These tie dye fall leaves sugar cookies are an easy way to decorate your sugar cookies with autumn colors! They are so fun to prepare that your kids will love helping to dip them! Not to mention, these fall cookies will certainly be the star of your dessert table!
Easy Autumn Leaves Cookie Decorating
I created these pretty fall cookies one afternoon while baking for a family gathering I was hosting at my house. I just wanted something a little extra special to spruce up my dessert table, and these were perfect!
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They look like a million dollars but are truly easy to make! They're also sure to get tons of compliments! Check out all of my delicious fall baking recipes here!
🥘 Tie Dye Fall Leaves Sugar Cookies Ingredients, Notes, & Substitutions
Sugar Cookies
- Butter - 1 cup of room temperature butter. It should still be firm enough that your finger does not easily make an indention.
- Sugar - 1 cup of white granulated sugar.
- Vanilla - 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract or a vanilla extract substitute.
- Almond Extract - ½ teaspoon of almond extract.
- Egg - 1 large egg.
- Baking Powder - 2 teaspoons of baking powder to act as your leavening agent.
- Salt (optional) - 1 pinch of salt. If using unsalted butter, you can increase this to ½ teaspoon.
- Flour - 3 cups of all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled.
Royal Icing
- Confectioners Sugar - 4 cups of confectioners sugar, sifted.
- Meringue Powder - 3 tablespoons of meringue powder or a meringue powder substitute.
- Water - 9 tablespoons of room temperature water for thinning out the icing. You may need a few extra tablespoons to get the proper flooding consistency.
- Food Coloring - Your preferred color(s). Tie dye the cookies in any color combo, but in the case of my fall cookies, I opted for red and orange (but brown would have been great, too).
Any of your favorite sugar cookie recipes for rolling and cutting out will work as the base of this easy cookie-decorating project.
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 How To Make Tie Dye Fall Leaves Sugar Cookies
There may be a lot of steps, but these cookies are still incredibly easy to prepare! You will need mixing bowls, a baking sheet, measuring utensils, and a stand or hand mixer.
This recipe will yield 2 dozen cookies. Double or triple the amounts as needed; they're a popular treat!
Prepare the Sugar Cookies
Step 1: Preheat. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C/Gas Mark 4) and line a baking sheet(s) with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
Step 2: Cream. Using an electric mixer, cream together 1 cup (227 grams) of butter and 1 cup (200 grams) of sugar.
Step 3: Mix. Mix in 1 teaspoon (5 milliliters) of vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon (2.5 milliliters) of almond extract, 1 large egg (50 grams), 2 teaspoons (10 grams) of baking powder, and 1 pinch of salt until thoroughly combined.
Step 4: Add flour. Gradually incorporate only 2 cups (250 grams) of all-purpose flour into the dough. It will appear crumbly but will come together once kneaded.
Step 5: Turn. Turn your dough out onto a well-floured work area and use your hands to work the rest of the flour into the dough until it is firm enough to roll. *Typically, I use 2¾ cups of the flour and then save the remaining ¼ cup of flour for working with the cookie dough while rolling.
Step 6: Roll and cut. Roll out the dough so that it is between ¼-½ inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut them into your desired shapes and transfer them to your prepared baking sheets.
Step 7: Bake. Bake in the oven at 350°F (175°C/Gas Mark 4) for 6-9 minutes, removing them from the oven before they begin to brown.
Step 8: Cool. Let the baked cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving them to a wire cooling rack. Cool the cookies completely before decorating.
Prepare the Icing
Step 9: Add. In a large mixing bowl, add 4 cups (480 grams) of confectioners sugar, 3 tablespoons (44 grams) of meringue powder, and 9 tablespoons (133 milliliters) of water.
Step 10: Beat. Use a hand or stand mixer to beat the ingredients at high speed for 1½-2 minutes. *When you lift the whisk from the bowl, the icing should drizzle down and smooth out again within 5-10 seconds. Mix in more water in 1 tablespoon increments if it is too thick.
Decorate
Step 11: Prepare. Divide your icing into 3 or 4 small bowls. Then, add a couple of small drops of gel food coloring. Use a toothpick to gently swirl the colors; you don't want to completely mix them together.
Step 12: Dip. Flip your cookies over and gently press the tops into the icing while holding them by the edges. You can use a chopstick to sweep up any drips onto the cookies if needed.
