Fall Leaf Cookies

a stack of sugar cookies that look like fall leaves. a hand is holding one up to show the icing decorations.

5 from 4 votes

Created by: Fun Cookie Recipes

36 4-inch cookies

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 9

Decorating Time 20

Total Time 49

This foolproof sugar cookie recipe yields soft, buttery cookies that hold their shape perfectly. Add food coloring to the dough to make these cookies perfectly festive for the fall season.

Equipment

Stand mixer

Cookie Sheets

Rolling Pin

Cookie Cutters

Ingredients

▢ 1 cup (225g) unsalted butter softened
▢ 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
▢ 1 large egg at room temperature
▢ 3 ½ cups (420g) all purpose flour
▢ 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
▢ ½ teaspoon salt
▢ gel food coloring in orange, red, and yellow
▢ royal icing to decorate

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C, or 160°C fan oven. Prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with parchment paper or silicone mat and set aside.
In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter with the sugar until smooth, light in color and creamy (2-3 minutes).
Add vanilla and egg and mix again until the egg is incorporated but don’t over whip (the longer you whip the egg, it can souffle up and the cookies will rise and you don’t want that).
Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix again until just combined. Scrape the sides with a spatula so no dry flour is left. The cookie should pull away from the sides of the bowl (if it doesn’t add ½ cup of flour).
To make these marbled fall colored leaf cookies, separate the dough into three even balls. Add a few drops of food coloring to each to create yellow, red, and orange dough. Knead the coloring in by hand.
Take about a fourth of each color dough, break it into pieces with your hands, and place it on a lightly floured surface. Gently press the pieces together, then roll the dough using a rolling pin to ½ – ¼ inch thickness. You should end up with a gently swirled, marbled slab of dough.
Use a leaf cookie cutter to cut the dough into shapes. To help with any sticking, dip the cutter into flour first, and use an offset spatula to pick up the cookies from the counter.
Bake for 8-9 minutes rotating at 6 minutes for even browning (one sheet at a time). Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Cool completely before icing the cookies.
If desired, decorate the cookies with white royal icing.

Notes

This cookie recipe will make approximately 36 cookies using a 4 inch (10cm) cookie cutter. You may get more or fewer cookies depending on the shapes that you make.
To Store: Undecorated cookies will stay fresh for up to 1 week if you'd like to make the cookies one day and then decorate them later.
To Freeze: Seal the cookies in an airtight container with a layer of parchment or wax paper between layers. Decorated and undecorated sugar cookies will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

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