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!
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time6 minutesmins
Setting Time4 hourshrs
Total Time4 hourshrs26 minutesmins
Course: Cookies & Bars Recipes, Cooking with Kids, Dessert Recipes
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.
1 cup butter, 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.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon almond extract, 1 large egg, 2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 pinch salt
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.
3 cups all-purpose flour
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.
gel food coloring
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
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.
Storage:
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.