Quick and easy Fall cookies (leaf cookies) homemade with simple ingredients. These decorated cut out Autumn cookies are great for Thanksgiving parties.
Making these Fall cookies have been on my bucket list ever since I saw them in a magazine a few years ago. Since Fall is officially here, the timing is perfect. These are the easiest cookies I have ever made. You just need colored cookie dough and black edible marker! No need for Marshmallow Fondant for these decorated cookies. Another fun spin on edible leaves leaves is to use chocolate. Check out this tutorial on How to Make Chocolate Leaves {With Mint} to decorate your next Autumn cakes or cupcakes.
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Table of contents
How to make Fall cookies from scratch?
- Prepare sugar cookie dough- Divide into 4 portions.
- Tint each portion- Using red, yellow, green and orange food coloring.
- Marble dough- Break off small portions of each ball and stick them together.
- Flatten dough- Using a rolling pin.
- Cut dough- Using leaf cutters.
- Bake- Then cool.
- Add details- With black edible marker.
Variations for Fall sugar cookies
Use different color combinations- Such as green leaves for Spring. You can even make single yellow colored or red colored leaves for Fall.
Add your choice of spices- My favorite is pumpkin spice for this time of the year, but you could use apple pie spice, or even just cinnamon.
Add extracts- Such as vanilla, almond, maple, or caramel.
Add zests- Such as lemon, orange, or lime zest.
Finely chopped dried fruits– Such as apples, berries, cranberries, or apricots.
Add coconut– Finely shredded is best.
Use other cut out cookies- Such as Pistachio Cookies {Cut Out} or Easy Gingersnap Cookies {Cut Outs}.
Decorate more details- Using Royal icing or Glace Icing.
Use other shapes of leaf cutters- There are so many varieties in the market these days.
Tips and techniques for Autumn cookies
Use black edible paint and paintbrush to paint leaf details/ veins- Edible markers are so much easier though. Fine tip markers are best.
Roll dough between 2 sheets of wax paper- Because this prevents a sticky mess.
Don’t over bake cookies- The edges will become dark brown or burn and that would ruin the color/appearance.
Use gel colors for tinting dough- Because the liquid food coloring makes the dough sticky.
What to do if the dough is too sticky? Simply chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes- 1 hour and then roll it out.
Don’t over mix the dough or knead it too much- Because that makes very tough cookies.
Cut cookies close together- Be sure that you use your space well when cutting out the cookies. Get to the very edge of the dough and place the next leaf cutter as close as possible to the previous to get the most cookies out of one roll of dough.
Measure ingredients correctly- Instead of just eyeballing it. This can really make or break the cookies so measure accurately.
Storage of cut out leaf cookies
Room Temperature- Store in a cookie jar or container for up to 3 days.
Refrigerate- In a sealed container for up to 1 week.
Freeze- In a freezer safe bag or container for up to 1 month. Then, thaw to room temperature to enjoy.
More Fall desserts/ Autumn desserts
- Chocolate Tree Cake
- Acorn Cookies
- Chocolate Caramel Apples
- Rustic Cake
- Ginger Molasses Cookies {Soft & Chewy}
Recipe
Easy Fall Cookies (Leaf Cookies)
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Ingredients
- 2 cups Sugar cookie dough
- Gel colorings Red, yellow, orange and green
- Edible marker Black
- Leaf cutters Various sizes and styles
- Wax paper
- Rolling pin
Instructions
- Prepare your sugar cookie dough.
- Divide the dough into 4 balls.
- Use red, yellow, orange and green gel colorings to tint each ball.
- Break off small portions of each ball.
- Randomly, start sticking them together until you have something that looks like a colorful log.
- Use the palm of your hands to flatten this colorful log piece.
- Place this flattened dough on a sheet of wax paper or parchment paper.
- Place a sheet of wax paper or parchment paper on top of the dough.
- Use a rolling pan to flatten out the dough.
- Use leaf cutters to cut out shapes.
- Place them on a cookie tray lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown along the edges.
- Once the cookies cool down, use a black edible marker to draw details on the leaves. Enjoy!
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
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