DIY Cookie Coasters

Cookies are DELICIOUS! There is a vast variety of cookie flavours you can make! Did you know it’s been said that chocolate chip cookies were invented by accident? In the 1930s, Ruth Wakefield ran out of baker’s chocolate and used broken pieces of a Nestlé chocolate bar instead, expecting them to melt into the dough. But the chunks stayed intact, and voilà: the chocolate chip cookie was born!

Well, I decided to honour them by turning them into coasters to level up our afternoon teas. I made four cookies: the classic, two brownie — one with white chocolate and one with pintarolas — and one red velvet. Check out how it’s done!

 Watch the video tutorial here 

You’ll need:

• Air-dry clay
• Modelling tools
• Paint
• Varnish (matte and/or glossy)

Use a compass or something round to draw a circle the size you want your coasters to be. Mine’s diameter is about 8 cm (3.15 inches). Then cut it out.

In the video, you can see better how I created mine. I tried to keep the process as simple as possible so anyone can do it, even if they never tried modelling. I started by rolling out some clay until it was about 0.5 mm (0.197 inches) thick. Then I used my paper guide to cut the circle. I’ll admit I wish I had made my coasters a little thicker, to make them look more like real cookies (mine look like they had way too much butter in the dough). If you try this project, consider giving yours a bit more height for that soft and chunky cookie look! 

To create the cookie texture, I crumpled a piece of aluminium foil into a ball and pressed it into the clay. Then I used one of my modelling tools to make small circular indentations where the chocolate chips would go. Before adding the chips, I also created a few cracks starting from those indentations and spreading out, mimicking the texture of baked cookie dough. Then I made small balls of clay, placed them into the indentations, and used the same tool to press and outline them so they looked sunken into the dough. Make sure to spread the chips evenly — your mug will actually rest on the chips since they’re slightly raised compared to the cookie dough. If they’re all clumped to one side, your mug might end up tipping or wobbling.

Finally, I gave everything some extra love (perfectionist here), lightly rolling over the surface to even out the chips, and left them to dry. In the video, I only show how I made the classic cookie, but the process was exactly the same for the other three — only the chip shapes and colours changed.

Tips for the drying process:

In previous clay projects, I noticed some pieces warped slightly as they dried — not ideal for coasters! So here’s what I did to prevent that:

• After 6 hours of drying, I flipped them over so both sides dried evenly.
• After 12 hours, I placed a light book on top of the coasters — not too heavy, just enough to keep them flat without squashing them. I left it there for 24 hours and then, when I felt that the coasters were firmer, I took it out and left the cookies to finish drying.

This is the fun part! It’s where your cookies really start to come to life. I started by painting the chocolate chips first, then moved on to the cookie dough. And… let’s just say there were a lot of touch-ups involved because I kept messing things up.

Here’s the colour scheme I went with:

At first, I tried painting around the chips and pintarolas to keep them super clean and on the surface — but the cookies ended up looking a little… off. It wasn’t until I went out for breakfast and saw some cookies in a bakery display that it hit me: real cookies bury the chips a bit. They’re not just sitting on top all neat and perfect.

To double-check, I actually took a picture of my cookies, opened it in Procreate, and tested what they would look like if I painted a bit of cookie dough overlapping the chips and pintarolas — and voilà! They instantly looked way more realistic and cookie-like. So of course, I went back and repainted them that way. Totally worth it.

Oh, and a heads-up: the little cracks I made to give the coasters that realistic cookie texture made painting a bit trickier. The brush didn’t quite reach the bottom of the crevices — so if you’re making your own, try not to go too deep with those details. Mine still turned out fine, though! I just used generous blobs of paint to fill everything in.

I always recommend this step, but it’s especially important here — your cookies are going to face heat from mugs and maybe even a few spills. So let’s give them some extra protection!

I went with a glossy varnish to make my cookies really shine, but here’s a fun idea: try using glossy just on the chocolate chips and pintarolas, and matte varnish for the cookie base. It gives a super cool contrast and makes the details pop! 

Just make sure to only apply the varnish once the paint is completely dry — I let the final coat sit for at least 1 to 2 hours before moving on.

Once you’ve varnished, let it dry for a good 3 to 4 hours between coats. Patience is key here — but your shiny (or matte!) cookie masterpiece will thank you later!

A cute detail you can try: store your cookie coasters in a cookie jar! You can reuse a glass jar (clear ones are perfect so the cookies are visible inside) and decorate it with a fun label that says "Cookie Jar."

And voilà — they're ready to impress your family and friends when you invite them over for a snack! I'm sure they’ll love it. Just remember to warn them before they try to eat them!

Another set of coasters you can try making are donut coasters! I made these a while ago and they were super easy to sculpt — just cut out a circle and the hole in the middle. The trickiest part was the painting... which took forever thanks to my need to make everything look seamless. But they turned out adorable and are perfect for anyone with a sweet tooth!

Tell in the comments what you think and tag me in social media if you make this coasters! 

See you next time! Ladybug out!