Sock Monkey Cookies and Custom Templates

Have you ever wanted to make a cookie design but didn’t have the right cookie cutter available to do it? No problem! You can easily make a template on your own. I’ve seen others make custom templates out of anything sturdy but easy to cut like manila folders, cardboard, or recycled plastic lids. What I found that really works for me is quilting clear template plastic.

You can find template plastic in crafts stores that have a fabric or quilting section. I found this pack at Joann Fabrics. It’s great for cookies because it is:

• sturdy (thicker than projector transparencies used back in elementary school) but still easy to cut with scissors.
• clear enough to easily trace any image onto it.
• reusable and washable. (paper templates like manila folders and cardboard don’t hold up well to buttery cookie dough)

Just find any image, trace it onto the template plastic using a permanent marker, and cut out the trace with scissors. Once cut out, place that template on your rolled out dough and cut the dough around the edges of the template using a sharp parring knife.

Here are some examples:

Do you remember my timid ninja cookies? This is how I made them. I printed out the images my brother supplied me on paper. Then I traced images onto the plastic and cut them out with scissors . I also cut out a smaller template for the face to get the exact shape. I used a food coloring marker to mark the face outline onto the cookie so I didn’t have to do the face shape free-hand.

This sock monkey cookie cutter caught my eye online but I thought the price tag was a little steep. I decided to sketch my own instead. I first determined the size of cookie I wanted and sketched a side profile of the sock monkey. I folded the paper in half and drew guide lines to help get a symmetric shape. Once I got a shape I was pleased with, I traced the pattern onto the template plastic. Here’s the finished cookie!

What’s great about these templates is that you can used them over and over again. I store all mine in plastic sleeves, along with the paper image, inside a 3-ring binder for safe keeping.