These Sea Turtle Cookies are made with oatmeal cookies, frosting, graham crackers, and candy. They’re the perfect treat for ocean-themed or beach parties, birthdays, summer gatherings, or a fun kids activity.
No need to head to the beach when you can bring the beach to your home instead. I’m completely obsessed with sea turtles, so I had way too much fun making these cookies and they turned out way cuter than I imagined.
Here’s a little secret between us…I didn’t even bake the cookies from scratch. I grabbed pre-made oatmeal cookies from the grocery store bakery to save time, and no one could tell the difference. It’s the perfect shortcut for hot summer days when you don’t want to heat up your house with the oven.
Of course, you can make homemade cookies if you prefer, but this easy shortcut keeps the ingredient list simple and the prep stress-free. These cookies would also be great for classroom parties or a beach-themed celebration.
If you’re looking for more fun cookie ideas, try my crab cookies or butterfly cookies.
Recipe At A Glance
- Skill Level: Easy
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Method: No Bake
- Servings: 12 cookies
- Best For: Parties, birthdays, summer treats, kids activity
Sea Turtle Cookies Ingredients
- Cookies: I used oatmeal cookies from the grocery store. You can also make homemade cookies or other kinds of cookies like sugar or shortbread as long as it’s flat.
- Green Apple Gummy Rings: Used for the turtle shells and flippers. You can find these in the candy aisle or online.
- Green Gumdrop Candies: These make the turtle heads.
- Candy Eyes: These can be found in the baking aisle on online.
- Frosting: I used whipped fluffy white frosting but vanilla frosting also works too.
- Graham Crackers: Crushed to create the sandy beach look.
- Blue Food Coloring: Use gel for the best ocean blue color.
How to Decorate Sea Turtle Cookies
Add a few drops of blue food coloring to the frosting and mix until combined. Frost each oatmeal cookie with the blue frosting to create the ocean background.
Crush the graham crackers into fine crumbs and sprinkle them over half of each cookie to look like sand.
To make the sea turtle, place on gummy ring in the center for the shell. Use one green gumdrop candy for the turtle head.
Cut two additional gummy rings in half to create the turtle legs and place them on around the shell (two in front and two in back). Use a small dab of frosting to attach the candy eyes onto the gumdrop head.
Arrange the cookies on a serving platter and sprinkle extra graham cracker crumbs around them for a beach look.
Recipe Tips
- Use kitchen scissors to easily cut the gummy rings into flippers.
- Chill the cookies for a few minutes before serving to set the frosting.
- If frosting is too thick, microwave for a few seconds to make spreading easier.
- Let kids decorate their own turtles for a fun hands-on activity.
Recipe Variations
- Swap the green gummy rings for different colors to make colorful turtles.
- Add mini candy fish or sprinkles around the turtles for an underwater scene.
- You can eliminate the crushed graham crackers for the cookies and just frost with blue frosting instead.
- If you don’t have graham crackers you can use vanilla wafers or golden Oreos without the filling.
How to Store Sea Turtle Cookies
Place leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If stacking them, place parchment paper between layers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Whipped frosting spreads easily and gives the cookies a soft look. I would stay away from buttercream frosting as it can be too thick for cookies.
You can crush with your hands or put in a zip-top bags and crush them with a rolling pin.
Freezing is not recommended because the gummy candies can become too hard and sticky once thawed
Recipe
Sea Turtle Cookies
Ingredients
- 12 Oatmeal Cookies
- 24 Green Apple Gummy Rings
- 12 Green Gumdrop Candies
- 24 Candy Eyes
- 1 Container of Whipped White Frosting
- About 10 Full Size Graham crackers
Instructions
- Add a few drops of blue food coloring to the frosting and mix until combined.
- Frost each oatmeal cookies with the blue frosting to create the ocean background.
- Crush the graham crackers into fine crumbs and sprinkle them over half of each cookie to look like sand.
- To make the sea turtle, place on gummy ring in the center for the shell.
- Use one green gumdrop candy for the turtle head.
- Cut two additional gummy rings in half to create the turtle legs and place them on around the shell (two in front and two in back).
- Use a small dab of frosting to attach the candy eyes onto the gumdrop head.
- Arrange the cookies on a serving platter and sprinkle extra graham cracker crumbs around them for a beach look.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclosure
Nutritional facts are estimates and are provided as a courtesy to the reader. Please utilize your own brand nutritional values to double check against our estimates. Nutritional values are calculated via a third party. Changing ingredients, amounts or cooking technique will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
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