Fall Leaf Sugar Cookies

I absolutely love fall. I love the crisp air and the colors and the warm, pretty clothes we get to wear. It's my favorite time of year, and I can't wait to watch the trees change colors in the upcoming weeks.

To celebrate that tree-changing, I made these adorable fall leaf cookies. I've had the leaf cookie cutter since the after-Thanksgiving sales last year, so I've been very patiently waiting to use it.

I started by outlining and filling my completely-cooled cookies. This is the glaze recipe I use:

1 cup powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp milk, 1 Tbsp corn syrup, 2 drops lemon juice. This amount allowed me to outline six of these large cookies, so adjust your amounts accordingly.

When you mix the outline, it needs to be fairly thick. When you drizzle it off the spoon, it should keep its shape for several seconds.

Outline all of the cookies and wait a few minutes while it hardens a little.

While you're waiting, mix another, larger batch of glaze, but keep it slightly thinner than the outline. When you pipe it in, it's going to spread and fill in between the lines.

Once the outline and fill are done, allow them to harden completely - overnight is best.

Then mix another batch of thick glaze like your outline to make the veins. Place the cookie on a paper plate and pipe the veins on, and while they're still wet, cover them with sanding sugar. The plate allows you to pour all the excess sugar into a bowl without making too much of a mess.

Once they're dry you'll have beautiful, fun cookies to share.