3D Turkey Cookies

Why not serve two turkeys on Thanksgiving? Make it savory and sweet. My easy-to-make decorated 3D Turkey Cookies will look great on your Thanksgiving table.

HOW TO DECORATE 3D TURKEY COOKIES FOR THANKSGIVING

In this cookie decorating tutorial, I’ll share several design ideas on how to decorate the turkey tail. You can make it super easy using my favorite wet-on-wet royal icing technique. If you wish to complicate things, you can beautify turkey tail cookies using brushed embroidery designs.

COOKIES

To make 3D turkey cookies you need 3 cookies.

Base cookie – I used a scalloped edge round cookie cutter
Tail cookie -is the same shape as the base, but the bottom is trimmed flat, so it can be propped upright.
Turkey Body Cookie– this can be a mini snowman with the bottom trimmed, you can also use a small oval shape.

DECORATE TURKEY BODY

To decorate the body, you can use a super simple technique to create a different feathers style.

Outline and flood the cookie with about 20-second consistency icing (steps 1-5). Immediately, into the brown icing pipe small dots with white icing of the same consistency (step 6). Then with the brown icing pipe a dot on the top edge of each white dot (step 7). This will result in perfect little white crescent shapes that represent feathers (step 8). Let the icing crust for 20 minutes before the next step.

Turkey head cookies decorated with brown icing.

In this next step, you can pipe the head and the wings and let them crust. Use 20-second consistency brown icing (steps 1-3). Once crusted, pipe a small yellow beak using 20-second consistency, and shape the icing with a scribe tool (steps 4-5). To make the eyes, first, pipe black dots, and then immediately, with the tip of a scribe pick up a small amount of white icing and place it onto the black icing to create the reflection (steps 6-8). Let icing crust.

Piping a yellow royal icing beak on a turkey.

Turkey without a wattle is not a turkey, don’t you agree?! Use 20-second consistency red icing and pipe the wattle, start just above the beak and let the icing fall below the beak (steps 1-3). Let the turkey body dry.

SIMPLE TURKEY TAIL COOKIES

This is the simplest of all the turkey tail designs in this Thanksgiving cookie decorating tutorial.

Marbling or often called feathering is a popular wet-on-wet decorating technique. It’s easy, fast, effective, and produces eye-catching designs in seconds.

Outline and flood the tail cookies with 15-second consistency orange icing. Use a scribe to distribute the icing. Try to work quickly so orange icing doesn’t start to crust (steps 1-4). Immediately pipe lines with blue, yellow, white, and red icing (steps 5-6). Run a tip of a scribe thru the icing, start at the outer edge and move toward the center bottom edge (steps 6-8). Let icing dry.

Outlining a scalloped edge cookie and filling it with orange icing. Running a scribe thru lines of colored icing, creating feathering.

EASY BRUSHED EMBROIDERY TURKEY TAIL COOKIES

Follow the scalloped edge outline, use piping tip number #3, and pipe a short line of white thick icing on edge. With a damp paintbrush, brush some of the icing inwards (step 2). Have a damp paper towel on hand and wipe the paintbrush as needed. Continue with the brush embroidery design (steps 5-6). With a 2-in-1 tool, clean up the inside edge of the embroidery design (steps 7-8).

Hand holding a brush, brushing white icing inwards on a cookie.

With 15-second consistency orange icing outline and flood the cookie (steps 1-4). Immediately pipe curved lines with colored icing (steps 5-6). Then, feather icing, run a metal scribe or a toothpick thru the icing. Wipe the tip of the tool between so you don’t transfer colors (steps 7-8).

Piping curved lines with colored icing onto orange icing.

Immediately, take white icing, 15-second consistency, and pipe small dots into the orange icing, around the edge (steps 1). Let icing crust, and then pipe more white dots using 25-second consistency icing, just on the edge of orange and brushed embroidery design (steps 2-3).

Piping white icing into the wet orange icing.

DOUBLE BRUSHED EMBROIDERY TURKEY TAIL COOKIE

Did you know you can layer brushed embroidery?

In this next design, start by creating the outer layer (steps 1-4), then repeat the process and create the second layer of the brushed embroidery design, clean up the inner edge with a scribe tool or a boo-boo stick/2-in-1 tool (steps 5-8).

Piping a thick icing line onto the scalloped edge, brushing it inwards with a paint brush.

Fill the inside with royal blue 15-second consistency icing (steps 1-4). Immediately pipe yellow and white lines into the blue icing (step 5). Use a scribe to feather the icing while it’s wet (steps 6-8). Let the icing crust for 30-40 minutes.

Flooding a cookie with blue icing, piping white and yellow lines onto the blue icing.

Pipe small dots with white icing, 25-second consistency, just on the edge of blue (steps 1-3).

Piping small dots on the edge of blue icing.

It’s fun to switch up the design. In this following turkey tail cookie, I first decorated the outer edge with blue icing, 15 to 20-second consistency (steps 1-4). Let it dry for 2 hours. Then use the brushed embroidery technique to decorate; use stiff white royal icing on a food-only, damp paintbrush (steps 5-8).

Icing a scalloped edge cookie with blue icing. Creating brushed embroidery design with white icing.

Follow with the flooding and creating feather design, like in the previous steps.

Hand holding a scribe, pulling it thru wet icing.

Pipe a decorative dotted border with white icing on the edge of blue and brushed embroidery (steps 1-3).

ATTACH TURKEY ONTO THE TAIL COOKIE

The icing on the tail and turkey head cookies should be dry, allow icing to dry overnight, for 6-8 hours.

Pipe a small amount of icing on the cookie where you want to attach turkey head cookie. Then gently attach the head to the tail cookie using a shifting motion.

MICROPLANE ZESTER

I noticed the bottom edge of the cookies was uneven. To amend this problem, use a Microplane zester and shave some of the cookies to make a perfect edge (steps 1-3).

PIPE GRASS

With stiff royal icing pipe green grass icing onto a 3-inch round base cookie (steps 1-5). Don’t let the icing crust or dry. Immediately follow with the next step.

Hand holding a piping bag filled with green icing and fitted with grass piping tip.

3D TURKEY COOKIE ASSEMBLY

Pipe some grass onto the edge of the turkey cookie (steps 1-2). Push the turkey with the tail cookie attached to the freshly piped green grass. Allow icing dry for a couple of hours. Package for gifting or store in an airtight container until ready to use.

Gluing a cookie on a base decorated with green icing.

These cute 3D Turkey Cookies will look great on your Thanksgiving table. Use them as table-setting decorations, and your guest will gobble them up before you find a wishbone.

Set of assembled 3D cookies on a wooden board.

TO MAKE 3D TURKEY COOKIES YOU NEED

Cut-Out Sugar Cookies (favorite)
Vegan Sugar Cookies
Gluten Free Cookies
Royal Icing
Vegan Royal Icing
TOOLS
Find All The Tools in my Amazon Shop
Cookie Cutter – 3 inch round or scalloped edge
Gel Food Colors (I use Americolor Brand): orange, royal blue, yellow, red, brown
Metal Scribe or a toothpick
Food-only paintbrush, flat 1/4 inch
Piping Tips : Grass Piping Tip, Round Piping Tip #3

TRY THESE FALL RECIPES AND DECORATED COOKIES

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
Homemade Pumpkin Puree
Easy Fall Bouquet of Decorated Cookies via LilaLoa
Buttercream Fall Wreath Cake
Decorated Marbled Pumpkin Cookies

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