙁
Evon says
OMG! Absolutely Adorable! <3
Maria says
you blow me away again…..
ML
Holly W says
These are so adorable and flawless. Love your perfection!
IFeelCook says
So cute!!! I love these cookies.
Cindy K says
I showed them to my husband and told him they had to be eaten soon. He said, “who came up with that bad idea? Cookies that have to be eaten quickly? : )”
Cookies are very cute! I haven’t seen the movie yet, but have been looking forward to it!
Theresa Murphy says
These are tooo cute!! I love them!!
Barbara says
Wonder if packing a dessicant with it would work, like silica gel, same as you use to keep isomalt objects hard.
Love your cookies and pops, they are soo cute!
Amber MidnightBaker says
I love these! I am planning on taking my daughter and her friends to this movie this next week…what a fun treat for them!!
As usual you continue to inspire and amaze me!
Amber says
These are so cute!! Great idea!
Rowaida Flayhan says
You amaze me Marian, Wow Love!
sandie says
My little one would think she died and went to heaven if I ever gave her a cookie with cotton candy on it!! SO CUTE
Sarah says
Hi! I found your site at the beginning of last week and have spent sooo much time poring over the posts and info! I love what you do with cookies! I’ve only worked with royal icing once before (and it didnt go so well), but I was inspired and HAD to try making some royal icing cookies last week (despite having JUST made sugar cookies the week before). Thanks to your tutorials and videos, they turned out pretty well!
Anyways, I just wanted to say hi.
Sarah
P.S. I’m also impressed that you actually answer people’s questions in the comment section. I actually read through a lot of the comment sections to see what questions people ask and what the answers are 🙂
marian says
That’s hilarious @ Cindy K! Thanks for the giggle!
@ Barbara: I wonder too – great idea! I’ve used them for spun sugar balls (this post here; https://sweetopia.net/2009/03/christmas-cabaret/), and it helped them last overnight. An experiment to try with cotton candy, for sure.
HI @ Sarah: Yay! Thank you so much for visiting and letting me know how it went! I really do get a kick out of helping people decorate, and if other people get the ‘cookie bug’ too, well, the more the merrier. Has it bitten you? 😉 I would love to see what you made if you’d like to share it on my facebook page. What did you make?
Everyone else who commented – ;-D Thanks so much for dropping by, and for those of you going to see the movie, or for those of you planning on making these, have fun!
Cristin (Pinkie) of Cristin's Cookies says
Adorable! What a cute idea! I showed my son and he loved them!
Bea @ CancunCOOKIES says
Love these! I have to see the movie, this is something new!
Amy says
Marian these are so awesome! I actually just bought cotton candy in a cup at the big W for Easter, but now I have a feeling they aren’t going to last that long! Can’t wait to try this technique! Love the colours and photos!
Nicole/Life's a Batch says
Oh, Marian – these are too genius! They are unlike anything else I’ve seen for the movie, and I’m just blown away at your creativity! Please, please, please – come link ’em up over at my Seuss-y party this weekend, there’s still time!
http://lifesabatch.com/?p=1048
niner // sweet treats says
Marian, I LOVE your ideas! Cotton Candyyyy??
Ohmy how NICE!
I love what you came up with – thanks so much for this post, it made me smile big time 🙂
MUCH LOVE sweetie,
xoxo..niner 🙂
Shelley says
Seriously Marian?! How do you come up with these things?! Absolutely Adorable. 🙂
Jyothi says
Hi Marian,
I just recently found your website and have spent so much time being delighted with all your work that my husband finally threatened to put a parental block on the website so I couldn’t access it anymore!!!
You are amazing and very encouraging too.
I am so glad I found your website.
Take care.
j
Sarah says
@ marian:
I have definitely gotten bit by the cookie bug-I’m already to try some more. (I may just have stick to using the leftover icing i have and practicing designs on wax paper for now).
I made some flowers, butterflies, and some round cookies just playing around with fun designs. I attempted a lace look-definitely needs some work, but fun to try.I just posted a pic of some of the butterflies and flowers on your facebook site.
52cakes says
Simply delightful!! Now I know what to make for next year’s Read Across America Day celebrating Dr. Seuss’ birthday.
Cindy says
How did I miss this yesterday!? Amazing. Just took four 12 year-old girls to see Lorax Saturday night. Loved it! My daughter is going to SWOON like I am over these cookies. We have to make them this weekend. Thanks so much for this post!
Lisa @ Sweet 2 Eat Baking says
You’re so talented. These are brilliant!
I keep hearing about Dr Seuss (is that right?) from US bloggers. I’m assuming it’s some sort of pre-school kids programme. Never heard of it locally.
Isabel says
Fantastic!
Thank you very much for all that we teach, you’re the best.
A greeting.
Janelle says
Hi Marian. Love the cookies. My kids are in a grade school production of the Lorax. I can see these as treats for the cast and crew.
As for adding shortening, how about just using the Meringue Buttercream Icing recipe from Karen at Karenscookies.net? It has shortening in it. I dries hard enough to stack. It doesn’t get as smooth as RI, but I don’t think that will be an issue with this cookie.
If I try it, I will post results.
Janelle
Lindsey says
So these are really cute, and I plan to make them next weeekend when I take my kids to their very first movie (the lorax)! Anyway, what if you let the icing dry completely overnight and then wet the icing area just slightly with a lightly damp paper towel. Hopefully the moisture will help it stick, without the moisture attacking and destroying all the cotton candy. I’ll try it out next weekend. Hope it works! Thanks again for the creative idea!
Michelle G. says
Hi Marian! These cookies are ADORABLE! I was wondering why you inserted the straws after the cookies were baked – I know the white lollipop sticks that you use in your daisy cookie tutorial were inserted prior to baking. I suspect they can’t be placed in the oven. Also, when inserting the straws after baking, do you need to attach them with some icing or are they pretty sturdy without it? Thanks so much!
marian says
Thanks @ Michelle G.! I wasn’t sure about baking the straws, so didn’t even try, but a thicker lollipop stick worked fine. The straws were sturdy to hold up the cookie when standing, though, and I didn’t need any royal icing, just slid them right in.
Michelle G. says
@ marian: Thanks so much Marian!! That’s great. I plan to make some daisy cookies on green striped straws for Easter! I can’t wait.
Patty says
Hello, I am doing a Dr. Seuss baby shower cake for my daughter and I am so excited that I came across your website. Can’t wait to try the cookies.Thank you for the awesome idea.Good work 🙂