Easy Autumn Leaves Cookies
There are lots of good things about living in West Texas, but I have one big gripe. We got totally gyped on the autumn thing. 100% cheated!
Until I was seventeen, the only way I knew that autumn happened was that football season came. It wasn’t until I moved to Virginia that I learned the truth.
There IS such a thing as colored leaves. We just don’t have them here. I am not talking about the yellow and brown scrubby things that blow down my street in late November. When I say leaves, I mean leaves like these.
{My dad took this picture while on vacation in Vermont. He and mom took a special trip there a few years back JUST to see the leaves change. Turns out the leaf love thing is inherited}
West Texas has just about everything else you can think of… rattlesnakes, tarantulas, scorpions, oil wells, and every thorny plant you can imagine, but no discernible fall season.
Are you beginning to see why I feel cheated?
ANYHOW, I was so enchanted with these leaves, I spent the entire autumn of my first year in Virginia looking at the ground. I collected them, studied them, and even stuck them on the sides of candles just like Martha told me to.
Then life happened, I moved home, and those beautiful leaves were a thing of the past…until I cookie-d them.
Normally I am pretty open to interpretation when it comes to cookies. There are LOTS of different ways to “cookie” something. But in this case, the real thing is so naturally beautiful that I went for an exact reproduction. I wanted them to look just like the the leaves I remembered from my time in Virginia.
The best part is, this time exact equals EASY! All you need are orange and yellow piping and flood icing, and these magic airbrush-in-a-can sprays from Wilton.
All you do is outline and flood the cookies, let them dry a bit, pipe on the leaf design and let them dry. The next day, randomly spray them with color until they look like real fall leaves.
That’s it. My favorites are the yellow ones with touches of green…
When you mix them all together, they are almost as pretty as the real thing. Almost.
I still miss the traditional autumns I experienced in Virginia, but until I live somewhere with real trees, leaves, and maybe even a little rain, cookies will have to do. I can live with that I suppose.
I’m linking up with Lil’Luna, Tidymom, and Nest of Posies this week.
Fantastic!!!!
:)))))
Hi there, I am from Istanbul, Turkey. I came across your site a while ago and have been following it since then with great curiosity.
It is great that you think cookie and can create a cookie of whatever you think of. It is also great to be living in the States as anything you think of is accessible, such as the cutters, sprays etc.
I love the autumn leaves. They remind me of my days in Boston, I used to collect them and insert in books, make postcards etc.
Thank you for sharing your art with us.
I am so excited! This is one of the best techniques ever! I just added the food color spray to my shopping list, mid-comment:) Once again, THANKS Callye! GORGEOUS cookies!
I’m from the DFW. Growing up, autumn was the weekend after you bought your Halloween costume, when you realized it was going to be WAY too cold to wear that outside on Halloween. Lol! And football. 🙂
Fall is my fav. Thanks for showing us how to bring the beauty inside:)
Awesome! I wouldn’t think this would dry!
I wonder if my cake airbrush would dry?
U betcha it would. I have a friend that uses hers all the time…I would if I had one, but I haven’t talked the hubby into it yet!
You always take cookies up to new heights of excitement. Beautifully done!
xo
Love your cookies, and it seems so simple to make them! I live in the Netherlands and we already have autumnleaves. I will certainly make them when I find the time for making them.
Thanx for again such a nice post!!
These are so beautiful Callye! If it makes you feel any better, we don’t really have Autumn here in Western Australia, either. The vast majority of our trees keep their leaves. Most of them don’t even change colour. 🙂
So cool! Love the colors. We recently made some leaf cookies, but I like this technique much better. I like that you made the stem a thin line instead of decorating the whole “nub.” Looks more realistic. Beautiful as usual.
I did not realize you could use the spray on cookies. OH the possibilities!
Well done! I have never tried the color mist sprays…what an awesome idea!!
I want to marry those cookies! They are so gorgeous…I have this lifelong {strange} obsession with leaves…I am so in love!
These are beautiful! I really like how realistic they look whilst at the same time looking totally yummy. I love the sunflowers and acorns best of all, what did you use for the top bit? So pretty! x
Amazing…as always!! These cookies look like the real deal! I’ve always loved the autumn leaves. I never thought about using the color mist on cookies either! What a great idea!! Definitely going to give that a try soon!!
Callye these are swoonsome !!! As someone who has fall ( Autumn!) as her favourite season, these make my heart sing. I also have a question for you if I may ? What happens to all the gorgeous cookies that you make ? I have often wondered !
