The Changing Colors: Cut-out Fall Leaf Cookies

As you might have noticed, or not, the scenery of Carmel is changing. The leaves are changing colors, and many of them are even falling off. Many people deem this the perfect time to go pumpkin or apple picking. As September 23 marked the first day of fall, we decided to make these cut-out fall leaf cookies. This easy recipe we made is inspired by Land O Lakes. So instead of thinking about all the leaves you have to rake, why not make some delicious cookie that you can devour?

Total cooking time: 1 hr 30 min

Serving size: 3

Ingredients:

1 packet of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix

Red, orange and yellow food coloring

Decorator Sugar

Leaf-shaped cookie cutter

1 egg

1 butter stick, slightly melted

Directions:

1. First pour the Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix into a medium-sized bowl.

2. Crack and put the egg in the bowl. Also add the butter into the bowl. We recommend that you put the butter in the microwave for 10 sec.

3. Knead the dough until it becomes solid and smooth.

4. Divide the dough into 3 equal parts.

5.  Add 3-4 drops of food coloring into the separate doughs. Each dough will have a different color. Knead each of the dough so the color will blend in.

6. Wrap each dough with saran wrap and place it in the freezer for 3o min.  After the time is done, take the dough out.

7. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Drop tablespoon-size pieces of dough from each color onto a well-floured surface in a random pattern with dough pieces touching.

8. Roll the dough until it is flat and smooth.

9. Use the cookie cutter and cut out the leaf shapes, and place the cookies onto cookie sheets.

10. Sprinkle the decorator sugars on top of each cookie.

11. Place the cookies in the oven, and heat for  375 degrees Fahrenheit for 9 min.

12. Once the cookies are done, cool them for 5 min.

Enjoy!

~Sitha Vallabhaneni and Gabriella Wang