As hard as it is to believe, Thanksgiving is just a mere four days away. Since everyone is coming to our house again this year, I wanted to make some super fun desserts that I know everyone will love. Last year my Rudolph Sugar Cookies were a huge hit at Christmas, so I decided to do Thanksgiving Turkey Sugar Cookies this year. I wasn't sure exactly how I was going to make the shape, but a quick trip to Hobby Lobby and I had it all figured out. These adorable little turkeys are made with the Wilton Dog Paw Cookie Cutter and the "feathers" are Wilton Autumn Micro Leaves Sprinkles! How cool is that!? Then by the register, I saw Chocolate Covered Sunflower Seeds and I knew my idea was coming together!

Turkey Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

•  1 ½ c butter, melted
• 2 ½ c white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 c all purpose flour
• chocolate icing
• Chocolate Covered Sunflower Seeds
• Wilton Candy Eyes
• Wilton Dog Paw Cookie Cutter
• Wilton Autumn Micro Leaves Sprinkles

Mix together butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, baking powder, and salt until well mixed and no lumps. Begin mixing in flour about a cup at a time, mixing well. Mix all five cups of flour in to make one large ball of dough. Cover tightly and refrigerate at least one hour. The colder the dough is, the easier it is to work with. Divide your dough into workable sections and roll out to about ⅓ inch thickness. Using your dog paw cookie cutters, cut cookies out and place on a cookie sheet.  Note: Keep the cookie cutters floured and they will not stick. The cookies will not rise too much so you can put them pretty close together. Bake at 350* for about 9 minutes or until bottom just begins to brown.  DO NOT OVERCOOK! This recipe will keep the cookies nice and soft as long as you do not overcook them. Once finished put them on a wire rack to cool completely.

Once your cookies have completely cooled, you can decorate your little "turkeys" using a piping bag and chocolate icing. Begin by outlining and filling in the area where your "feathers" will go. Simply outline the edges and fill in with a thin layer of icing to make the sprinkles stick.

Lastly, fill in the bottom of the turkey with icing and set your Candy Eyes and Chocolate Covered Sunflower Seeds and let set. You may need to use food tweezers to get them in the right place.

These cookies taste as cute as they look. The cookie dough is not too sweet, so the icing is not overpowering. The only problem is that they are SO cute - you almost do not want to eat them!

From our family to yours - Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!