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Perfect Royal Icing Turkey Cookies Recipe

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These adorable turkey cookies feature a soft, buttery sugar cookie base and glossy royal icing feathers. They are surprisingly simple to make and create a show-stopping centerpiece for any Thanksgiving or fall gathering.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup (2 sticks / 226g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 ½ cups (312g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 4 cups (480g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 3 tablespoons meringue powder
  • 6–8 tablespoons (90-120ml) warm water
  • Gel food coloring (orange, red, yellow, brown, black)
  • ½ teaspoon clear vanilla extract (optional)

Instructions

  1. Make the cookie dough: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the softened butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract, and beat until combined.
  2. Add the dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix just until a soft dough forms. Do not overmix.
  3. Chill the dough: Divide the dough into two discs, wrap each tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or overnight).
  4. Roll and cut: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disc of dough to about ¼-inch thickness. Use a 2-inch round cookie cutter for the turkey body and a 1-inch round cutter for the head. Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Slightly overlap the head and body on the sheet before baking.
  5. Bake: Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are just barely golden. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  6. Prepare the royal icing: In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, combine the sifted powdered sugar and meringue powder. Add 6 tablespoons of warm water. Mix on low to combine, then turn the speed to medium-high and whip for 5-7 minutes until thick, glossy, and holding stiff peaks.
  7. Adjust the consistency for flooding: Take about ¾ of the stiff icing and thin it with water, one teaspoon at a time, until it flows like warm honey and settles back into itself within 10 seconds (the ’10-second rule’).
  8. Color the icing: Divide the flood icing into separate bowls. Color one bowl orange, one red, one yellow, and one brown. Leave a small amount of white for the eyes. Use gel colors sparingly.
  9. Pipe the feathers: Using a #2 tip and the stiff yellow icing, pipe a series of overlapping arcs on the back of the body cookie to create the tail feathers. Start from the outside and work your way in. Then, using the brown flood icing, fill in the body and head. Use a toothpick to guide the icing into the edges. Let the base colors dry for at least 2 hours.
  10. Add the details: Once the base is dry, use a #1 tip to pipe a small orange triangle for the beak, a red teardrop for the wattle, and two tiny white dots for the eyes. Add black dots on top of the white for the pupils. Pipe small orange lines for the feet on the bottom of the body.

Notes

Chill the dough for at least 2 hours to prevent spreading. Use the ’10-second rule’ for flood icing consistency. Let decorated cookies dry at room temperature for at least 6 hours or overnight. Do not refrigerate decorated cookies as moisture will soften the icing.

Nutrition

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

Find it online: https://spoonmira.com/perfect-royal-icing-turkey-cookies-recipe/