Inside: Soft and creamy, these old-fashioned sour cream cookies are perfect for lunchboxes!
Turkey Sugar Cookies are the perfect playful treat for November. Guaranteed to please kids of all ages, they are easy and fun to make for parties, lunch boxes, and playdates.
Turkey Sugar Cookies
Last month, my husband bought a mammoth-sized bag of candy corn from Sam’s Club. Since Halloween is over, I decided to use the rest of it to make Turkey Sugar Cookies.
You’ve probably seen similar cookies on the web, in magazines, or recall them from when you were a child. The version shared below uses my favorite sour cream sugar cookie dough, candy eyeballs, and homemade vanilla frosting.
Ingredients for Turkey Sugar Cookies
- 2 cups sugar
- 2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 5 1/3 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cups sour cream
- 1 package of candy eyeballs
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
- 3 tablespoons milk
- Red and orange food coloring
- Candy corn
You Will Also Need
- Round cookie cutter
- Rolling pin
- Cookie sheets
- Cooling racks
- Wilton #1 tip (2)
- Wilton #2 tip
- Frosting bag
- Parchment paper
- Mixer
Directions for Turkey Cookies
1. Cream the butter, shortening, sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, and 2 eggs in a large bowl. Mix in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, sour cream, and salt. The dough will feel quite sticky and soft, so chill the dough directly in the bowl until firm.
2. Roll the dough onto a well-floured surface, then cut into circles with a cookie cutter. Place the cutouts on a parchment-lined pan and bake at 350° for 8–9 minutes.
3. While the cookies are cooling, prepare the frosting by mixing 1 stick of unsalted butter with 3 cups of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 3 tablespoons of milk. Divide the frosting into 3 small bowls. Stir red food coloring into 1 bowl, orange food coloring into the second, and leave the third bowl uncolored.
4. Spoon the orange frosting into a bag fitted with a #2 tip. Spoon the red and white frosting into bags fitted with a #1 tip.
5. Use the white frosting to secure about 11 candy corns to the top of each cookie. Use the same frosting to attach 2 candy eyes to each cookie.
6. Draw small orange triangles on the cookies to create beaks. Use a rapid zig-zag motion with the red frosting to make turkey gobblers!
Decorating these cookies can feel time-consuming, so it’s fun to get the kids involved. Baking together is a great way to ease the workload and bond on cold, November afternoons.
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Turkey Sugar Cookies
Turkey Sugar Cookies are the perfect playful treat for November. Guaranteed to please kids of all ages, they are easy and fun to make for parties, lunch boxes, and playdates.
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 2/3 cups unsalted butter, softened
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cups sour cream
- 1 package candy eyeballs
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 3 tablespoons milk
- Red food coloring
- Orange food coloring
- 1 package candy corn
Instructions
- Cream the butter, shortening, sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, and 2 eggs in a large bowl. Mix in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, sour cream, and salt. The dough will feel quite sticky and soft, so chill the dough directly in the bowl until firm.
- Roll the dough onto a well-floured surface, then cut into circles with a cookie cutter. Place the cutouts on a parchment-lined pan and bake at 350° for 8–9 minutes.
- While the cookies are cooling, prepare the frosting by mixing 1 stick of unsalted butter with 3 cups of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 3 tablespoons of milk.
- Divide the frosting into 3 small bowls. Stir red food coloring into 1 bowl, orange food coloring into the second, and leave the third bowl uncolored.
- Spoon the orange frosting into a bag fitted with a #2 tip. Spoon the red and white frosting into bags fitted with a #1 tip.
- Use the white frosting to secure about 11 candy corns to the top of each cookie. Use the same frosting to attach 2 candy eyes to each cookie.
- Use the white frosting to secure about 11 candy corns to the top of each cookie. Use the same frosting to attach 2 candy eyes to each cookie.
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