Description
These beautiful Thanksgiving cookies decorated with warm fall colors and smooth royal icing are perfect for holiday gatherings, gifting, and festive dessert tables. Soft, buttery, and easy to customize, these cookies capture the cozy flavors and charm of the season.
Ingredients
Scale
- Sugar Cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Optional: 1 tsp cinnamon OR 1 tsp maple extract for fall flavor
- Royal Icing
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tbsp meringue powder
- 6–8 tbsp water
- Gel food coloring in fall shades (orange, red, mustard, brown, green)
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Add egg and vanilla, mixing until fully combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add dry ingredients to the wet mixture gradually until dough forms.
- Divide dough, flatten into disks, and chill for 1 hour.
- Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into fall shapes (pumpkins, turkeys, leaves).
- Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 8–10 minutes, or until edges are just set.
- Cool completely before decorating.
- Mix royal icing to desired consistency.
- Outline cookies with thicker icing; flood with thinner icing.
- Add details once the base coat dries.
- Allow cookies to dry 8–12 hours before stacking or packaging.
Notes
Slightly underbake the cookies for a softer texture. Gel coloring works best—liquid coloring will thin your icing. Decorated cookies stay fresh up to 2 weeks at room temperature. Chill the dough to prevent spreading and keep shapes crisp. Drying the icing overnight ensures flawless stacking and packaging.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes + 1 hour chill time
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 145
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 60mg
- Fat: 6g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 21g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 2g
- Cholesterol: 25mg
Keywords: thanksgiving cookies decorated, fall sugar cookies, pumpkin sugar cookies, thanksgiving cookie recipe, royal icing cookies, decorated cookies