Simple DIY Jellyfish Cookies you can Bake

109 Shares

This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you click and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.

How to make Jellyfish Cookies with Royal Icing

Jellyfish sugar cookies might just be one of the sweetest ways to bring an under-the-sea theme to life. With their flowing tentacles, soft pastel colors, and adorable expressions, jellyfish cookies add whimsical charm to any ocean celebration. These delightful treats are perfect for birthdays, beach-inspired parties, baby showers, or any event where you want playful, magical ocean creatures to steal the show. Their shapes are simple enough for beginners, yet their styling options offer endless creativity, making them a favorite for both novice bakers and experienced decorators.

One of the best things about jellyfish cookies is how versatile they are. You can decorate them with smooth royal icing, textured piping, watercolor washes, shimmer dust, or pastel ombré designs. Their tentacles offer room for creativity—curly lines, dotted patterns, glittery stripes, or even tiny sugar pearls to mimic bubbles floating beneath the sea. Their gentle, friendly expressions make them especially appealing for children’s parties, adding personality and sweetness to your dessert table.

Throwing an UNDER THE SEA THEMED PARTY?

☑️ This Under the Sea Party Kit is the perfect set to get your party planning headed in the right direction!

Jellyfish cookies also make wonderful additions to mixed ocean cookie sets. Pair them with octopuses, starfish, sea turtles, mermaids, coral patterns, or wave shapes to create a story across your dessert display. They photograph beautifully and bring a soft, magical energy to party photos, invitations, and styled flat lays.

Because jellyfish can be designed in so many colors—lavender, peach, mint, seafoam, pink, aqua—you can match the cookies to nearly any underwater palette. Whether your party theme leans tropical, whimsical, pastel, or bold, jellyfish cookies fit perfectly.

In this guide, you’ll find creative ways to use jellyfish cookies at your party, ideas for building a beautiful under-the-sea theme, and more inspiration for expanding your ocean dessert collection. These adorable treats bring an effortless joy to your celebration and help you create a magical world your guests will remember.

Cute little jellyfish sugar cookies are a great treat for an under the sea themed party. These adorable little swimmers are as easy as they are festive. Check out this simple cookie tutorial to lean how to make these cookies.

An under the sea party theme is definitely one of the most popular summertime party ideas. Planning an ocean party is made even better with some custom, cute and super simple jelly fish cookies.

The best part of fun jellyfish cookies…they literally can be any color. So if you have a specific color scheme, you can ice your jellyfish in that color scheme. Perfection!

How to use Jellyfish Sugar Cookies

Jellyfish sugar cookies can be used in countless creative ways throughout your event. Their whimsical shape and gentle colors make them ideal for displaying as the highlight of your dessert table. Arrange them on tiered trays, cake stands, or ocean-colored platters to showcase their flowing tentacles and charming expressions. Adding edible glitter or pearl sprinkles around them gives the illusion of bubbles floating by, enhancing the underwater feel.

These cookies also make perfect party favors. Package each jellyfish cookie in a clear bag tied with a ribbon that matches your theme. You can add a small tag with a cute ocean saying or your child’s name to create a polished, memorable take-home treat. Guests of all ages love edible favors that look adorable and taste delicious.

If you’re planning interactive activities, jellyfish cookies can become part of a cookie-decorating station. Provide pre-baked jellyfish shapes along with icing, sprinkles, candy eyes, and shimmering sugar dust. Kids love customizing their own jellyfish and proudly bringing home their decorated creations.

Whether showcased, gifted, or used for a fun activity, jellyfish cookies add personality, color, and joy to your celebration.

These jellyfish cookies can be displayed on a simple white plate. You can also place blue jelly beans or sixlets on the plate and place the cookies on top to give them a little dimension. Adorable!

Ideas for an Under the Sea party

An under-the-sea party is one of the most magical party themes for kids. It blends vibrant ocean colors, whimsical creatures, soft waves, and shimmering accents into a celebration full of movement and imagination. Start by selecting your preferred palette—seafoam green, aqua, teal, lavender, coral, and pearly white are classic choices that instantly create an underwater atmosphere.

To decorate, layer textures that mimic the ocean environment. Use flowing fabrics, tulle, chiffon, and iridescent streamers to represent waves and currents. Add elements like bubble garlands, coral centerpieces, jellyfish lanterns, starfish accents, and seaweed-style ribbons for extra depth. Balloons in soft ocean tones can be arranged to resemble clusters of underwater bubbles.

Incorporate themed activities such as ocean sensory bins, treasure hunts, bubble machines, underwater crafts, or storytelling corners about sea animals. Kids love interacting with the theme, and these playful additions help bring your underwater world to life.

Pair jellyfish cookies with other themed desserts to create a cohesive dessert table full of color and charm. When combined with thoughtful décor, your under-the-sea party becomes an enchanting ocean escape.

There are many fantastic ideas for an under the sea themed birthday. For more party ideas, check out this under the sea party post.

There are also tons of under the sea party ideas in this cute party. These little jellyfish cookies also go perfectly with the octopus cookies that you can make using this octopus cookie tutorial! So many ideas!

Jellyfish Cookie Tutorial: STEP by STEP

Alright..let’s take a look at how to make these adorable jellyfish sugar cookies.

