How to Make Pumpkin Pie Slice Cookies
It's probably no secret that I enjoy sketching out cookie designs. Actually, it's my favorite part of the cookie-making process. A few years ago, I mentioned some of the drawing resources that have helped me improve upon my cartooning skills. From those resources, there is one tip in particular I found very helpful to keep in mind while sketching that I wanted to share.
It's a fairly simple tip, really. When sketching out a character, try to avoid using straight lines. That's it! The reason being curved lines make a drawn character more interesting. Take this pumpkin pie slice sketch, for example. Pie slices are normally straight-lined wedges. However, by avoiding the use of straight lines altogether the cartooned pie slice is more fun and whimsy.
Today, I'm cookie-fying this pumpkin pie slice design and providing it to you! While it may be a little early to find pumpkin pies in stores, it's never too early for pumpkin pie cookies.
Preparing the Dough
For these pumpkin pie slice cookies, I thought it would be appropriate to have the dough match the design. I tweaked my usual, go-to roll-out recipe with two simple changes: substituted half the quantity of granulated sugar with brown sugar and added a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice for taste and looks.
For the cookie shape, I used the Wilton gingerbread house comfort grip cookie cutter. However, I did trim off two unnecessary corners, as shown in the picture above.
Decorating Process
Template for Pumpkin Pie Slice Cookies
I provided a template to help guide you during the decorating process. You can download the Pumpkin Pie Slice Cookie template HERE.
If you have a Kopykake or Pico projector, just print it out (or pull it up on your mobile device) and you are ready to decorate. For those without a projector, follow the suggested steps below by tracing the design onto the cookie with an edible food marker.
The Icing Process
For these pumpkin pie slice cookies, you will need the following colors:
- Burnt Orange royal icing: equal parts orange and warm brown (Alternatively, Sweet Sugarbelle has a great pumpkin color blog post worth checking out.)
- Darker Burnt Orange royal icing: just more concentration of orange and warm brown than above
- Ivory royal icing: ivory with a touch of warm brown
- Light Blue Gray royal icing: a tiny touch of sky blue and a tiny touch of super black
- White royal icing
- (Optional) Burnt Red royal icing: super red and warm brown
- (Optional) Burnt Yellow royal icing: lemon yellow and warm brown
- (Optional) Black royal icing: super black
Step 1
Using the template as a guide, begin by marking the top section of the pie with a food-safe marker. Use the template again to mark the bottom edge, as shown below.
Step 2
With the darker burnt orange icing, outline and fill the top section of the pie slice. Let this icing set (about 15 minutes) then fill the middle pie section with the lighter burnt orange icing. Leave this icing to set again before moving on.
Step 3
Once the pie filling sections had time to set, its time to add the crust. With ivory icing, outline the crust sections, as shown below. Then, fill alternating sections of the crust in parts. Filling the sections in this order will give the crust some dimension.
Step 4
With the blue gray icing and a #2 tip, outline the whipped cream detail as shown below. Once it had time to set, fill the top and bottom sections with white icing. After those sections set, fill the remaining middle section with white icing.
If the white icing overflows on top of the blue gray icing, don't worry. Just outline the whipped cream detail again with the blue gray icing.
Step 5
The pumpkin pie slice cookie is basically complete. The final detail is up to you. I went with a cheeky smiley face for a cute touch. However, the middle section is large enough, making it the perfect space for text if you would like. I added "Happy Fall" to a few pumpkin pie slice cookies. However, phrases like "cutie pie" or "sweetie pie" would work nicely as well.
I included both the smiley face design and the "Happy Fall" typography in the template file I provided.
Video Tutorial
The steps above are summarized in this time-lapsed video I put together.
For more fall-inspired treats, please check out the following links:
