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Bowling Pin and Bowling Ball Cookies

Bowling cookies bring a festive flair to your bowling party as treats for your guests or for a bowling party favor. A free printable tag is included to let your guests know that “You had a BALL” with them at the bowling party. 
Cookies shaped like Bowling Ball and Pins on a metal baking sheet

Bowling party cookies

Make these bowling cookies for bowling alley fun! Bowling pin and bowling ball cookies are a must-have for a bowling themed party!   Aren’t these bowling cookies festive?
 
Let’s walk through how to make bowling ball cookies and how to make bowling pin cookies. Honestly you could make just one or the other, but the pair really add a nice touch to your bowling themed birthday celebrations!

Bowling party favor ideas

The bowling pin and bowling ball cookies made an easy party favor to give the kids as they left the bowling alley. They had little toys from the games they played in the arcade so I didn’t want to send them home with more junk stuff, instead I went with my favorite treat—more sugar!

How to make bowling party favors with decorated bowling cookies

  1. Make these bowling cookies in the shape of bowling pins and balls
  2. Bag them individually
  3. Print the bowling party stickers and add them to the bag for your bowling favors
Collage Pin for Pinterest Bowling Party Favors

Bowling Cookie Cutter

Decorated bowling pins: If I had planned ahead I would have ordered a bowling pin cookie  cutter like this one online, but as I didn’t I was forced to get creative with a bowling pin cookie template and it worked out really well.

The bowling pins started out as snowmen; the snowmen cookie shapes had their hats trimmed off and also had their middles thinned down a bit to transform them into bowling pins.

You’ll have to try this method with shapes at your house because it is so satisfying to create a new form out of a completely different cookie cutter.  Bowling ball snowman to Bowling Pins, who would have known it could be so easy?

The ball: The bowling ball cookie cutter needs no extra thought—a basic circle with a few dots of icing for the holes.

Make bowling pin cookies using a snowman cookie cutter

I have learned a lot about cookie decorating from Bridget Edward’s blog, Bake at 350, and her book, Decorating Cookies.  Her recipe for cut-out cookies is the best I’ve come across. The cookie dough hardly changes shape while in the oven and the taste and texture of the cookies keeps you reaching for more.

Use Bridget’s sugar cookie recipe and her royal icing recipe too.  You’ll be making beautiful cookies in no time if you follow her advice!

Get the Bowling Party Favor Free Printable

A great reason to make decorated bowling cookies is to celebrate a birthday. If your family is celebrating a sports themed birthday party, print these thank you labels for bowling party favors. 

I tied these cookies in a bag with red ribbon and included a label that said “Thanks for coming to my party, I hope you had a ball!” 

bowling party printable image for label

Access my FREE Printables Library. You’ll be able to download a sheet of 12 labels that you can print at home. These labels are perfect for party favors or to make your own thank you notes.

This file is formatted to 2 inch circle stickers from Avery product 22817.

The red background paper shape is cut with Fiskars X-Large Scalloped Circle Punch.

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Bowling party favors in a red bucket ready for bowling themed party

Need more bowling party sweet ideas?

 
If you are celebrating with another sports themed party, you might want to bake these Football Cookies , Baseball Cookies or these Basketball Cookies.

Pin these bowling cookies for later!

bowling cookies decorated in white and red royal icing with text title overlay

How to make Bowling Party Favors

Bowling Ball and Pin Cookies

Bowling ball cookies and bowling pin cookies make a festive party favor!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Active Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Materials

  • baked cookies in bowling pin and ball shapes
  • royal icing in two colors

Tools

  • Icing piping bags
  • Icing tips (optional)

Instructions

  1. Make these bowling cookies in the shape of bowling pins and balls
  2. Bag them individually
  3. Print the bowling party stickers and add them to the bag for your bowling favors

Notes

To make the three dots on the bowling ball cookies, simply drop small rounds of royal icing in white color on top of a circle cookie filled with icing in another color. Do this when the icing is WET so that the dots blend in to the first color of icing.

Did you make this project?

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Grandma Helen's Cakes

Wednesday 19th of March 2014

My granddaughter is having a bowling bday party - I always make the cake for their parties but now I'm stumped, hope you can help me out. I thought I could have bowling pins standing on top of a sheet cake. Do you think the 'snowman' cut outs would stand up ok on a cake? Would I need something to support the cookie in standing position? Like what? Thanks for any help you can give me.

Holly F

Wednesday 19th of March 2014

Hi! My grandmother always made our birthday cakes and it still brings me happy memories all of these years later. I am sure your granddaughter will be thrilled with the cake you make. You can buy bowling pin candles that look cute on top of a cake. Decorate the top of the cake with icing to look like a bowling lane and then add the candles. Another option is a cake shaped like a bowling pin and ball like this one I made. The photos aren't great but do give you an idea of the concept. Hope it is a fun celebration!

Shweta

Saturday 15th of March 2014

These look great..Am making these for my son's birthday party.. What paper punch did you use to get the scallop circles?

Holly F

Saturday 15th of March 2014

I used a paper punch that I bought at Michaels, I believe it was the 2 or 2.5 inch scallop circle perhaps a Martha Stewart brand? Happy Birthday to your son!

Pint Sized Baker

Saturday 2nd of March 2013

Fun, Simple, and Adorable! Thanks for sharing at Two Cup Tuesday at Pint Sized Baker. I've pinned it!

sally @ sallys baking addiction

Thursday 28th of February 2013

these are adorable! we went bowling the other weekend and had a little party beforehand. I just brought chocolate cookies but these would have been MUCH cuter!

Holly @ abakershouse.com

Friday 1st of March 2013

Thanks, Sally! I wouldn't have tried these without Bridget's great recipe for the cookies and icing too. I bet you would make delicious chocolate cookies that made everyone happy!

Wendy Sondov

Wednesday 27th of February 2013

What a great goodie bag treat! They are really cute. I love seeing how people multi use cookie cutters. I tried to figure out what you used before I continued to read the post but couldn't figure out why anyone would have a light bulb cookie cutter to begin with :) (Obviously mult-using cookie cutters is not my forte)Using the snowman cutter is very clever.

Holly @ abakershouse.com

Wednesday 27th of February 2013

Hi Wendy, oh a light bulb cookie cutter would be cute. I bet that exists-- maybe for science class project or something? Also I considered using a baby's bottle cookie cutter too-- saw one in a store but didn't have one at home when I got started on the cookies.

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