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Best Homemade Thanksgiving Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing

Thanksgiving sugar cookies - featured image
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These soft, sturdy sugar cookies hold their shape beautifully for decorating with royal icing leaves in autumn colors. Perfect for Thanksgiving dessert tables, Friendsgiving parties, or cozy baking sessions, this recipe converts even the most stubborn sugar cookie skeptics.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 ¾ cups (345g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract (optional but recommended)
  • 4 cups (480g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 3 tablespoons meringue powder
  • 6–8 tablespoons warm water
  • Gel food coloring (warm brown, orange, red, golden yellow, leaf green)
  • Disposable piping bags or zip-top bags
  • Small round piping tips (#2 or #3)

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream softened butter and granulated sugar on medium speed for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides halfway through.
  3. Add egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Beat on medium until fully combined, about 1 minute.
  4. With mixer on low, gradually add dry ingredients. Mix just until dough comes together. Divide dough in half, flatten each half into a 1-inch thick disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (overnight is better).
  5. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
  6. Remove one disk of dough from fridge. Let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Lightly flour work surface, rolling pin, and top of dough. Roll dough to ¼-inch thickness.
  7. Dip leaf cookie cutters in flour. Cut out leaves, pressing straight down without twisting. Transfer to prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Gather scraps, re-roll, and cut more cookies. Repeat with second disk.
  8. Place baking sheets in fridge for 15 minutes before baking.
  9. Bake one sheet at a time on center rack for 8-10 minutes. Cookies should look set around edges but still pale on top. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
  10. For royal icing: In stand mixer bowl, combine sifted powdered sugar and meringue powder. Add 6 tablespoons warm water and mix on low until combined. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 5-7 minutes until thick, glossy, and holds a stiff peak. Adjust consistency with water or powdered sugar as needed.
  11. Divide icing into separate bowls for each color. Add gel food coloring a tiny drop at a time. For each color, prepare thicker outlining consistency and thinner flooding consistency (add water ½ teaspoon at a time until it flows like honey).
  12. Fit piping bags with #2 tips. Outline each leaf shape with thicker icing, then fill with thinner flooding icing. Use toothpick to spread into corners and pop air bubbles. Let base layer dry for at least 1 hour.
  13. Using slightly darker shade of same color, pipe veins on each leaf (center vein with small diagonal lines branching off). Let cookies dry completely, uncovered, for 6-8 hours or overnight until icing is hard to the touch.

Notes

Don’t skip the chilling time—cold dough holds its shape during baking. Watch oven temperature; an inexpensive oven thermometer helps. Royal icing consistency is key: use the ’10-second rule’ for flooding icing. Work in batches to prevent icing from drying. Practice on parchment first. Cookies taste even better the day after baking.

Nutrition

Keywords: Thanksgiving sugar cookies, royal icing cookies, leaf cookies, fall cookies, decorated sugar cookies, holiday baking, autumn cookies

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