Thanksgiving Sugar Cookies Recipe

5 from 16 votes

Thanksgiving Sugar Cookies Recipe

Thanksgiving sugar cookies decorated like turkeys are soft, adorable, and fun to make with kids for the holiday table or class parties!

Prep Time30

Cook Time10

Total Time40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Author: Kristyn Merkley

Ingredients

Cookie

¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
½ cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
2¾ cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Frosting and Decorations

⅓ cup butter, softened
4 ½ cups powdered sugar
¼ cup milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
orange food coloring
Miniature Reese's, candy eyeballs, candy corn, brown sprinkles

Instructions

Cookies

Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Add the butter, cream cheese, sugars, egg, and almond to a large bowl. Use a hand mixer or kitchen aid to cream them until fluffy.
In a separate bowl sift the flour, baking powder, and salt. Once combined, add the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture. Mix until soft dough forms.
Roll out the dough. Thin dough will make a crunchier cookie. For a softer cookie roll the dough to about ⅜ inches thick. Cut the dough with a 3-inch round cookie cutter. {NOTE: Try not to handle the dough too much}
Place the cookie cutouts onto a greased baking pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool.

Frosting

Make the frosting by adding the butter, powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and almond to a mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer to combine.

Decorate

Add ¼ cup of the frosting and orange food coloring to a small bowl and mix. Frost the cookies and sprinkle with brown sprinkles. Decorate each cookie by adding a Reeses’s to the middle with candy corn around the top of the Reese’s. Add candy eyeballs using frosting for glue and pipe on orange frosting feet.

Notes

Each cookie will need: frosting, brown sprinkles,1 mini Reeses Cup, 2 candy eyes, and 7 candy corns.

Pro tip. Instead of making sugar cookies, use refrigerated sugar cookie dough or buy unfrosted sugar cookies from a bakery.

Make ahead of time.

Wrap the sugar cookie dough with plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge for 2-3 days or wrap it a second time with aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months.
Unfrosted baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 2 days or in the freezer for 3 months.

Store decorated cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days. Separate stacked cookie layers with wax paper. For longer storage, add a piece of white bread in the container.

For more substitutions and tips, check out the full recipe post

Nutrition