How to Make & Package Decorated Coal Cookies
A Treat for the “Naughty” List
When December rolls in and cookie orders start piling up, it’s a relief to have something you can crank out in big batches without hours of decorating or packaging. These mini coal cookies check all the boxes; they’re quick, simple, and honestly some of the cutest cookies ever.
There’s always room for one more edible gag gift at your pop-ups or market tables, and decorated coal cookies hit that sweet spot. They’ve got that rustic, wrinkly, perfectly “naughty” look, but they taste like you’re on the “nice” list.
And truly, the best part? They’re incredibly easy to make, and our Bag of Coal pouches finish them off in the most adorable way. Below is the exact step-by-step process we used. Follow along for the perfect addition to your cookie lineup this Christmas.
What You’ll Need
- 2" Mini Coal Cookie Cutter Trio
- Black icing (made slightly thicker than flood)
- Tipless piping bags
- Parchment paper squares
- Your favorite cookie recipe
- Small or Large Bag of Coal Pouches
Step-By-Step: Creating the Coal Effect
1. Prep Your Parchment Squares
First start by prepping your parchment paper squares. You can either purchase 3" x 3" pre-cut squares to save some time, or make your own! I take a 12 1/8” x 16 3/8” sheet and fold it in half 4 times. Then I trim about 1” off the end, and cut along each fold until I have 16 square pieces.
2. Crinkle the Paper
Then you need to take the squares of parchment paper and crumple them into little balls, and then open the sheets up again. This gives the parchment paper the textured look that will then ‘wrinkle’ your icing as it dries. Set the sheets aside.
3. Bake Your Cookies
Bake your cookies. We have the perfect trio of 2” mini coal cookie cutters that I designed for our bags.
4. Mix and Color Your Icing
Make your icing and color it to a nice black. It helps if you get it to a dark grey and then let it sit for a few hours. The color will develop and darken as time passes; this way you don’t have to add quite so much black coloring to your icing. The consistency you want is a little thicker than flood.
5. Bag Your Icing
Then bag your icing using our Medium tipless piping bags.
6. Outline and Flood
Next, outline the cookie, then flood it with the black icing. Don’t go all the way to the edge of the cookie with your icing. This way, when you tap the parchment paper down onto the icing, the icing won’t flow over the sides of the cookie. Also, don’t worry about the icing settling all the way and being perfectly smooth—you won’t be able to tell once you’ve patted the parchment paper down.
7. Press the Parchment
Once the cookie has been flooded, take a square of parchment paper and gently tap it down over the icing until you can see the full shape of the cookie and icing through the parchment sheet. A nice gentle touch is needed here.
8. Let Them Dry Overnight
Now, here’s the hard part—be patient and let those cookies dry. They most definitely take overnight to dry. If you peel the parchment off too early, you will ruin them and the cool effect we’re trying to achieve.
9. Peel and Check
Once you think the cookies are fully dried, take one and test it out. Try slowly peeling the parchment off the cookie. If it comes off cleanly and the icing looks dry underneath, you’re good to go! Peel all the parchment pieces off each cookie. If it doesn’t seem dry enough yet, give it a few more hours and test it again.
10. Package in Coal Pouches
Now it’s time to place your cookies into one of our Bag of Coal pouches. We have 2 sizes available: Small and Large. Our Small Bag of Coal pouches can fit up to (5) 2” mini coal cookies and our Large Bag of Coal pouches can fit up to (12) 2” mini coal cookies.
11. Arrange and Fill
Start by placing the cookies into the pouch with the decorated side facing out towards the window, and then fill the pouch.
12. Done!
And there you have it—the best sweet gift for all those naughty boys and girls out there!
Packaging Tips
These cookies shine brightest when that crinkled icing catches the light through the window of the Bag of Coal pouches. For markets, class gifts, or stocking stuffers, the Small pouches are usually the favorite, and they look adorable filled with 5 little lumps of "coal."
If you want to batch these for holiday sales, consider prepping your parchment squares in advance and baking the mini cookies in larger quantities. They dry overnight, so next-day packaging is a breeze.
Want more stand-up pouches to round out your holiday sales? Check out our full seasonal selection:
