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Perfect Royal Icing Turkey Sugar Cookies – Easy Recipe

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These easy royal icing turkey sugar cookies use a simple sugar cookie base and a quick royal icing that sets firm enough to stack but stays soft enough to bite into. The turkey design is straightforward with piping tricks that make them look way harder than they actually are.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 ½ cups (312g) all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups (360g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons meringue powder
  • 4–5 tablespoons warm water
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (for icing)
  • Gel food coloring (orange, red, yellow, brown)
  • Candy eyes (optional)
  • Orange sprinkles or nonpareils (optional)

Instructions

  1. Make the Cookie Dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the softened butter and granulated sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides halfway through. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract, and beat on low until just combined.
  2. 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 until the dough just comes together. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, divide in half, flatten each half into a 1-inch thick disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  3. Roll and Cut the Cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. On a lightly floured surface, roll one disk of dough to about ¼-inch thickness. Dip a turkey cookie cutter in flour and cut out cookies, spacing them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Gather scraps, press together, and re-roll once. Repeat with the second disk.
  4. Bake the Cookies: Bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through. Edges should be just barely golden. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
  5. Prepare the Royal Icing: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine sifted powdered sugar and meringue powder. Add 4 tablespoons warm water and vanilla extract. Mix on low until moistened, then increase to medium-high and beat for 4-5 minutes until thick, glossy, and holds a stiff peak. Divide icing into bowls for each color. For each color, prepare a stiff consistency for piping outlines and a thinner flood consistency by adding water ¼ teaspoon at a time until it fl…
  6. Decorate the Cookies: Using stiff orange icing in a piping bag fitted with a #2 tip, pipe an outline of the feather shape on the back of the turkey. Fill with flood-consistency orange icing. Let set for 10 minutes. For the turkey body, pipe an outline with stiff brown icing, then flood with thinner brown icing. While wet, place candy eyes or pipe white dots. Pipe a small yellow triangle for the beak and a red teardrop for the wattle. Add texture to feathers with contrasting colors if desired.
  7. Let the Icing Set: Allow decorated cookies to dry completely at room temperature for 2-4 hours until firm to the touch. Do not stack until fully set.

Notes

Chill dough for at least 30 minutes to prevent spreading. Use gel food coloring to avoid thinning icing. Practice piping on parchment first. Cookies taste better the day after decorating. Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Freeze undecorated cookies for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Keywords: turkey cookies, sugar cookies, royal icing, Thanksgiving cookies, easy holiday cookies

Find it online: https://milacook.com/perfect-royal-icing-turkey-sugar-cookies-easy-recipe/