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Easy Turkey Hand Cookies: Fun Fall Baking Idea

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These adorable turkey hand sugar cookies are a fun and easy fall baking project perfect for kids and adults alike. Made with a simple sugar cookie dough and decorated with colorful icing and candy corn, they capture the spirit of autumn without requiring any special cookie cutters.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup (2 sticks / 226g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 ½ cups (312g) all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups (240g) powdered sugar
  • 2–3 tablespoons milk
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Red, orange, yellow, and brown gel food coloring
  • Candy corn (for beak and wattle)
  • Candy eyes (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, beat softened butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes).
  3. Beat in egg and vanilla extract until just combined.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add to wet mixture, mixing on low speed until dough comes together.
  5. Trace a child’s or adult’s hand on cardboard and cut out to make a stencil.
  6. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to ¼-inch thickness. Place handprint stencil on dough and cut around it with a sharp knife or pizza cutter. Transfer to prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough (makes 8-10 cookies).
  7. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until edges are just barely golden. Centers should still look soft.
  8. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  9. For icing: In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract. Add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until thick but spreadable. Divide into small bowls and color with red, orange, yellow, and brown gel food coloring.
  10. Decorate: Using a small piping bag or zip-top bag with a tiny corner snipped, pipe ‘feathers’ onto the fingers of the handprint. Pipe brown icing on the palm for the turkey body. Place two candy eyes on the brown icing. Insert a piece of candy corn (pointy side down) for the beak and another piece (pointy side up) below the beak for the wattle. Let icing set for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

Chill cut-out handprints on baking sheet for 10-15 minutes before baking to prevent spreading. For best results, use a pizza cutter for clean edges. Store undecorated cookies in an airtight container at room temperature; decorate the day of serving. If dough becomes sticky, refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Nutrition

Keywords: turkey cookies, handprint cookies, fall baking, sugar cookies, Thanksgiving cookies, easy cookies, kids baking

Find it online: https://cookluma.com/easy-turkey-hand-cookies-fun-fall-baking-idea/