How to Make Fall Leaf Cookies

Because sugar cookies aren't just for Christmas.

Though we love a pumpkin pie just as much as the next person, there are times when eating dessert seems like an impossibility following a Thanksgiving meal loaded with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing — you get the point. Though most people associate sugar cookies with Santa Claus and Christmas, the buttery rounds make the perfect grab-and-go sweet treat when a decadent sit-down dessert just isn’t in the cards. That’s exactly why you should add a plate of these mesmerizing leaf cookies to your Thanksgiving feast. Colorful, cute and oh-so-fun to decorate, they’re also a great way to include kiddos big and small in on the holiday prep.

To start started, make a batch of Food Network Magazine's Sugar Cookies and a cup of Royal Icing.

When it comes to working with royal icing, be sure to keep the following in mind:

  • For outlining, icing should be thick and pipable.
  • For flooding (filling inside the lines), icing should be the consistency of runny yogurt.
  • If you find your icing not matching the consistency you desire, thin it with water.

Now all that's left for you to do is decorate!

Painted Leaves

Marbled Leaves

Sugared Leaves

Feathered Leaves

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