Love and hugs from the South Coast of the UK xXx
Missing you like crazy! Usually I give them to my neighbor. I was going to toss these out, but she literally caught me on the way out the door =)
Amazing cookies!!
There’s nothing like the traditional fall season of New England! Great post and beautiful leaf cookies! I can’t wait to try!
I feel your pain. Southeast Alabama is the exact same way. I have always dreamed of going on one of those trips Senior Citizens take up the east coast to see the foilage change. Alas, I will have to wait until an age where it is acceptable OR until I can make up a good fake excuse for the trip!
I’m sold on the Wilton sprays, too. Can’t wait to try these beautiful leaves … in fact I have dough sitting on my counter right now ready to roll (or be rolled). And, just for the record, I’m certain your leaves may look like the real thing but taste WAY better!
=)
Fantastic! Love your cookies!
Very nice. Thanks for the idea.
Hi Callye,
These cookies are absolutely beautiful! Fall is my favorite time of the year as well and you certainly made fall seem real with these cookies. You are so talented and I appreciate and enjoy your website so much.
Mary
Your talent is overwhelming I can’t wait to try this.
So gorgeous! Can’t wait for Fall to actually arrive. I’ll post a link on Edible Crafts, too. 🙂
TY Megs!!!
They turn out so adorable, the color mist make them look more realistic.
I love the airbrushed colors! I am lucky enough to live in Vermont and see such changes occur out of every window in my house, and boy did you nail it! These pictures are just as good as a trip to our beautiful state.
Autumn is my favorite season!! And like you, I too did the Martha Candle/Leaves thing! I’ve used the Wilton and the PME Sprays a number of times and have given me good results – I just find them sometimes hard to get used to using a light spray. Just last week I bought the Duff airbrush from Michaels (I had a 50% coupon I used with it). Can’t wait to try it out on some actual cookies! (just have to wait for my airbrush coloura to arrive in the mail).
Great post as always! 🙂
I want one SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO bad, Jody! SO bad! I like the PME sprays way better than the Wilton, but the difference is reflected in the price!
Would love to know what you did for the acorns and daisies!
Lovely post with so beautiful pohtos! This idea with everyday-colours is great! Your next year workshop sounds so great and interesting – unfortunately no way for me to take part.Have a lovely weekend!
What shape did you use for the acorn? Was it an actual acorn cutter or did you modify?
It really is an acorn. I picked it up at hobby lobby last year!
Really pretty!! I love how simple these are and yet you get such a great effect!!
Hello, I recently stumbled on your site and I love your cookies and all your helpful tips. They are truly works of art. You can tell you love it : ) I’ve been so inspired by these fall cookies. We always host Thanksgiving at our house and I can’t wait to try my hand at some leaf cookies. These would make such a lovely addition to the table! Thank you so much for sharing!! This is the reason I love the internet, so much great inspiration!!
Hey! I love your cookies- they look AMAZING!!!! I love baking cutout cookies for all sorts of holidays, so I’m definitely going to buy these!
Do you have a good icing recipe that tastes good too? I like the taste of canned cake frosting on cookies, but it never hardens, so I can’t arrange them on plates. Other times, I’ve tried homemade powdered-sugar based frosting recipes and while it hardens, it tastes absolutely terrible (powdered sugar and milk).
Help!! :o)
Here ya go! https://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/blog/2011/04/royal-icing-101-or-all-roads-lead-to-rome/
They are so pretty, love the colors! Makes we want to go back east, rake up a pile of leave and jump in them… No fall leaves here yet 🙂
Great idea to use the color mist! One of the best leaf cookies I’ve seen yet- I am sooooo making these.
This is why you are the instructor and we are the students! I love these cookies, I have the cutters but would never have thought to use the color mist spray. Thank you for another great lesson!
This gets me so excited and motivated for Fall cookie decorating. Think I’ll make a batch of cookie dough after work tonight! Beautiful work on yours 🙂
I love the leaves changing colors. Living down in New Orleans, I got cheated as well. I’ve seen the leaves change several times on vacation, but that was it. Autumn colors are so beautiful.
Thanks for the tip on the wilton spray. I always wondered how well that would work.
That’s so funny that you wrote this post…as this morning I was wondering if Autumn brought the changing colors of fall in Texas that we get here on the east coast. ( I know weird thing to randomly be thinking about)
So I guess I inadvertently got my answer…..
