Glazed Autumn Leaf Cookies

Fall has arrived! "The crisp air seems to inspire us all to start baking again," said McCormick Executive Chef Kevan Vetter. "Create an autumn frosting palate with our new Color from Nature Food Colors, which are made from ingredients such as beets and turmeric."

Prep: 30 min | Bake: 10 min | Yield: 36 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon McCormick Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon McCormick Ground Nutmeg
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract
• 2 teaspoons McCormick Maple Extract

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Mix flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
4. Add egg, vanilla extract and maple extract; mix well.
5. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed.
6. Roll dough on generously floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out leaves with a 2 to 3 inch leaf shaped cookie cutters. Place on ungreased cookie sheets.
7. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges start to brown. Cool on cookie sheets for 1 minute.
8. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
9. Prepare desired colors of glazes. Decorate cooled cookies with glazes.
10. Glaze Variations: For the variations below, dissolve the designated amount of the Color from Nature Food Colors with water in small bowl. Stir in any remaining ingredients until smooth.
11. To glaze cookies, hold a cookie by its edge and dip the top into the glaze. (Or spoon the glaze onto cookies using a teaspoon.) Place iced cookies on wire rack set over foil covered cookie sheet to dry. (The foil-covered cookie sheet will catch drips.) Let stand until glaze is set.

Notes

Maroon Cookie Glaze: Use 1/2 teaspoon Berry color from McCormick Color from Nature - Assorted Food Colors, 3 tablespoons water (plus additional to dissolve color), 2 cups confectioners’ sugar and 1 teaspoon cocoa powder.

Forest Green Cookie Glaze: Use 1/2 teaspoon Sky Blue color and 1/4 teaspoon Sunflower color from McCormick Color from Nature - Assorted Food Colors, 3 tablespoons water (plus additional to dissolve color), 2 cups confectioners’ sugar and 1 teaspoon cocoa powder.

Pumpkin Cookie Glaze: Use 1 teaspoon Sunflower color and 1/4 teaspoon Berry color from McCormick Color from Nature - Assorted Food Colors, 3 tablespoons water (plus additional to dissolve color) and 2 cups confectioners’ sugar.

Test Kitchen Tips

Use glaze soon after preparing. Do not refrigerate glaze, as it will begin to harden.

Allow glaze to dry before storing cookies in airtight containers.

Attribution

Recipe and used with permission from: McCormick