Decorate Sugar Cookies Just Like the Pros
You can learn to beautifully decorate sugar cookies just like you see on social media and I can teach you how! Whether you like to learn from pictures and text or videos and words, I've got you covered! I have created photo Cookie Cards and a Video Tutorial so that you can choose your method of instruction.
*This tutorial is provided for those that have purchased my annually offered Royal Icing Thanksgiving Cookie Decorating Kit. If you are creating the cookies and icing on your own, I use medium flood royal icing to both outline and flood the cookies.
Thanksgiving Cookie Cutters
Cookie Cards: Sugar Cookie Decorating Guides
Use my Cookie Cards below as a guide to decorate your Thanksgiving sugar cookies. Step by step photos plus written instructions give you all the details that you need to create beautifully decorated sugar cookies of your own.
Decorate a Pie Slice Cookie with Royal Icing
- Pipe an outline around the cookie, leaving space at the top for the crust.
- Following the outline, flood the pie section working towards the center of the cookie.
- Give the cookie a gentle shake by moving it back and forth to even out the royal icing. If needed, use a toothpick or scribe tool to move the icing around on the cookie to fill in any gaps or holes.
- Let the royal icing dry for at least 20 minutes before you add top layers and adjacent sections. You can speed up the drying time of your royal icing by using a small table fan or dehydrator on the lowest setting.
- Pipe an outline around the top crust section of the cookie. Flood the top section.
- Pipe a circle in the center of the pie section of the cookie for the whip cream. Flood the circle. Let dry for 20 minutes.
- Pipe vertical zig zag lines on the crust section to mimic the scallops of the crust.
- Pipe a swirl on the whip cream starting in the center and working around toward the outside of the circle.
PRO TIP: Be sure to cut the opening of the icing bags small enough to be able to achieve the details on the crust and whip cream.
Decorate a Turkey Cookie with Royal Icing using the Marbling Technique
- Pipe an outline around the edge of the cookie, except for the feet section.
- Following the outline, flood the turkey, working towards the center of the cookie.
- Give the cookie a gentle shake by moving it back and forth to even out the royal icing. If needed, use a toothpick or scribe tool to move the icing around on the cookie to fill in any gaps or holes.
- While the icing is still wet, pipe wavy lines of different colors following the scallops of the feather section of the cookie.
- Using a toothpick or scribe tool, scrape a line through the icing from the outside of the cookie starting in between two of the feather scallops and working toward the center of the turkey's body.
- Repeat by scraping 5-7 more lines, each starting from the outside of the cookie in between a scallop and working toward the center of the turkey's body.
- Give the cookie a gentle shake.
- Add a candy eyeball sprinkle.
- Let the royal icing dry for at least 20 minutes before you add top layers and adjacent sections. You can speed up the drying time of your royal icing by using a small table fan or dehydrator on the lowest setting.
- Pipe a triangle for the beak.
- Pipe two vertical lines for the legs. Pipe two upside down v's for the feet.
- Pipe a tear drop shape for the wing in the center of the turkey's body. Flood the wing.
- While the icing is still wet, pipe wavy lines of different colors following the curve of the wing.
- Using a toothpick or scribe tool, scrape a line through the icing from the center of the curve of the wing toward the point of the wing. Repeat, scraping two more lines, one on either side of the center line.
- Give the cookie a gentle shake. Let dry for 20 minutes.
- Pipe a tear drop shape gobbler between the beak and the eye.
PRO TIP: To achieve a seamlessly smooth marbling design, flood the cookie quickly and marble with a toothpick or scribe tool immediately before the royal icing begins to dry.
Decorate a Leaf Cookie with Royal Icing
using the Wet on Wet Technique
- Pipe an outline around the edge of the cookie.
- Following the outline, flood the leaf, working towards the center of the cookie.
- Give the cookie a gentle shake by moving it back and forth to even out the royal icing. If needed, use a toothpick or scribe tool to move the icing around on the cookie to fill in any gaps or holes.
- While the base layer of royal icing is still wet, pipe the polka dots. Let the polka dots sink into the base layer of royal icing. If needed, use a toothpick or scribe tool to poke each dot down.
- Let the royal icing dry for at least 20 minutes before you add top layers and adjacent sections. You can speed up the drying time of your royal icing by using a small table fan or dehydrator on the lowest setting.
- Pipe a vertical line in the center of the leaf from the base to 3/4 of the way up the cookie to create a stem.
- Starting from the center stem, pipe five tear drop shapes mimicking the outline of the cookie to create the veins.
PRO TIP: To achieve a seamlessly smooth wet on wet design, flood the cookie quickly and then add the polka dots while the base layer of royal icing is still wet. This creates a flat design that looks like a background pattern rather than a raised top design on the cookie.
Step by Step Sugar Cookie Decorating VIDEO Tutorial
Visual Learner? Let's Decorate Cookies Together!
Follow along to my step by step video tutorial. Learn how to decorate Thanksgiving Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing including a Leaf, Turkey and Pie Slice. I break down the decorating process into easy to follow steps and give you helpful tips along the way.
Helpful Cookie Decorating Tools:
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Want to Learn More?!
Looking for more inspiration? Check out my Buttercream Icing Thanksgiving Sugar Cookie Decorating Tutorial. Learn to decorate the same Thanksgiving cookies with buttercream icing in different designs that can also be translated to royal icing.
