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Perfect Decorated Turkey Sugar Cookies with Easy Royal Icing

decorated turkey sugar cookies - featured image
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These soft, buttery sugar cookies are decorated with a forgiving royal icing to create adorable turkey cookies. Perfect for Thanksgiving bake sales, family gatherings, or a fun holiday baking project.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup (2 sticks / 226g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 ½ cups (312g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups (340g) powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons (16g) meringue powder
  • 4–6 tablespoons (60-90ml) warm water
  • 1 teaspoon corn syrup (optional)
  • Gel food coloring in orange, yellow, red, and brown

Instructions

  1. Cream the butter and sugar: In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together on medium speed until light, fluffy, and pale in color, about 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice.
  2. Add the wet ingredients: Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract until fully combined. The mixture might look slightly curdled—this is normal.
  3. Whisk the dry ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.
  4. Combine wet and dry: With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix only until the flour disappears and a soft dough forms. Do not over-mix.
  5. Divide and chill: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide it in half, shape each half into a flat disc (about 1 inch thick), and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 3 days.
  6. Preheat and prepare: When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
  7. Roll out the dough: Remove one disc of dough from the fridge. Let it sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to ¼-inch thickness.
  8. Cut your turkeys: Dip a turkey cookie cutter in flour to prevent sticking. Cut out as many cookies as possible, pressing straight down and lifting straight up. Do not twist the cutter.
  9. Bake: Place cut-out cookies about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until edges are just barely starting to turn light golden brown. Centers will still look pale and slightly soft.
  10. Cool completely: Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
  11. Mix the icing: In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl), combine powdered sugar and meringue powder. With the whisk attachment, turn mixer on low and slowly add 4 tablespoons of warm water. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 5-7 minutes, until thick, glossy, and forms stiff peaks. If too thick, add more water one teaspoon at a time.
  12. Color your icing: Divide white icing into separate bowls for colors. Use a toothpick to add tiny amounts of gel food coloring and stir until even.
  13. Get the right consistency: For outlining, use stiff peak consistency (holds a sharp point). For flooding, thin with water one drop at a time until it reaches a ’10-second’ consistency (ribbon disappears in about 10 seconds).
  14. Pipe the outline: Fit a piping bag with a #2 or #3 round tip and fill with stiff-consistency icing. Outline the entire turkey shape on the cookie.
  15. Flood the cookie: Switch to a #4 or #5 tip or snip a slightly larger hole in a new bag. Fill with 10-second consistency icing. Starting at the edges, pipe flood icing inside the outline. Use a toothpick to guide icing into corners and pop air bubbles. Let base layer dry for at least 30 minutes to an hour.
  16. Add the details: Once base is dry to the touch, pipe feathers, wattle, beak, and eyes using stiff-consistency colored icings. Let cookies dry completely, uncovered, for at least 6 hours or overnight until icing is hard to the touch.

Notes

Chill the dough for at least 2 hours to prevent spreading. For best results, bake cookies one day and decorate the next. Royal icing can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Use gel food coloring to avoid thinning the icing. Do not refrigerate decorated cookies; store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Nutrition

Keywords: turkey cookies, sugar cookies, royal icing, Thanksgiving cookies, decorated cookies, holiday baking

Find it online: https://willarecipes.com/perfect-decorated-turkey-sugar-cookies-with-easy-royal-icing/