Step 13: Set. Place the frosted cookies back onto the wire rack and allow the icing to set. This will take several hours, in my experience (allow 4 hours minimum).
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- The key to preventing your cookies from spreading is using butter that's at the correct temperature. It should be at room temperature but still firm. If you press your finger into the butter and it easily indents, it is too soft. Your cookies will spread with butter that is this soft.
- Your royal icing will become thicker the more time it is spent being mixed. If it is too thin, continue to beat it for longer.
- 10 tablespoons of water is usually the perfect amount for my icing. However, depending on the weather, I sometimes need anywhere from 12-14 tablespoons.
- At room temperature, your icing should take about 2-4 hours to dry and set, depending on the consistency of your icing. Place the iced cookies in the fridge if you need to speed this up.
>>>>See all of my recipes here<<<<
🥡 Storing
Once your cookies have been completely set, you can store them in an airtight container with pieces of wax paper separating each layer. They can be stored for up to 2 weeks.
For more storage information, see my post covering how long sugar cookies last. Or, for fun ideas, see my article about what to do with leftover cookies!
Freezing Sugar Cookies
You can also freeze your cookies for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the fridge before moving them to the counter to come up to room temperature.
*Do you love cookie decorating? Let me know what your favorite easy designs are in the comments below!
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📖 Recipe Card
Tie Dye Fall Leaves Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Sugar Cookies
- 1 cup butter (at room temperature but not softened)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 pinch salt (optional, use ½ teaspoon of salt if using unsalted butter)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
Royal Icing
- 4 cups confectioners sugar (sifted)
- 3 tablespoon meringue powder
- 9 tablespoon water (room temperature, plus more as needed)
- gel food coloring
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
Prepare the Sugar Cookies
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C/Gas Mark 4) and line a baking sheet(s) with parchment paper.
- Using an electric mixer, cream together 1 cup butter and 1 cup sugar.
- Mix in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon almond extract, 1 large egg, 2 teaspoon baking powder, and 1 pinch salt until thoroughly combined.
- Start to gradually incorporate only 2 cups of the 3 cups all-purpose flour into the dough. It will appear crumbly but will come together once kneaded.
- Turn your dough out onto a well-floured work area and use your hands to work the rest of the flour into the dough, until it is firm enough to roll. *Typically, I use 2¾ cups of the flour and then save the remaining ¼ cup of flour for working with the cookie dough while rolling.
- Roll out the dough so that it is between ¼-½ inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut them into your desired shapes and transfer them to your prepared baking sheets.
- Bake in the oven at 350°F (175°C/Gas Mark 4) for 6-9 minutes, removing them from the oven before they begin to brown.
- Let the baked cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving them to a wire cooling rack. Let them cool completely before decorating.
Prepare the Icing
- In a large mixing bowl, add your 4 cups confectioners sugar, 3 tablespoon meringue powder, and 9 tablespoon water.
- Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat the ingredients at high speed for 1½-2 minutes. When you lift the whisk out of the bowl, the icing should drizzle down and smooth out again within about 5-10 seconds. If it is too thick, mix in more water in 1 tablespoon increments.
Decorate
- Divide your icing into 3 or 4 small bowls. Then, add a couple of small drops of gel food coloring. Use a toothpick to gently swirl the colors, you don't want to completely mix them together.
- Flip your cookies over and gently press the tops into the icing while holding them by the edges. If needed, you can use a chopstick to sweep up any drips onto the cookies.
- Place the frosted cookies back onto the wire rack and allow the icing to set.
Notes
- The key to preventing your cookies from spreading is using butter that's at the correct temperature. It should be at room temperature but still firm. If you press your finger into the butter and it easily indents, it is too soft. Your cookies will spread with butter that is this soft.
- Your royal icing will become thicker the more time it is spent being mixed. If it is too thin, continue to beat it for longer.
- 10 tablespoons of water is usually the perfect amount for my icing. However, depending on the weather, I sometimes need anywhere from 12-14 tablespoons.
- At room temperature, your icing should take about 2-4 hours to dry and set, depending on the consistency of your icing. Place the iced cookies in the fridge if you need to speed this up.
- Once your cookies have been completely set, you can store them in an airtight container with pieces of wax paper separating each layer. They can be stored for up to 2 weeks.
- You can also freeze your cookies for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the fridge before moving them to the counter to come up to room temperature.
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