How to Make Cute Fall Cookies with Royal Icing Transfers

If you know me at all you probably know how much I love to make royal icing transfers. Not long ago I made some Royal Icing Leaf Transfers, but I didn’t show you how easy it is to add them to cookies and how quickly you can have a super cute set of cookies. Well, today I’m going to show how easy it actually is to make fall cookies with royal icing transfers. 

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Let’s get started!

How to Make Cute Fall Cookies with Royal Icing Transfers:

Supply List:
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Royal Icing Transfers:

The first thing you need to do is make these Royal Icing Leaf Transfers before you bake your cookies. You can make them one day in advance or a few months in advance and store them in an airtight container away from the sun. The great thing about royal icing transfers is making the candy decorations ahead of time which means you can make cookies super fast because the decorations are done and waiting for you.

Recipes:
Royal Icing Colors:
Tools:

How to Make Cute Fall Cookies with Royal Icing Transfers Video:

Enjoy the video!

Make Your Royal Icing Leaves:

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  • Before you make your cookies you need to make the royal icing leaf transfers. This step by step tutorial will give you the patterns and choices on how to decorate them. 

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  • Here’s a picture of the maple leaves and there are free patterns for elm leaves if you head over to How to Make Adorable Little Royal Icing Leaves. Print one set or both and why not? They’re free!
  • Follow the tutorial and get your royal icing transfers ready. 

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  • Now all you need to do is bake some of your favorite shapes of cookies and decide how you want to add the transfers to the cookies.
  • Another choice you need is how you’d like to add the transfers to your cookies. Would you like to add the leaves to the wet royal icing as soon as you outline and flood your cookies or do you want to wait until the royal icing dries? If you want to add them when the royal icing is wet all you need to do is drop the leaves in place as soon as you finish flooding the cookie. You can move them a little once you place them on the cookie, but you won’t be able to move them much so be careful where you drop them.
  • If you want to add them after the outline and flood on your cookie have dried you can follow the steps below. I love using royal icing transfer and to be completely honest I like to add them after the royal icing outline and flood have dried. It’s easier to get them in the perfect place on the cookies. However, you do have to wait for the outline and flood to dry and then wait for the icing you used to attach the transfer to dry so this isn’t the fastest method. So I use both ways to attach them depending on how quickly I need the cookies. 
Let’s add the leaves to the dry outline and flood.

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  • How many elm leaves are you going to add to your cookie? This is a great reason I like to add the royal icing transfers after the outline and flood have had time to completely dry. You can place the transfers on the cookie and decide where they will look their best and then use a little royal icing to glue them into place.
  • Just add a little royal icing to the cookie or to the back of the transfers and then place them on your cookies.
  • Allow them dry.
What’s next?

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  • Another decision you should make is how to add a little more detail to your cookies.
Let’s add some stems before we add the finishing touches.

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  • Use a little brown royal icing and pipe a stem on the leaves. You can use a turkey lacer, Boo Boo Stick, or a Thingamagenie to help shape the stem and make it look real. 
Maple leaves:

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  • I love the red color on the maple leaves. 
Time for the finishing touches:

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  • Splattering food gel color or Truly Mad Plastic Super Gold is one of my favorite decorating techniques. Decide how you want to finish your cookies and let’s do this!
  • For the food gel color, all you need to do is thin your gel color by adding a little water and then dip a new toothbrush into the mixture, touch it to a paper towel, and run your thumb over the bristles to splatter the paint on the cookies. We’re in the process of moving and I can’t find my splatter toothbrush! UGH! I had to use a paintbrush and it takes longer to splatter. I’m off to the Dollar General for new toothbrushes today. If you’d like to see this step in action check out How to Make Adorable Bat Royal Icing Transfer Videos. You will see the simple process in action. 
  • If you prefer to add the TMP Super Gold, the process is the same except you need to mix the gold with vodka and then splatter it on the cookies in the same way you’d splatter the food gel color. 
  • Let your cookies dry completely.
Aren’t they cute?

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If you’ll notice I didn’t add the stems to all of the elm cookies. I think I was a little shook up because I couldn’t find my splatter toothbrush. That’s didn’t stop me! I splattered the cookies and then added tree branches to the top of a few of the cookies. Those were my favorite from this set of cuties. 

Do you like to add your royal icing transfers to wet or dry royal icing? I like doing it both ways and I hope you enjoy these transfers because I have more on the way. Stay tuned!

Bear hugs,

Lisa