20 Cookie Decorating Kits for When You’re Short on Time (& Creativity)

I love baking from scratch. In fact, it used to be my profession! But come time for the holidays, I get completely tangled up in the chaos and the thought of baking and decorating homemade treats for a cookie swap gives me little pleasure.

Trust me, I try to clear my schedule. I try to psych myself up to channel my inner artist and decorate sugar cookies with intricate brushstrokes and embellishments. But time (and/or procrastination tendencies, who’s to say...) get the best of me and usually on the night before a cookie swap, I end up making a beeline to the store where I’ll pick up a cookie decorating kit and pray to Ina Garten that they’ll pass as homemade. And guess what? Thanks to festive, kitschy, and all-around whimsical cookie decorating kits, my cookies not only pass, but they usually hail triumphant as some of the night’s best.

Whether you’re looking to score points at a cookie swap, impress at a holiday party, or do a fun and easy family-friendly project on a cozy night in, you’ll look like a pro with these 20 cookie decorating kits—and not like the procrastinator you might be in spirit. (Although, no one will ever know…)

1. In The Mix Ugly Sweater Cookie Kit, $14.94

This kit comes with a cookie cutter in the shape of a sweater, dry ingredients, frosting mixes, decorations, and piping bags. Bonus points if you wear your ugly sweater while decorating these sugar cookies in its likeness.

2. Nila Nicholas Paint Your Own S'mores Kit, $34

There’s very little you can do to improve s’mores—they’re fun to make and eat, they’re the ultimate winter dessert, and they’re just so darn delicious. Well, actually there’s just one thing: edible paint. This kit includes all the ingredients for six s’mores, plus edible paint and brushes for art you can eat.

3. Red Velvet NYC Gingerbread Cookie People DIY Baking Kit, $55

There’s nothing more classic than festive gingerbread folk, and this kit makes it easy to bake and decorate all in one go. It comes with a recipe card, cookie cutter, dry ingredients, piping bags, and even parchment paper in a cute box that’s ready for gifting—or keeping.

4. Edible Custom Photo Cookie Kit, $45

For those who don’t have a steady hand for icing or patience for cleaning up sprinkles, try decorating your cookies with edible photos. Send in your fave photos and they’ll arrive as edible stickers along with all the dry ingredients you’d need for a dozen sugar cookies.

5. Paw Patrol Holiday Pup House, $21.99

Little ones will love this Paw Patrol-themed gingerbread “pup” house kit, complete with cookies and decorations. It even has little cut-out decorations of the whole gang!

6. Color My Cookie Oh Christmas Tree Mini Cookie Decorating Kit, $14

The jury’s still out on Team Real Tree or Fake Tree, but we’re on Team Edible Tree. With two cookies to decorate with edible paint and sprinkles, who’s got the time for seasonal debates?

7. Erin McKenna's Bakery Vegan + Gluten Free Hanukkah Cookie Decorating Kit, $75

Customize these dreidel-shaped cookies with blue icing to celebrate Hanukkah. Even though the Festival of Lights happens over eight days, we won't judge if you eat all the cookies on the first night.

8. Holiday Sugar Cookie Tree Baking Kit, $34

Try your hand at making a holiday cookie tree with this easy-to-follow DIY kit. There’s a little bit of baking involved but the cookie cutters and pre-measured (bless!) ingredients make the steps go by quick. That way, you can focus your energy on the best part: eating trimming the tree!

9. Friends Cookie Kit, $13.98

Let’s imagine for a second that Central Perk closed up shop in the early 2000s. Now what if you had the power to bring it back to business? And you had the help of your friends? Sure, they may not be the most helpful—Rachel and Ross will have one of their classic will they/won’t they conflicts, Joey won’t share his food, Chandler will crack jokes, and Phoebe will be practicing "Smelly Cat" in a corner. But don’t fret, your favorite fictional coffee shop will come alive thanks to pre-baked cookie sheets, edible sequins, and squeezable icing writers. Maybe Monica will assist in her chef whites!

10. 30-Piece Cookie Decorating Kit, $19.95

Sarah Jessica Parker is best known for her role on a certain television show in which her character stored sweaters in the oven. But I, for one, thought her most iconic role was as a busy working mom in I Don’t Know How She Does It. She gets a store-bought apple pie and transfers it onto a glass pie plate prior to toting it to her daughter’s school bake sale. A move! With this 30-piece set of decorating tools, you can dress up any store-bought treat for a homemade-ish look.

11. The Dirty Cookie Winter Wonderland DIY Cookie Shot Decorating Kit, $40

Who says a cozy cup of cheer can’t be made out of cookies? Dirty Cookie’s cold-weather-themed kit comes with different cookie cups in addition to all the wintry-hued sprinkles and decorations you could ever want. After decorating, fill it up with a shot of whatever your heart desires.

12. Insomnia Cookies DIY Cookie Decorating Kit, $45

Fresh “homemade” lofthouse cookies have never been easier or sweeter to achieve. Insomnia’s kit features 15 of its signature soft-baked sugar and snickerdoodle cookies, endlessly spreadable icing, and colorful sprinkles for decoration.

13. Unicorn Cookie House Kit, $4.98

While smaller than most other kits here, the name of this pre-baked, frosted, and chewy gumball-bedazzled cookie kit says it all: it's mini, magical, and the rainbow unicorn of cookie houses. A little enchantment can take you a long way during the holidays.

14. The Cookie Joint Loaded Cookie Fries Kit, $85

Fries and cookies—two of our faves combined into one snackable bite. The ease of building and subsequently inhaling these cookie fries whole go hand in hand.

15. PB Dorm x Williams-Sonoma DIY Cookie Decorating Kit, $59.95

It feels like a perfect night to turn on Red (Taylor's Version), and decorate cookies, ah-ah, ah-ah. Sorry, I don’t make the rules—Taylor Swift does. And I think she’d approve of us belting out 22 (Taylor’s Version) as we throw glittery sprinkles onto cookies shaped like other desserts.

16. WonderShop Holiday Beach House Sugar Cookie Kit, $9.99

Painting on bright blue frosting, growing a palm tree biscuit, and bringing it all together with cookie crumble sand and holiday lights, this tropical beach shack is a fun departure from the traditional gingerbread house.

17. Paint Your Own Holiday Cookies, $59.95

For perfectionists who don't like to step away from their art before it's complete, if you get hungry halfway through, you can eat your pretty canvas!

18. Crafty Cooking Kits Kellogg's Rice Krispies Treats Holiday Train Kit, $24.99

Snap, crackle, and pop—you’ve got kinda-homemade Rice Krispies Treats.

19. Cookie Stampies Set, $30

And if you want whimsical animal cookies with a bit less work, I think this set has your name embossed on it. While not a cookie decorating kit in the traditional sense, this collection of stamps still dresses up any ol' cookie with ease. If you’re looking for a cookie recipe to put it to use, Erin’s sugar cookies are tried and true.

20. Wilton Sugar Cookie Decorating Kit, 15-Piece - Tool Set, $36.39

'Twas the day after the holidays, when all through your mind
Cookie decorating chaos still stirring, as you were truly behind;
There are only 364 days 'til it starts again,
And you have to dress up more cookies, this time for 10.
In hopes that next year, you want to garnish with more flair,
We leave you with this 15-piece toolkit right here.

This post was updated in December 2021 with more great cookie decorating kits.

How do you like to decorate your cookies? Let us know below!

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