Materials:

Leaf Cookie Cutter. You can use any cutter, but I used the leaf cutter from this set for these cookies.
Gel Food Coloring
Edible Marker
Sugar Cookie Dough (here is my recipe)
Royal icing. You can buy that mix or here is a great royal icing recipe to use!! If you are new to cookie decorating, you also need a piping bag, icing tip 1/2, coupler, and clip. I recommend this piping tip set. It’s reasonably priced and includes everything you need.
Large Candy Eyes
Parchment Paper

Step 1:

Start with a good sugar cookie recipe and prep the dough. I always add additional flour to my dough so they do not stick to the cutting surface. They bake better this way also.

Once your dough is ready to start cutting, roll it out to about ¼ inch thick. Thicker cookies will bake easier, decorate easier and bonus…they taste delcious. Don’t be afraid of making thick cookies!!

Preheat oven according to the recipe. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Cut the dough using the leaf cookie cutter. Bake the cookies according to the desired recipe.

Allow to cool completely before decorating. I usually like to bake them the day before I decorate.

Step 2:

Next you need to prepare the royal icing. Choose whatever color you want for the icing. Just add the gel food coloring to the icing until you have the desired color.

Remember to separate your icing into separate containers to mix with coloring and set aside sealed until you are ready to use them. You don’t want the icing to dry out while you are using other colors.

Add small amounts of water to each container and mix until you get the frosting to the desired consistency. You will want the icing to be fill consistency (honey-like) icing. Be careful not to add water too quickly.

Fill piping bags with royal icing.

Step 3:

Turning the leaves upside down, you will outline the main body of the jellyfish with icing. Then fill in the body shape. Use a toothpick or fork prong to flatten out any imperfections in the icing so that it is smooth.

Gently place two large candy eyes into the body section while the icing is drying.

Next, draw squiggly lines down from the main body to give the jellyfish his tentacles.

Step 4:

Once the icing is fully hardened, you can use the edible marker to draw the mouth onto the heads underneath the eyes. Easy peasy and ready to enjoy!

Looking for more ideas for an Ocean Themed Party?

If you are looking for more ideas for an ocean themed party…check out these other under the sea party ideas.

Coordinating Under the Sea Party Supplies

The easiest way serve all the glorious party treats you make and buy is with some themed party ware. This is budget friendly and keeps the design flowing through every part of your party. Definitely a must buy!!!

When you are hosting an under-the-sea celebration filled with beautiful cookies and colorful desserts, themed party ware quickly becomes one of the most effective styling tools. Coordinated plates, napkins, cups, and displays help reinforce your theme while making the entire party feel polished. Even simple cookies gain a professional, magazine-worthy look when presented on matching tableware.

Ocean-themed party ware also helps anchor your color palette. If your jellyfish cookies are decorated in pastel tones or shimmering ocean hues, choosing plates and napkins in similar shades creates a cohesive visual flow. This consistency makes your dessert table feel intentional and beautifully styled without adding a lot of extra work.

Another major benefit of themed party ware is convenience. Disposable plates and cups make serving easy and cleanup fast, allowing you to focus on celebrating instead of washing dishes. They help kids serve themselves more comfortably and keep everything organized and stress-free.

Using coordinated tableware ensures your underwater theme carries through every part of the celebration. It is a simple, budget-friendly way to elevate your party design, add color and personality, and make your jellyfish treats shine.

Under the Sea Tableware from Meri Meri

Under the Sea Tableware from Oriental Trading

Under the Sea Tableware from Little Big Party

Under the Sea Printables

You can grab these fun and easy to use printables from my shop:

Conclusion for DIY Jellyfish Cookies:

Jellyfish sugar cookies are a delightful way to infuse fun, color, and creativity into your under-the-sea celebration. Their adorable faces, flowing tentacles, and pastel shades add instant charm to your dessert table and help define your theme with very little effort. Whether your party is whimsical, tropical, bold, or dreamy, jellyfish cookies fit effortlessly into your design and bring joyful personality to every display.

Part of what makes these cookies so magical is their versatility. You can decorate them simply with smooth icing, add detailed piped tentacles, or incorporate shimmer for an ethereal underwater glow. They work beautifully alongside other sea creatures, becoming part of a larger dessert story that feels cohesive and visually enchanting. These cookies shine brightest when they are layered with thoughtful décor—wave accents, bubble clusters, starfish touches, and soft ocean fabrics that help them pop.

Jellyfish cookies also offer wonderful opportunities for creativity. As party favors, they feel special, personalized, and memorable. Kids adore their bright colors and cute expressions, making them excited to take home a piece of the celebration. As a party activity, decorating jellyfish cookies encourages hands-on fun and sparks imagination, giving children a meaningful way to connect with your theme.

Your table design is strengthened by themed party ware, which helps tie color, texture, and presentation together. Using coordinated plates, napkins, and serving pieces makes your display look intentional and professional. This simple step elevates your ocean theme while keeping hosting easy and stress-free.

What truly makes an ocean-themed celebration magical are the moments created throughout the day—laughter while decorating cookies, excitement during a treasure hunt, or quiet concentration during a sea-creature craft. The theme becomes more than just décor; it becomes a backdrop for connection, joy, and childhood wonder.

With charming treats, creative activities, cohesive décor, and themed tableware, your under-the-sea party becomes a dreamy celebration filled with sparkle and imagination. Jellyfish cookies help bring that underwater magic to life, turning your event into an enchanting ocean adventure that guests will remember long after the last cookie is enjoyed.

Alright…these Jellyfish cookies are simple to make and delicious. I know if you want to make some fantastic cookies for your under the sea party, these are just the ticket. This tutorial is super super simple!

If you love this tutorial, please pin this image to your birthday Pinterest board:

Please Read…