Painted Turkey Sugar Cookies

By Wendy Sondov · Published: Nov 6, 2020 · Modified: Nov 21, 2023 · This post may contain affiliate links · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Painted Turkey Sugar Cookies are edible art for Thanksgiving gifting, holiday table decorating, or Thanksgiving care package mailing. Crunchy, citrus-vanilla sugar cookies are cut out in pieces, then easily assembled into 3D turkeys. Sponge painting with food coloring to create beautiful, multi-colored feathers is fun and easy.

Three dimentional Painted Turkey Sugar Cookies with muticolored sponge painted icing

About this recipe

Food gifts are always appreciated. Not only are they delicious, but they don’t need to be stored or displayed. Just receive, smile, savor, and feel loved.

Scientific studies show that baking for others provides mental health benefits for both the baker and the recipient. Baking can be meditative and a source of stress relief. It is also a creative outlet. When we bake for others, we promote happiness within ourselves and share that happiness with others.

There could be no better time than now to do some stress relieving baking to promote happiness and connection. Consider creating Painted Turkey Sugar Cookies as a Thanksgiving happiness project.

Turkey cookie sponge painted in reds and greens

The recipe, assembly, and decorating are all easy and kid-friendly, but please note that this is a multi-step project with time required for the icing to dry. I recommend spreading the steps over a few days.

On day 1, make the dough, wrap, and refrigerate. The dough is easiest to work with when chilled overnight.

Day 2 is baking day. Roll out the chilled dough and cut out the different shapes. Bake the cutouts. When the cookies are cool, store them for decorating the next day.

Do all decorating on day 3. Coat all of the cookies with white icing and let the icing dry for several hours. Then, sponge paint the cookies using food coloring.

Day 4 is all about details. Assemble using icing as glue. Add the candy eyes, orange beak, and red icing snood. When the icing glue is dry, package your Painted Turkey Sugar Cookies for sharing.

Cookie recipe ingredients with text overlay

These cookies get their exceptional flavor from a combination of two extracts, vanilla and fiori di sicilia. If you are unfamiliar with fiori di sicilia, it’s a delicious flavoring often used in Italian sweet breads and pastries.

The aroma and flavor is citrus, vanilla, and floral. Fiori di sicilia definitely provides special flavor, however, lemon flavoring can be used as a substitute.

Icing ingredients

Icing recipe ingredients with text overlay

Decorating materials

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Use a 3” scalloped round cookie cutter to cut out the background cookie.

The bottom of one large and one regular piping tip are used as improvised mini circle cutters for the head and body.

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Use a 1 ¼” teardrop shaped cutter for the feathers.

Add candy eyes and an orange rainbow chip sprinkle beak and you have turkey cookies with personality!

I recommend using natural food coloring for this project. The natural dyes give the muted, watercolor look to the painted icing.

Directions

Step by step images collage for creating Painted Turkey Cookies

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg and extracts.
Gradually add the flour mixture and mix just until combined.
Form the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm (30 minutes- overnight).
WHEN READY TO BAKE: Roll out the dough to ⅛" thickness.
Cut out 9 large scalloped circles, 5-7 tear-drop shaped feathers for each cookie, and 1 head and 1 body circle for each cookie. Place cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet about 2” apart. Bake the large cookies separately from the feather and head/body pieces, because they will take longer to bake.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges begin to turn golden brown.
ICING: In a medium bowl, mix together the confectioner’s sugar, milk, corn syrup and vanilla. Remove ¼ cup of icing into a small bowl. Color the icing red, then place in a piping bag with a tiny corner of the bag cut off for piping the red icing over the turkey beak (snood).
Spoon the icing or use a piping bag to place some icing onto a cookie and use a knife or offset spatula to spread the icing evenly over the surface of the cookie. Allow the icing to dry overnight. (Reserve left over icing to attach head, body, and feathers later.)

Paint applicators made from paper towels wrapped over balls of plastic wrap to form the sponges to dab on food coloring

DECORATING (ADDING COLOR): You will need a paint dauber for each color. To make paint daubers, cut a paper towel sheet into 4 squares. Scrunch a piece of plastic wrap into a ball and place at the center of a paper towel square. Twist the paper towel around the plastic wrap and secure with a twisty tie.
Dispense food coloring onto a plate. Moisten a dauber slightly in the water. Dip the dauber in a food color, then pat onto the cookie. Allow icing to dry completely overnight.

Step by step images collage of cookies being assembled

When dry, glue the body, head, and feather onto the matching circle base using icing as glue. Add the eyes and beak. Use the red icing to pipe on the snood (the red thing that hangs off a turkey beak). Allow the icing glue and snood to dry completely (1-2 hours) before wrapping or storing.

Tips

India Tree makes natural food colors (no chemicals) that produce beautiful muted fall colors, perfect for fall leaves and turkeys. Regular food coloring can be used, but the colors will be brighter with a slightly less watercolor effect.
Fiori di Sicilia gives these cookies exceptional flavor and is available to purchase online. Lemon flavoring can be used with similar results.
Make the beak using orange chips from Wilton Rainbow Chips Sprinkles. You could also use orange candy coated sunflower seeds or a dot of orange icing.
This recipe is as much a craft project as a baking project. Plan to do this project over several days, because time is required between steps for drying.
Use the cookies at place settings on Thanksgiving to brighten your table.
Turkey cookies are a delicious way to send Thanksgiving greetings in a care package.

More Thanksgiving treats

Pumpkin Pie Cookies are chewy pumpkin butter cookies that look like little pumpkin pies!

Thanksgiving Peanut Chews Candy Pops are chocolate dipped candy decorated like adorable turkeys, pumpkins, and footballs.

Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cookies are soft, chewy pumpkin cookies full of fall spices and creamy white chocolate.

Thanksgiving White Chocolate Bark is a show stopping treat that's quick and easy to make.

Chocolate Bark Thanksgiving Turkeys are delicious and colorful candy that is perfect as a Thanksgiving dessert or as decoration at table settings.

Pumpkin Cranberry Biscotti is the crunchy cookie you will want with your coffee or tea all fall and winter!

Each colorful cookie is a unique work of delectable art! They are super for care package travel, whether the destination is nearby or across the globe.

Packaged in individual clear plastic gift bags, these Painted Turkey Sugar Cookies would also make great gifts or edible decorations on a Thanksgiving table.