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Super adorable and easy to make Polar Bear Paw Print Cookies will be a hit at any cookie party, cookie exchange, or winter holiday gathering.
Have a cookie decorating party and make these. The kids will love to help, and everyone will be happy with these cute handmade treats.
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I saw these cupcakes on Pinterest and followed them over to A Few Shortcuts earlier in the year, and thought how adorable they are. So, I totally wanted to try them with cookies.
how cute are these!
I also love how you can personalize these fun Polar Bear Paw Print Cookies.
Super easy, first you’ll want to assemble all of your ingredients. You’ll need cookies, frosting, something for the pad of the paw, toes of the paw, and some coconut for the fur.
That’s it. Now, let’s talk about what to use for each of those.
Cookies
Use any flat cookie you want. Make some from scratch. Here’s a few that would be great: Oatmeal Cookies, Rocky Road Cookies, or Peanut Butter Cookies.
Or, just use store bought cookies.
My grocery store’s bakery always has great cookies you can buy and decorate. For these cookies, I got some chewy chocolate brownie cookies from the bakery section. Or, you could go with a white cookie, like a sugar cookie.
I figure that the cookie itself is covered with frosting, so it doesn’t really matter what color the cookie is. Heck, you could go with a blue cookie to reflect how cold it is in the North Pole.
Decorate any cookie you want. Choose whatever’s easiest (and tastiest!) for you.
Frosting
Then, there’s the frosting. Again, go with whatever makes you happy. You just want to make sure it’s a white frosting.
You can try making homemade. I’m partial to Cream Cheese Frosting or My Aunt Lois’ Wedding Cake Frosting.
Or, go super simple and buy a tub of white frosting from the store. I heard a great tip recently – whip that tub of frosting to make it fluffy and lighter. So, place the frosting in a stand mixer of big bowl and whip with a hand mixer until it’s lightened. It’ll spread over more cookies and it’s a nice way to make it your own.
You can also flavor your frosting with a little peppermint extract if you want a wintery fresh flavor. Or add vanilla extract for more flavor.
Paw Print
There are lots of options for the paw print. The large circle or pad of the paw can be a peppermint patty.
Or, try a chocolate dipped Oreo cookie. I made some of my cookies with chocolate dipped mini mint Oreos.
Or, go super simple with a plain Oreo.
For the finger part of the paw print, I choose to go with brown M&Ms. Just have the kids pick out the brown ones from the bag.
Other adorable cookies & treats!
I love cute cookies! Here are some of my fun cookies and dessert treats that are great idea starters for kids and adults alike. Animal Cracker Sandwich cookies, Cut out cookies, and Peanut Butter Cup Christmas Trees.
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Recipe
Polar Bear Paw Print Cookies
Ingredients
- Round cookies about 3 to 3 ½ inches across
- White frosting
- Peppermint patties or chocolate dipped Oreos 1 for each cookie
- Brown M&Ms 4 for each cookie
- Shredded coconut
Instructions
- Bake the cookies if desired. Make sure they are completely cooled.
- If making homemade frosting, mix according to the recipe directions. Or, if using canned, allow the frosting to come to an easily spreadable room temperature.
- Using an offset spatula, generously frost each cookie. The frosting should be thick enough to hold the decorations in place. Make the frosting as even as possible over the top of the cookie.
- Place a peppermint pattie or Oreo near the bottom center edge or the cookie, to form the pad of the polar bear paw.
- Place 4 M&Ms onto the cookie above the paw pad, in a slight arc around the pad of the paw, to form the polar bear paw toes.
- Repeat placing pads and toes on each cookie, until every one has paw pads and toes.
- Press some shredded coconut into the frosting of each cookie to make the fur. Cover the top of the cookie, but do not obscure the peppermint patties or the M&Ms. Gently use your fingers to pat and press the coconut into the frosting around the paw print, until the cookies look like furry Polar Bear Paws.
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Michaela Kenkel
these have got to be the cutest darn cookies I have ever seen!! Polar bear paws!! Oh my goodness!! I thought I was done baking but now I need to make these, too!