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Easy Turkey Hand Cookies: Best Thanksgiving Treat

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These Easy Turkey Hand Sugar Cookies are a fun, personal, and delicious Thanksgiving treat made without special cookie cutters. Using your actual handprint as a template, these soft, buttery sugar cookies are decorated with royal icing and candy corn to create adorable turkey silhouettes.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 ½ cups (312g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • For the Royal Icing: 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons meringue powder, 3-4 tablespoons water
  • For Decorating: candy corn, mini chocolate chips, orange sprinkles, red gel icing

Instructions

  1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice.
  2. Add the egg and vanilla extract, then beat until fully combined, about 1 minute. The mixture should look smooth and slightly glossy.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing on low speed until just combined. Do not overmix.
  4. Divide the dough into two equal portions, flatten each into a disc about 1 inch thick, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
  5. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  6. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disc of dough to about ¼-inch thickness. Place your hand flat on the dough, fingers slightly spread, and trace around it with a sharp knife or pizza cutter, leaving about ¼ inch of space around your fingers.
  7. Carefully lift the hand-shaped dough onto a prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Repeat with the remaining dough. You should get about 8-10 cookies.
  8. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are just barely golden brown. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  9. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, meringue powder, and water until smooth. Transfer the icing to a piping bag or a zip-top bag with a tiny corner snipped off.
  10. Pipe a border around each cookie, then flood the center with more icing, using a toothpick to spread it into the corners. While the icing is still wet, press candy corn into the ‘fingers’ for feathers, place two mini chocolate chips for eyes, an orange sprinkle for the beak, and a small dot of red gel icing for the wattle.
  11. Let the icing set completely, about 2 hours at room temperature.

Notes

Chilling the dough is essential to prevent spreading. Use a light touch with flour when rolling. For a vegan version, use vegan butter, a flax egg, and aquafaba-based royal icing. For gluten-free, use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend with xanthan gum. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Undecorated cookies can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Keywords: turkey cookies, handprint cookies, Thanksgiving cookies, sugar cookies, easy Thanksgiving treat, no cookie cutter cookies

Find it online: https://goldensimmer.com/easy-turkey-hand-cookies-best-thanksgiving-treat/