BTW Beautiful cookies as always…
I would so prefer to see your cookie strewn about my backyard, rather than the humongoid (made up word) pile of leaves we get here…they are pretty but the novelty gets old after a few weeks of raking those bad boys up 🙂
Just perfectly beautiful. Living in the Maple Syrup Capital of Ontario resplendent with beautiful old maple trees, I have a ton of real leaves I can ship down to you for the kids to jump into 🙂
I may take you up on that one day. I have an order I’d like to put in…PUT LOTS of pics on your blog for me to look at!
Haha, no joke , we Texans got the short end of the stick when it comes to cool weather…I’m here on the Gulf Coast, and this heat wave is the first time I’ve seen our trees without leaves…EVER, lol. I’m a fall baby, and looove autumn, so I think I’ll have to make up a batch of these, and pretend it isn’t a hundred degrees outside 🙂
Adorbs. How did leaves even get so cute?! 😉
You have had THE best color week pics – I just love them – and want to move to Mexico! I wish I could attend your workhsop but I just got married and our baby boy is entering childcare soon so that’s going to throw off our budget in a major way! I’m hoping you do another workhsop in about a year’s time and I’ll be there with bells on!
love these! Awesome!
I love fall! Your cookies look like real leaves!! You have crazy talent, Sweet Sugarbelle!
Love thesessssss! Your my cookie heroooo! love ya
I was born and raised in Chicago, but alas I live in West Texas also! I miss the beautiful leaves too! These are amazing. I had seen the color mist at the grocery store and wondered if they would work for cookies. Thanks for answering my question!
Have a great week.
Carrie
Hello there neighbor! What a change…I went to Waukegan once and it reminded me of a car commercial! BEAUTIFUL! But you still go the wind, LOL!
♥
wow i cant believe that all these years i have taken leaves for granted i live in california so i see them all the time. i will learn to apreciate them alot more.
btw how do you make the sunflower? it looks so real!
-mayra
I will try to get up a post on that ASAP!
Amazing job! I haven’t tried to use the color mist product yet but you are definitely inspiring me to try! Again, great job as always!
I REALLY think you will like it!
These are GORGEOUS! I love the leaves, they’re so beautiful, but those acorns and sunflowers are just about the cutest. 🙂 They all mix together beautifully. Your cookies are always so perfect!
Thank you, Darla!!!
Ur cookies are awesome!!!They look so perfect!!!Thank u for sharing~~~
Simply stunning! My love of leaves goes way back. I’m fortunate to live in the Midwest where Autumn colors blaze for about one week a year. LOL. We have to enjoy every minute we can during our short and colorful season but it’s so worth it. I’m very intrigued by this Wilton color spray that it almost makes me want to break out the icing and cookie cutters. I love your acorns too Callye! You rocked this Fall assortment!
Im going to try and talk you into posting pics on your blog!
I have a can of that orange spray I bought on sale after Halloween. Now I know what to do with it!
What fabulous cookies! (Although all of your cookies are SO amazing — I look forward to every post!)
The color mist is cool, but I really love the flowers and acorns. Did you use brown sanding sugar on those, or something else? (And you’re right — it is beautiful here in Virginia in the fall!)
So pretty. I love the textured tops to the acorn cookies as well.
Absolutely gorgeous!!!
Lovely and really amazing work – beautiful and inspiring!
These are so beautiful Callye! You make everything look so easy, but I know better… think of that tutorial Loren of The Baking Sheet did and you all make those gorgeous little tiny roses. Argh. It just comes out a blob each time I try. So I know better when y’all say easy. Maybe I will try this though. It does look fun and your cookies just jump out at the page. Thanks for always providing us with tutorials and sharing your fun ideas! Cristin (Pinkie)
I have walked past those Wilton sprays a million times and never thought of applying them to cookies, what a great idea and as always beyond beautiful cookies!
Love this idea- so simple. I’m originally from NY and they have such beautiful colors in the fall. Here in Calgary, CA we normally go from summer straight to snow!!
Best, Sandie
These are too pretty to eat! Gorgeous! Visiting from TidyMom 🙂
Wow, that is amazing! It will no doubt take 40 years for that to finally make it over here to Australia. You are so lucky to have such great products over there!
Best wishes,
Natasha.
I came across your blog on Tidy Mom and I love your post!
