Handprint Turkey Cookies

Total Time

Prep: 30 min. + chilling Bake: 10 min./batch

Makes

about 3 dozen

Updated: Nov. 12, 2022
Creating these tom treats is just as much fun as gobbling them up! When preparing this cookie recipe years ago, I used to help our children cut out their own hand shapes from the rolled dough. Today the kids are all grown, but they still remember how much they enjoyed "baking" their hands! If you like, you can form the cookies using a handprint cookie cutter instead. —Pat Thompson, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup shortening
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • GLAZE:
  • 5 cups confectioners' sugar
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons water
  • 2-1/4 teaspoons light corn syrup
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Red, yellow, orange, green and brown gel food coloring

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, cream the shortening, butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg; add to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until easy to handle.
  2. Use a floured 3-3/4 in. hand-shaped cookie cutter, or trace a child's hand onto a piece of cardboard with pencil and cut out for a pattern.
  3. On a well-floured surface, roll out dough to a 1/2-in. thickness. Either use a sharp knife to cut around the cardboard hand pattern in dough or use cookie cutter to cut out hand shapes. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 425° for 7-9 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.
  4. In a small bowl, combine the glaze ingredients and beat until smooth. If desired, set aside a small amount of white glaze for eyes. Place 1/4 cup of glaze into each of four bowls. Tint one red, one yellow, one orange and one green. Place 1 tablespoon of glaze in another bowl and tint dark brown. Tint the remaining glaze light brown.
  5. Frost the palm and thumb of each cookie light brown. Frost each finger a different color, using red, yellow, orange and green.
  6. Place the remaining yellow glaze in a pastry or plastic bag. Cut a small hole in the corner of bag. Pipe a beak on each thumb.
  7. Repeat with dark brown glaze to pipe wings in the center of each cookie and eyes on each thumb (or, if desired, pipe white glaze for eyeballs and dark brown glaze for pupils).
  8. Use remaining red glaze to pipe wattles on each thumb. Let dry completely.
Finished size: Cookies shown measure about 2-3/4 inches across.

Nutrition Facts

1 each: 154 calories, 3g fat (2g saturated fat), 12mg cholesterol, 79mg sodium, 30g carbohydrate (21g sugars, 0 fiber), 1g protein.