These Fall Leaf Cut Out Cookies are a fun way to celebrate the coming of fall. Colorful cookie dough and sanding sugar makes these a pretty cookie to enjoy all Fall season.
Fall Leaf Cut Out Cookies
I sure love the Fall season and all the delicious comfort food that comes with it. These fall leaf cut out cookies are such a fun cookie to add to your cookie plate during the cooler weather. The marbled colorful dough is an extra step to these cookies but it’s well worth it! They make a great fall gift.
The flavor of these fall leaf cut out cookies are a cross between a sugar cookie and a short bread cookie. The sugar cookie recipe is our family favorite recipe that we use all the time. It is not a super sweet cookie dough as we typically top it with a delicious buttercream frosting. If you prefer a sweeter cookie base you can add a 1/4 cup more sugar, use a store bought sugar cookie mix, or your favorite homemade version.
How to make these Fall Leaf Cut Out Cookies
- Mix your sugar cookie dough and separate into four different bowls. Add a couple drops off food coloring into your cookie dough batter. I used the colors, yellow, orange, green and red.
- Add dollops of colored sugar cookie dough next to each other and roll out as you would normally. Don’t over roll or your cookie dough will become one solid brown color.
- Using different leaf cookie cutters, cut out various leaf shapes.
- Using a small pairing knife make leaf “veins” in the raw dough and sprinkle with a small amount of gold sanding sugar before baking.
For more delicious cookie recipes try these:
The Perfect Sugar Cookie for Cutouts
Ingredients
- 2 cups cold butter cubed
- 1 1/2 cups sugar, add 1/4-1/2 cup additional sugar for cookies not being topped with icing.
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 1 ⁄4 cups all-purpose flour plus 1⁄4 cup as needed
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Cream together butter, sugar, and salt in a stand mixer with paddle attachment.
- Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract.
- Add flour, cornstarch, and nutmeg. Mix on low until fully incorporated.
- Stir in the sour cream.
- Use a rolling pin to roll all of the cookie dough out to a thickness of 1⁄4 inch. You may also work with half of the dough at a time if needed. If your cookie dough is sticky you may lightly flour your surface. You can also place the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes if necessary. Cut cookie dough into desired shapes using your favorite cookie cutters.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Do not overbake. Remove from oven.
Notes
Katie
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Brenda says
September 28, 2018 at 7:09 pmHi, I love the look of these autumn leaf cookies too. To get the darker colors, it depends on the brand of food coloring that you are using. If you are not using the gel food coloring type, you should give them a try. You can purchases them at Joann Fabrics or Michael’s or Walmart, and on line too. the gels are more condensed colors. the more you uses the darker the dough will be. They also have low moisture so they will not add additional moisture into your recipe.
Sherli says
September 22, 2018 at 5:47 pmHi, your cookies are adorable! I tried them and they are pretty but look more pastel after baking . May I ask if you used a lot of food coloring? Thanks for your help. Sherli
Kim Goodman says
November 21, 2018 at 9:20 pmI was wondering the same!!! Hope she answers…
Katie says
November 21, 2018 at 9:24 pmI have found that Wilton Gel Food Coloring are more vibrant and work best for baking however, you can still use the regular food coloring, but yes you will need to add enough to make it bright!
Katie says
November 21, 2018 at 9:22 pmI have found that Wilton Gel Food Coloring are more vibrant and work best for baking however, you can still use the regular food coloring, but yes you will need to add enough to make it bright!