UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

Admit-A-Bull // Official Admissions Blog

Share Your School Pride with College Logo Cookies

Dean Besterfield gives the "Go Bulls!" hand sign in a kitchen
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Share Your School Pride with College Logo Cookies
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Is there anything better than a homemade cookie? If you’re sharing good news (like acceptance to college), why not incorporate one of the tastiest treats around to make a sweet moment even sweeter?

Picture a homemade cookie shaped like the USF Bull U logo. Sounds like a great way to celebrate game day, academic milestones, or a special occasion, huh? Read on for our detailed instructions on how to craft the perfect cookie cutter for any exciting occasion.

What U Need

The items you need to bake USF Bull U cookiesIt probably will take you longer to make the cookies than it does to make your cookie cutters. Here’s what you’ll need to replicate USF’s Iconic Bull U in cookie form:

  • Regular or heavy-duty foil
  • USF U cookie-cutter template
  • Scissors
  • Tape
  • Cookie dough
  • Flour
  • Rolling pin
  • Cookie sheet
  • Wax paper or parchment paper
  • Icing
  • Sprinkles

As with most do-it-yourself projects, improvising is allowed. No tape? Use a stapler. No heavy-duty foil? Use regular foil and increase the number of folds.

Cookie dough, of course, is the most important ingredient, and sugar cookies are a functional and tasty choice. Gingerbread cookies are another popular option, particularly as the holidays approach.

How U Do It

Dean Besterfield gives the "Go Bulls!" hand sign in a kitchen
Dr. Besterfield, USF Dean of Admissions, prepares to make U cookies in the USF Pinnacle Hall kitchen. 

If you’ve gathered your supplies, you’re a few easy steps away from having a Bull U cookie in hand:

  1. Download and print the Bull U logo.
  2. Tear a sheet of aluminum foil

Someone tearing off a sheet of foil

  1. Lay the sheet so the longest side is horizontal.

A sheet of foil laying flat on the counter

  1. Fold the edge of the foil up .5” to 1”

Closeup of a sheet of foil with an edge folded

  1. Continue to fold over the foil until you create a sturdy strip of aluminum foil.

A sheet of foil rolled into a long, thin shape

  1. Use the Bull U template outline to shape strips into the U logo. You may have to add another strip of foil if the first strip isn’t long enough to complete the outline.

Someone uses the cookie cutter template to shape the USF Bull U

  1. Once you are finished shaping the foil, fasten the ends of the strip with tape or staples to complete the cookie cutter.

The cookie cutter ends are fastened with tape to complete the shape

Closeup image of the Bull U cookie cutter laying on the counter

  1. Admire your beautiful creation.

Dean Besterfield poses with the Bull U cookie cutter

  1. Roll dough on floured wax paper, foil, or parchment paper. That makes it easier to lift cookies without damaging them.

Dean Besterfield holds the cookie cutter above the dough

  1. Dip cutter in flour and cut your first cookie. Dip before each cut.

Dean Besterfield presses the cookie cutter into the dough to create the Bull U shape

  1. Bake according to the dough instructions (we used store-bought cookie dough).

Dean Besterfield places the Bull U cookie in the oven to bake

  1. Let cool and add the icing.

Someone squeezes icing onto the baked cookie

  1. Add the finishing touch–sprinkles!
Dean Besterfield adds sprinkles like Salt Bae
Salt Bae who? Dr. Besterfield adds green sprinkles.
  1. Admire your beautiful creation. Again.

Close-up photo of a finished USF Bull U cookie

  1. Take a photo. Share your Bull Pride and baking skills with the world by posting the pic on social media with the hashtag: #USFCookieCutter

Dean Besterfield poses with a finished Bull U cookie

On Cookie Cutters, Baking, and U

Cookie cutter experts note that shaping a near-perfect cookie comes down to details, by which they mean the finer points of the design. For the USF Bull U, this means the points of the Bull’s horns. Cookie science shows you’re not going to get real pointy horn tips. There are, however, some tips to help you get the details as sharp as possible.

If you want cookie cutters that are more durable, you can cut your strips from the bottom of a foil baking pan. If you want something that can survive long enough to be passed down to the next generation of Bulls, use strips cut from soda cans. The soda can cutters will have to be smaller, unless you can find some jumbo cans or staple strips together end to end. You’ll also need some heavy-duty scissors or tin snips and some no-fooling-around gloves.

Try it out yourself, and show us your USF cookie creations on social media by using the hashtag #USFCookieCutter. Ready to get started? Download the USF Bull U cookie cutter template.

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