I would love it if you would drop by Jane Deere and link up to Fusion Fridays with your favorite or most recent recipes, handmade crafts, diy projects, tips & tricks, and how to’s! { open through Wednesday! }
http://janedeereblog.blogspot.com
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these are great Callye! I need to try that stuff!
Thanks for linking up! I featured your post in my wrap up http://tidymom.net/2011/fall-crafts-and-recipes/
Have a great weekend!
These are soooo beautiful!! What a great idea to use the sprays! Do they change the flavor of the cookie or the icing at all?
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adorable! cant wait to try this!! xo
I think i already left a comment, but my daughter and her friend can’t wait to try these out! Thanks for all of the help on where to find the color mist
doing these for the a street party next weekend – YAY! Thanks for all the inspiration. I’m going to try to make an acorn shape myself, as I can’t find one locally & don’t have time to order … plus the shipping seems crazy!!! Question on the acorns – did you ice the cookie, then fill the top & sugar it, or do the sugar part first & then flood the rest.
I think I just answered my own question as I typed that 🙂
I love these! I’m planning to make maple leaf cookies in a few weeks and was trying to figure out to get the color variations right–I never thought about the spray colors. I read some reviews that say the spray tastes horrible–what did you think?
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I agree that the cookies are so pretty when you use the Color Mist. It’s very fun to use. I made a cake using the spray not too long ago. I went back to get some orange to make some fall leaves myself and read the ingredients. Did you see what they are? !
Product Features
Color: Blue Net weight 1.5 oz.
Ingredients: isobutane, ethanol, propane, cornstarch, glycerin, artificial color, silicon dioxide
I was quite shocked and put it back on the shelf. I can’t believe I didn’t take the time to read the ingredients before. I won’t be spraying my kids’ cookies with that ever again!
You do have many pretty cookies though, and your site is quite fun to visit.
By the way, I’m in your area! Those other places may get the leaves, but they can’t touch our wide, beautiful and uninterrupted sunsets over perfectly planted rows of cotton. 🙂
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I totally hear you (and your dad) on the changing colors of the leaves. I LOVE Vermont and I would so take a trip there just to see those colors. Where I am in Illinois, we see the colors changing but there is something extra special about autumn in the Northeast.
Those cookies look great!
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Would you please post the picture of the white cookies with the dots, tiny leaves and swirls? I would love to see your design on those and how you tied them all together! Thanks
I do not have a photo of the whole platter, I am sorry. I made these for my grandmother and I purposely covered the personal ones up.
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Such pretty fall cookies!! Bookmarking now 🙂
Definately a “goody”. I did some airbrushing on some leaf cookies last Fall (well….right after you did this post) and I realized I didn’t get a picture of them but I saved 2 for taking a picture of them later. They are still wrapped and waiting for me!! hehehe I love Fall. These are gorgeous Callye!
That’s a quiwt-cikted answer to a difficult question
These are beautiful!
Oops, I meant to type more… 😀 I live in South Louisiana and have never seen a real autumn! How sad! I do love these cookies, though. I may have to make them to help get my husband and me out of the depression of living without a change of seasons!
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I love these. So beautiful and easy. Everyone raves over them. Although the first time I made them I had to clean my entire kitchen afterwards to get rid of the orange and red spray that had gone everywhere. Luckly it was a beautiful fall day the second time I made them and sprayed them all outside on my deck table. How do you deal with the overspray?
I love the gold splattering on your autumn cookies. Would you sarge your technique with me?
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These look gorgeous and are a feast for the eyes.
Lynda from sweetsaffronspice.com
Did you use cookie cutters or cut them freehand? Love these!
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These cookies are gorgeous! I especially love the acorn one. It’s nice that they make products that give us moms a little help with our ambitious baking projects. 🙂 Now off to get those fall cookie cutters!
I have seen the color mists and often thought I should give it a try but I have just been too afraid of messing up a batch of cookies. I think I will get over that and start experimenting with it! Thanks for sharing…
Every time I go to start my cookies I come to your website for research. Mine are nowhere close to yours of course but I think I’ve done some pretty adorable ones. My all time favorite have got to be my acorns. They were moss green with brown tops then I used gold luster with everclear following your instructions. I was pretty impressed.
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These are so beautiful! Here in California we don’t have the seasons either. I never thought to use the Wilton sprays, but it really is the perfect tool for achieving that subtle autumn color change. We made our own version this week, feel free to check them out!
https://glucrafted.wordpress.com/2016/11/15/autumn-leaf-sugar-cookies/
xx
Kirby
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