Anyone who decorates cookies knows the difficulties in making a character cookie. You get those eyes or ears just the slightest bit off and it can look like some deranged mutant, as opposed to the sweet creature it was supposed to resemble. Some people are super good at characters and way more brave than I to tackle it. I choose to take the less stressful route. There can always be something in a theme that can get the point across, and I am pretty eager to find it!

When I was first asked to bring cookies for our niece’s baby shower that was Dr. Seuss themed, my first thought was to make The Cat in the Hat. Or Thing 1 and Thing 2. They all have eyeballs. That was out. The invite had images from The Lorax, so I brainstormed. Maybe the Lorax himself? More eyeballs…but the trees. The Truffula Trees! No facial features. Fun colors. Still Seussical. That I could handle.

Armed with our copy of The Lorax and the invite by my side, I started by freehand piping the black lines of the tops of the trees on a round cookie.

Next I flooded them with the distinctive Truffula Tree colors. The trunks were made by shaping rectangles with a little curve before baking. Again, I lined them with black icing and filled in with yellow frosting. After they had dried overnight, I added the details with a FooDoodler marker. These food markers are the best and couldn’t be easier or more perfect for Dr. Seuss Truffula Tree cookies!

Then taking a slightly different route, I made some royal icing transfers. Basically, you pipe the icing design on wax paper, let it dry overnight, peel off, and place on your cookie. This is a great method if you are worried about screw-ups when piping directly on a cookie. You can make bunches of transfers, use the best ones, and move them around your blank canvas until you get a design you like. Simply “glue” the transfers in place with a dab of icing.

I forgot to make tree trunk transfers, so piped them on, let them dry, and added the details with the food writer. That little dot of icing at the top will give height to the tree tuft transfer. Wow, more tongue twisters. Must be all this Seuss talk…

Transfers give the cookies fun dimension too!

I wanted to make these a little more personal for the baby shower, so I added the baby’s name. Lucky for me, the parents-to-be have her name picked out and aren’t afraid to share it with the world before she arrives! Here are a few options I have for displaying the cookies for the party.

Coincidentally, we celebrate the work of Theodor Seuss Geisel every March 2nd, his birthday, as Read Across America Day. These cookies couldn’t have come at a better time for a tribute to him as well.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! I love your thick, black lined illustrations, your bright yet muted colors, and your crazy made up names that have become part of our everyday language. But mostly, I love your messages. Honest, simple, and true, for youngsters and for those adults who read to them. Thank you, Dr. Seuss!

This post linked to: Kitchen Fun With My 3 Sons