How to Make a Dinosaur Cookie Platter

When I was a kid, the chances of attending a birthday party that was dinosaur-themed was pretty high. I'm betting the chances remained the same for today's kid events too.

Dinosaurs are classic, cool, and their popularity defy the age of time. If you have a dino-themed party in your future (and the chances are you might), here's a cute dinosaur cookie platter idea perfect for the occasion.

This platter consists of two dinosaur designs, a brontosaurus and triceratops, repeated around a center circle cookie. Each cookie also can act as an individual cookie favor for guests, as well.

Here are the steps to decorating these dinosaur cookies to recreate for your own themed event.

Dinosaur Platter Cookie Cutters

The cookie cutters used for this tutorial are the brontosaurus, triceratops, and a center circle cutter.

You can purchase cookie cutters together as a 3-piece set, or as a 2-piece without the center circle.

(This is the same circle cutter used in all my platter sets, like this Snowflake set, Spiral Platter, and Floral Wreath, 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 Dinosaur Platter Cookie Set

To help with the decorating process, I made a PDF template of all of the new dinosaur designs, including this platter.

You can download PDF 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 Decorating Process

For the colors used for these dinosaur cookies, you will need the following suggested colors:

• Blue royal icing (I mixed Americolor Teal with Americolor Super Black.)
• Dark Blue icing (I mixed the blue icing above with more black coloring.)
• Light Blue icing (I mixed the blue icing above with fresh white icing.)
• Yellow icing (I mixed Americolor Egg Yellow with a touch of Americolor Warm Brown.)
• Dark Yellow icing (I mixed the yellow icing above with more brown coloring.)
• Light Yellow icing (I mixed the yellow icing above with fresh white icing.)
• Black piping icing (I used Americolor Super Black.)
• Burnt Orange icing (I mixed Americolor Orange with Warm Brown.)

Step 1

For the triceratops cookie, begin by filling in non-adjacent sections like the top of the head, the middle chest, and tail section. Quickly add dot details when darker yellow icing.

Once that icing sets, fill in the muzzle and the two arm sections, as shown.

Step 2

Once the base layer of icing had time to dry, add the white horn detail on the head and the middle fingernail on the arms.

Then finish the cookie by adding the yellow outlines, the black eyes and smile, and the remaining fingernails.

Step 3

For the brontosaurus cookie, begin by filling in non-adjacent sections like the top of the head, the middle chest, and tail section. Quickly add dot details when darker blue icing.

Once that icing sets, fill in the muzzle and the two arm sections, as shown.

Step 4

Once the base layer of icing had time to dry, add the black smile and eye detail on the head and the middle fingernail on the arms.

Then finish the cookie by adding the blue outlines and the remaining fingernails.

Step 5

For the center message, I added the phrase "You're Dino Mite". If you want to add the same message, you can find this lettering design in the PDF template file I mentioned above.

My natural handwriting is atrocious. That's why I love using my Pico Projector to help guide me. Shown below, I like to use a PME #1 tip for any lettering on cookies.

Video Tutorial

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

Here's the final dinosaur cookie platter all assembled. To create this entire platter requires 11 cookies-- 5 triceratops, 5 brontosauruses, 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.

In addition to this dinosaur platter, there a new 4-piece dinosaur head set. This set has similar Triceratops and Brontosaurus designs, with the inclusion of a T-Rex and Pterodactyl head to complete the set.

(For reference, the size below is the SMALL size set.)

These dino heads are a great companion to the platter. I made sure to keep the design super simple to speed up the decorating process while making sure their personality intact.

Here's a glimpse of these guys as minis. They would be so cute to give out to guests at your next dino-themed party.