While I’m off enjoying newlywed life, I invited a few talented friends to share DIYs, recipes, and more to help you prepare for Thanksgiving (and beyond!). Today Chelsea of Lovely Indeed is taking over!
Hello everyone! Chelsea here from Lovely Indeed. I’m thrilled to be guest-posting while Kelly and Jeff savor newly married life. In true Studio DIY spirit, I brought a sweet, simple, and perfectly fall-worthy recipe: tiny, bite-sized leaf cookies iced in bright autumn colors. These mini cookies are festive, fun to make, and irresistible to eat — bake a batch for friends, and they’ll thank you bite by bite.
For the Cookies:
1/3 cup shortening (Crisco)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup room-temperature butter
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
For the Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg white
1 tbsp lemon juice
food coloring
1. In a bowl, cream together the shortening, sugar, egg, honey, butter, and vanilla until well combined. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt, then slowly stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Chill the dough until firm. When chilled, knead briefly until the dough is pliable and smooth enough to roll without cracking. On a floured surface, roll the dough to about 1/4″ thickness, dusting your rolling pin with flour as needed. Use small cookie cutters to cut out leaf and fall shapes.
2. Arrange the cut shapes on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 5 minutes. Because these cookies are tiny, they bake very quickly, so watch closely and remove them just before the edges begin to brown. This recipe yields a large batch due to the small size of the cookies.
3. While the cookies cool on a rack, prepare the icing. Whisk together the powdered sugar, egg white, and lemon juice until smooth. If the icing is too thin and runs off the cookies, add a bit more powdered sugar to thicken. Divide the icing into small bowls and tint each bowl with food coloring to create a bright fall palette. Once cookies are completely cooled, use a small applicator—like a popsicle stick or toothpick—to carefully spread icing onto each mini cookie.
4. Allow the icing to set before serving. These tiny cookies are sweet but light, making them perfect with a glass of cold milk or a dairy alternative. Because they’re so small and colorful, it’s easy to justify a whole handful!
All photos by Lovely Indeed
Thanks for having me! Wishing you a cozy, colorful fall filled with cookies.
For more DIYs and peeks into Chelsea’s life, visit Lovely Indeed.