These decorated pumpkin cookies would be great for Halloween and they'd also be a beautiful addition to a Thanksgiving dessert table. I made them with my go-to Orange Cardamom cookie recipe, but you can also try my new Pumpkin Spice cookie recipe for this design (get them both in the Cookie Art Club!). Watch the video tutorial and get the supply list below!
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My Pumpkin Spice cookie recipe is delicious with vanilla royal icing, but I'd bet it would be even better with maple, coffee, or cinnamon royal icing! LorAnn Oils Bakery Emulsions are my favorite flavorings to use for baking (don't let the name fool you, they are oil-free, which is a must when working with royal icing!).
Here's what you'll need to make these decorated pumpkin cookies
- Chilled sheet of cookie dough
- 2-¾” square plaque cookie cutter
- 2-⅞” rectangle plaque cookie cutter
- Pumpkin templates (in the Cookie Art Club)
- 4 decorating bags
- 4 couplers
- Decorating tip 3
- Decorating tip 1
- Decorating tip 2
- 4 bag ties
- Scribe tool
- Flood consistency royal icing in blue (see color combinations below)
- Medium consistency royal icing in orange, green, and ivory
- Decorator brush (I used the round brush from the Wilton 5 piece set)
- Vodka or grain alcohol for painting
- Paint palette
- Chefmaster Navy Blue and Sunset Orange food coloring for painting
Read my Ultimate Guide To Royal Icing to learn all about royal icing consistencies.
Color combinations (I used Chefmaster)
- Blue = 6 parts Navy Blue + 1 part Black Diamond
- Orange = 6 parts Sunset Orange + 1 part Black Diamond
- Green = add Leaf Green to the leftover orange icing
- Ivory = a touch of Sunset Orange + a touch of Leaf Green
Instructions
Cut the plaque cookies from a chilled sheet of cookie dough. Bake the cookies according to the recipe instructions and allow them to cool completely before decorating.
Ice the plaque cookies with light blue flood consistency royal icing and a decorating tip 3. Use the scribe tool to help shape the icing.
Allow the icing to dry completely (overnight is best).
Trace the pumpkin templates on the cookies with the scribe tool.
Draw the sections of the pumpkin with the scribe tool.
Fill in every other section of the pumpkins with orange flood consistency royal icing and a decorating tip 1. Use the scribe tool to help shape the icing.
Allow the icing to dry for about 30 minutes.
Fill in the sections in the back with the orange icing.
Allow the icing to dry for about 15 minutes.
Fill in the remaining sections of the pumpkin.
Allow the icing to dry for at least 2 hours.
Combine orange and navy blue food coloring with vodka or grain alcohol.
Add a little bit of the navy blue food coloring to the orange food coloring.
Add shading to the pumpkins with the food coloring mixture using a decorating brush
Pipe a stem and a vine with green medium consistency icing and a tip 1.
Pipe a bead border around the edge with ivory medium consistency royal icing and a decorating tip 2.
