These adorable jungle-themed cookies bake up soft and chewy and are decorated with royal icing.

This post is sponsored by my friends at Domino® Sugar and this recipe uses my favorite types of Domino® Sugar.

Let’s Make These Jungle-Themed Cookies Together!

To make sure these cookies turn out as amazing as possible, let’s walk through each step together. I’ve included photos of each step below along with a video tutorial.

Step 1: Make the Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

Begin by making the sugar cookie dough! I love to use my soft and chewy cream cheese cookie recipe.

It keeps its shape beautifully as it bakes and tastes delicious.

I used 3 cookie cutter sets to make these jungle-themed cookies (baby set, jungle leaf, and rectangle set), but you can get creative and use whatever cutters you have on hand!

Step 2: Make the Royal Icing

While the cookies bake and cool, make the royal icing.

Whisk together the powdered sugar and meringue powder in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.

Add in the water and vanilla or almond extract and mix on a medium speed with a paddle or whisk attachment until stiff peaks form. This usually takes me about 3 minutes with a hand mixer or 2 minutes with a stand mixer.

Next, add in additional water 1 Tbsp at a time until the icing reaches a soft peak consistency.

I had to add about 2 Tbsp of water, but it can vary from batch to batch.

Step 3: Testing the Consistency of the Icing – The Spatula Test

To test the consistency, dip the spatula into the icing and focus on the way it curls at the end of the spatula. It should curl back onto itself but still be able to keep its shape.

Step 4: Thin and Color the Royal Icing

Then it’s time to thin and color the icing. You should have roughly 38 ounces of icing. Scoop 1.5 ounces of the uncolored, soft peak consistency icing into a small piping bag and seal the top. Set aside.

Next, scoop 3.5 ounces of icing into a separate small bowl. Add water, 1/2 tsp at a time, until the icing reaches flood consistency.

To test the consistency, the icing should be able to run off the spatula in a thick stream, and you should be able to draw a figure 8 with the run-off icing. it should settle back into the bowl of icing within 8 seconds.

Once the icing is thinned to this stage, pour it into a piping bag, and seal the top. Set aside.

Add 5 ounces of icing into the same small bowl. Use a small squirt of brown gel food coloring to color the icing beige.

Scoop 1.5 ounces of the uncolored, soft peak consistency icing into a small piping bag and seal the top. Set aside. Thin the remaining beige icing to a flood consistency, then place it in a separate small piping bag and set aside.

Repeat the steps above to create bags of brown, light green, and dark green icing in both soft peak and flood consistency.

You will have a bit of leftover white icing, which I recommend covering and setting aside in case you need any additional icing.

Step 5: Decorate the Cookies

When you’re ready to decorate the cookies, cut the tips of the piping bags to create a very small opening (1-2 millimeters).

You can always cut the opening wider, but you can’t make it smaller once you cut it. I find it’s a lot easier to control the icing as you decorate the cookies if you have a small opening.

Outline the cookies with the soft peak consistency icing and let them dry for 5-10 minutes before flooding the cookies with the flood consistency icing as shown in the picture below.

Let the initial layer of icing firm up before adding on the next layer of icing or the fine line details with the soft peak consistency icing (unless you are using a wet-on-wet technique as shown on the onesie and rattle cookie).

Then let the cookies dry for a few hours or overnight until the icing is firm to the touch.

Then use a fine point edible marker to sketch jungle animals onto the white rectangular cookies.

These cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature or up to 3 months in the freezer.

Substitutions and Swaps – Jungle-Themed Cookies

While I love this recipe just the way it is, I know you might not have all these ingredients on hand! Or you might have food restrictions or allergies.

Below are some swaps and variations that can be made in this recipe.

• Unsalted Butter – If you only have salted butter, you can use it and omit the salt that this recipe calls for. You can also use vegan butter.
• Cream Cheese – I recommend using the full-fat cream cheese that comes in a block.
• Domino® Granulated Sugar – I used Domino® Granulated Sugar Easy Baking Tub which makes in-home baking more convenient because it’s a refillable and recyclable baking tub with a lid that snaps closed, allowing you to easily scoop, stack, and store the sugar. You can use the lid as a leveler as well!  I do not recommend reducing the amount of sugar or changing the type of sugar as it will change the spread of these cookies.
• All-Purpose Flour – You can use a gluten-free flour blend if needed in place of the AP flour in this recipe.
• Cornstarch – Cornstarch helps give these cookies a soft texture! If you don’t have any one hand it can be omitted, but your cookies won’t bake up as soft.
• Almond Extract – I love the hint of almond extract in these cookies, but if you have a nut allergy you can use additional vanilla extract or a different extract in place of the almond extract.
• Domino® Powdered Sugar – I like using Domino® Powdered Sugar because it’s 10x refined and gives the icing a super smooth texture.
• Meringue Powder – This ingredient is a must for the royal icing. It has stabilizers (usually cornstarch and sugar) which help the icing easily whip up. For this reason, I don’t recommend using dried egg white powder as a substitution.

How Many Cookies Does this Recipe Make?

This recipe can be used to make about 24, 3-inch cookies. The yield and bake time will vary based on the size and shape of the cookie cutter(s) you use.

This recipe can be halved to make fewer cookies (use half a scrambled egg in the dough), but I don’t recommend doubling it unless you have a commercial (8 qt.) stand mixer.

Tips for Making the Best Jungle-Themed Cookies

• Really cream together the butter, cream cheese, and granulated sugar in the first step of this recipe. It helps incorporate air into the dough which makes soft cookies.
• Roll the cookie dough out to a consistent thickness of 1/4 inch. If some are thicker or thinner than others, they may over- or under-bake in the oven.
• Take the time to chill the cookie dough. It helps prevent your cookies from spreading while they bake and helps them bake up with a soft texture.
• Liberally flour your counter before you roll out the cookie dough and move the dough around while you roll and cut the cookies.
• Don’t overbake your cookies. Err on the side of underbaking your cookies and remember that the cookies continue to bake for a few minutes once they’re out of the oven.
• Avoid leaving the icing uncovered for long periods or it will crust! Either use it immediately or cover it with plastic wrap.
• Use gel food coloring to color the icing. It helps create vivid colors without throwing off the consistency of the icing.
• Make and color the icing right before you plan to decorate the cookies. Otherwise, the icing can separate!

Making These Jungle-Themed Sugar Cookies in Advance and Storage Tips

You can store decorated cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks at room temperature or for up to 3 months in the freezer.

If you want to stack the cookies on top of one another, I recommend adding a layer of parchment paper between them.

This cookie dough can also be frozen for up to 1 month if wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in an airtight container. I like to move the cookie dough to the fridge the night before I plan to roll it out and bake the cookies.

Baked, un-iced cookies can also be frozen! These cookies last for up to a month if frozen in an airtight container. I recommend waiting to decorate them until they’ve thawed to room temperature.

Move them to the fridge the day before you plan to eat them, then let them sit out at room temperature for a few hours before icing them.

Let Me Know What You Think!

If you make these jungle-themed cookies, I’d love to hear what you think! Please leave a rating and comment below.

And if you share on social media, tag me @chelsweets and use #chelsweets so I can see your delicious creations!

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