My daughter just turned three and she requested a Berenstain Bears birthday party. I always make my kids special birthday cookies so I made her some Berenstain Bears cookies for her party.
The set includes a “Bear Country” wooden sign, some number 3 cookies, the Berenstain Bears treehouse, and, of course, a honey pot.
These Berenstain Bears cookies are topped with a soft vanilla buttercream frosting. So good!
I’ll be teaching you the full decorating tutorial for each of these cookie designs. You will find both video and step-by-step photos of how to make the Berenstain Bears cookies.
Let’s get started!
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Part 1: Gathering the Supplies for the Berenstain Bears Cookies
To decorate these Berenstain Bears cookies, you will want to gather:
7 Icing bags
One Wilton #1 tip, #2 tip, #3 tip, #5 tip, and #(leaf tip) plus a PME 1.5 tip
7 Couplers
Birthday number cookie cutter, circle cookie cutter, tree cookie cutter, and sign cookie cutter (I hand cut mine)
Yellow, pink, blue, green, brown, and black gel food dye
Palette knife (I use this one for these cookies!)
Ingredients for a crusting buttercream & sugar cookie dough – found below in recipe card
Projector and projector stand *optional, you can also freehand
Part 2: Baking the Cookies and Setting up the Icing Bags
Use the recipe card below for the sugar cookie and buttercream frosting recipes.
Stand Mixer with Paddle AttachmentRubber SpatulaMeasuring cups and spoonsMedium Sized Mixing BowlLined aluminum cookie sheet parchment paper or silicone lined baking sheetRolling PinCookie cutters and tools see part 1 on this post for the specific tools needed
Buttercream Frosting½ cup room temperature unsalted butter 4 ounces½ cup room temperature salted butter 4 ounces4 cups powdered sugar1 tbsp. vanilla extract1-3 tbsp. whole milkSugar Cookies1 cup cold salted butter cubed1 cup granulated sugar3 cups all purpose flour measured with the scoop & level method2 tsp. baking powder1 egg1.5 tsp. vanilla extract
Sugar CookiesPreheat the oven to 350℉ and prepare an aluminum cookie sheet by placing either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat on it.In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the flour and baking powder and mix together. Set this aside.Cube a cup of salted butter and then, in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the cubed butter with the granulated sugar. Mix until creamed together well.To the stand mixer, add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined.Slowly add in the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl to the stand mixer. Roll the dough out to 3/8″ thick and use the cookie cutters to cut out the cookies. Place the cookies onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes or until the tops of the cookies no longer look wet. When baking the cookies, only bake 6-8 cookies at a time to leave proper space between each cookie to cook without spreading. Overcrowding the cookie sheet will cause spread.Buttercream FrostingIn a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the room temperature salted and unsalted butter and mix on high until light and fluffy.Mix in the powdered sugar little by little. Add in the vanilla extract and milk about halfway through adding the sugar to help the frosting come together. Start with one tablespoon of milk and work up to three if needed, depending on the consistency you want. I like to aim for a peanut butter consistency or thinner.Follow the directions in Part 2 for the specific way you will divide the buttercream and set up the icing bags.How to Decorate the Berenstain Bears Cookies
These buttercream sugar cookies are room stable for a few days on the counter. Otherwise, store in the freezer in an airtight container until ready to use, or for up to three months. You can also freeze the undecorated cookies and buttercream frosting three months in advance to decorating.
Make your buttercream icing according to the recipe and separate it into eight bowls:
one bowl only needs about 1/4 cup of frosting, dye this black
another bowl only needs about 1/4 cup of frosting, dye this pink
one bowl should have about a 1/2 cup of frosting, dye this light blue
the remaining four bowls can be of equal size; dye them yellow, brown, green, and keep one undyed
Add each of these colors into their own icing bags with a coupler. You don’t need to add the tips yet, as they will be sharing tips.
Part 3: Decorating the Berenstain Bears Cookies with Buttercream Frosting
Check out the video tutorial showing the overall process for decorating the buttercream Berenstain Bears cookies then follow the step-by-step photo series tutorial below.
How to Decorate the Bear Country Wooden Sign Cookies with Buttercream
Use the brown buttercream with tip #5 to outline and fill in the sign cookies, then smooth the buttercream with the palette knife.
Use the tip of the palette knife to draw in wood grain.
Use the palette knife to clean up the edges of the cookies, if needed.
Attach the PME 1.5 tip to the white buttercream and write in the words “Bear Country.” I used my projector and a font generator online.
How to Decorate the Number Berenstain Bears Cookies with Buttercream
Using a tip #5 on the white icing bag for Mama Bear’s outfit or the tip #5 on the yellow bag for Papa Bear’s outfit, outline and fill in the number cookie.
Smooth the buttercream with the palette knife & clean up the edges if needed.
For Mama Bear’s outfit, place the cookie into the freezer for 10 minutes. Then, use a large round tip, such as the #10, and press it into the frosting to create polka dots. Try to remove the polka dots carefully then fill with pink frosting using a tip #3 & smooth. You can put it in the freezer again to aid with smoothing if you prefer.
For Papa Bear’s outfit, use a PME tip #1.5 on a black icing bag to pipe the plaid pattern. Pipe all the lines in one direction first before going to the lines in the other direction.
How to Decorate the Honey Pot Cookies with Buttercream
Use the tip #5 on the white buttercream to outline and fill in the circle cookies. Then, smooth with a palette knife.
Either free-hand draw or use a projector to trace the honey pot using black buttercream with the PME tip #1.5. I found my honey pot image on some free Berenstain Bears coloring pages.
Remove/rinse/dry the tip #5 from the white buttercream and place it onto the yellow icing bag. Fill in the honey pot with the yellow buttercream.
Using the projector or free-hand, write the word HONEY using the black buttercream, still with PME 1.5 on it.
How to Decorate the Berenstain Bears Treehouse Cookies with Buttercream
Use the pink frosting with tip #3 to draw the door and windows on the treehouse.
Use the tip #2 on the blue frosting to fill in the doors and windows.
Use the tip #1 on the white frosting to draw in the windowpanes.
Use the tip #5 on the brown frosting to outline and fill in the tree.
Lastly, use the small leaf tip to pipe leaves all over the treehouse, piping them in different directions to give more texture. I forgot to grab a photo of the completed treehouse so you’ll just have to reference the one at the top before the instructions.
These Berenstain Bears cookies are so fun and nostalgic. I’m so happy my daughter loves the Berenstain Bears as these were enjoyable to make.
The party was hosted at my house, but if you want to bring these cookies to a birthday party, make sure to read my post on how to package and transport buttercream sugar cookies.
Save the Tutorial for These Berenstain Bears Cookies
Use the image below to pin this tutorial for buttercream Berenstain Bears sugar cookies to your birthday party board on Pinterest. Alternatively, use any of the social share icons on the top of the page to share it to your favorite social media site.