How to Decorate an Apple Cookie Platter with Royal Icing

Fall is the perfect season to decorate cozy, apple-inspired cookies that celebrate the harvest season.In this step-by-step cookie decorating tutorial, you'll learn how to decorate a charming Farm Fresh Apples cookie platter using royal icing. This beginner-friendly platter features a circle of overlapping apple cookies surrounding a center plaque that proudly reads Farm Fresh Apples. To make decorating even easier, we'll use a coordinating stencil to create the center design with clean, professional-looking lettering, meaning no hand-piping required. Whether you're creating cookies for a fall market, a teacher gift, or simply celebrating apple season, this fun platter is a beautiful project that's easier than it looks.

Overlapping Apple Platter Cookie Cutters

This overlapping apple platter cookie cutter set includes an overlapping apple cookie cutter and a center circle cutter. You can purchase cookie cutters together as a 2-piece set, or as a single cutter without the center circle.

(This is the same circle cutter used in all my platter sets, like this acorn and leaves cookie platter, overlapping pumpkin cookie platter, and this pumpkin pie cookie platter, etc.)

There are two sizes available. When arranged as a platter, as shown in the example picture, the platter measures:

LARGE- 12 inches in diameter.

SMALL- 9 inches in diameter.

For this tutorial, I'll be decorating the large size.

Template for the Apple Cookie Platter

To help with the decorating process, I made a PDF template of all of the new fall cookie cutters, including this apple cookie platter design.

You can download all the 2026 platter cookie templates HERE.

If you have a Kopykake or Pico projector, just print it out (or pull it up on your mobile device) and you are good to go. For those without a projector, follow the suggested steps below by tracing the design onto the cookie with an edible food marker.

The Cookie Decorating Process

Decorating cookies always starts with a good royal icing recipe. This is my favorite royal icing recipe that I use to decorate sugar cookies.

For this apple cookie platter, you will need the following suggested colors:

• White icing (I used Americolor Bright White.)
• Black icing (I used Americolor Super Black.)
• Red icing (I used Americolor Super Red.)
• Ivory icing (I used Americolor Ivory.)
• Brown icing (I mixed Americolor Chocolate Brown with a touch of Super Black.)
• Green icing (I mixed Americolor Mint Green with Egg Yellow.)

Step 1

Begin by filling in the main apple area with red icing or ivory icing. Let this icing set for about 20 minutes.

Step 2

Next, fill in the leaf section with green icing. Let that set.

Then fill in the stem detail with brown icing.

Step 3

For the ivory apple cookies, add the two black seeds, red outline, and little green line on the left.

Step 4

For the final, center message cookie, I let the base layer of icing dry completely.

In the shop is a new Farm Fresh Apples cookie stencil you can use for the center message. Just swipe thick white royal icing over it to apply it to the cookie. The video below better illustrates how I did this.

School Supplies Cookie Platter Video Tutorial

The steps above are summarized in this time-lapsed video I put together below.

Here's the final overlapping cookie platter all assembled. To create this entire platter required 11 cookies-- 10 apple pieces, and 1 center circle cookie.

This is the large, 12" version. For the tray it's on, I like to use the 12" pizza pans from Dollar Tree. They are cheap and sturdy for transporting around.

Congratulations! Your Farm Fresh Apples cookie platter is ready to brighten any fall celebration. Whether you're creating cookies for a farmers market, gifting them to a teacher or friend, or simply adding a festive touch to your dessert table, this beginner-friendly design is sure to impress. With a coordinating stencil making the center lettering quick and easy, you'll be able to create a polished, professional-looking platter with confidence. If you'd like to make one of your own, be sure to check out our cookie decorating supplies shop. Happy decorating!