Step-by-Step Tutorial for Fall Wreath Cookies with Buttercream Frosting

Despite everyone moving onto Christmas, it’s still the fall season over here. I have these super cute fall wreath cookies to show you how to make today.

These fall wreath cookies feature mini roses so if you haven’t learned how to pipe a rose yet, check out my rose tutorial first.

The rose tutorial uses a larger piping tip but the same concepts will apply, just with a smaller petal tip size.

Of course, if you are completely new to decorating buttercream sugar cookies, I invite you to check out my online Christmas cookie decorating class. It is absolutely game-changing for those wanting to decorate sugar cookies (not to mention, they are all Christmas themed, who doesn’t love that!?)

But okay, back to these pretty fall wreaths. If you are wanting to decorate sugar cookies for any fall event these fall wreaths can easily be a go-to design.

They stand alone well or compliment any fall theme.

I’m going to give you the step-by-step photo series tutorial and video tutorial for these beautiful fall wreath cookies.

Alright, let’s get started on these cookies!

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Part 1: Gathering the Supplies for the Fall Wreath Cookies

To decorate these fall wreath sugar cookies with buttercream frosting, you will want to gather:

• 5 Icing bags
• One PME #1.5 tip, one Wilton #2 tip, one Wilton #4 tip, two Wilton #101 tips, one Wilton #349 tip, and one Wilton #352 tip
• 3 couplers
• Circle cookie cutter
• Orange, copper, burgundy (I also mixed my burgundy with red because it wasn’t a dark burgundy), brown, and eucalyptus green (I mixed green, blue, and red to get eucalyptus) gel food dye
• Ingredients for a crusting buttercream & sugar cookie dough – found below in recipe card

Part 2: Baking the Cookies and Setting up the Icing Bags

1. Roll, cut out, and bake your cookies according to the recipe. Allow them to cool completely before frosting them.
2. Make your buttercream icing according to the recipe card below. Then, divide the buttercream equally between 5 bowls. Dye one bowl brown, one burgundy, one orange, one eucalyptus green, and one copper.
3. Set up your icing bags in this manner:
   • Place one of the Wilton #101 tips into an icing bag and place the orange frosting into it. Place the tip #4 into another bag and add the brown frosting. Place a coupler into each of the remaining icing bags and fill with the rest of the colors. You do not need to add the tips yet.

Part 3: How to Decorate Fall Wreath Cookies

I have included both a video tutorial and a step-by-step photo series tutorial for these decorated fall wreath cookies. I recommend watching the video first to get an overall feel for the steps and then watching the photo series when it comes time to decorate.

1. Use the brown bag of frosting that has the tip #4 in it to draw several non-perfect circles on top of each other near the edge of the cookie.
2. Use the orange frosting with the tip #101 in it to pipe three mini roses onto the cookie.
3. Attach the other tip #101 to the burgundy bag of frosting and pipe two mini roses.
4. Attach the tip #349 to the eucalyptus green bag of frosting and pipe some small leaves. I piped one long leaf and then did smaller leaves branching off of it.
5. Replace the tip #349 with the tip #352 to pipe larger leaves onto the cookies.
6. Remove/rinse/dry the tip #352 from the eucalyptus bag and put it onto the copper bag. Pipe some copper leaves onto the cookies.
7. Replace the tip #352 with the tip #1.5 on the copper bag and pipe dots onto the cookie to create more foliage.
8. Remove the tip #101 from the burgundy bag of icing and replace it with the tip #2 to pipe small berries onto the cookie wherever it could use a pop of color.

I made these cookies for a friend who had us over for dinner and they were a hit. As you can see in the photo series above, I found it easiest to do 4 cookies at a time before switching over the tips between each step.

Besides looking amazing, you will love how soft and buttery these taste. Seriously, so good! Enjoy!

Soft Fall Wreath Sugar Cookies with Buttercream Frosting

Learn how to decorate these beautiful fall wreath cookies with this step-by-step tutorial. Buttercream frosting is softer than royal icing and is a real crowd pleaser!

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Buttercream Sugar Cookies

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Decorating Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 18 cookies, depending on the size of the cookie cutter

Author: Leah Buehler

Equipment

• Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
• Rubber Spatula
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Medium Sized Mixing Bowl
• Lined aluminum cookie sheet parchment paper or silicone lined baking sheet
• Rolling Pin
• Circle cookie cutter
• 5 Icing bags & 3 couplers
• One PME #1.5 tip, one Wilton #2 tip, one Wilton #4 tip, two Wilton #101 tips, one Wilton #349 tip, and one Wilton #352 tip
• Gel food dye

Ingredients

Buttercream Frosting

• ½ cup room temperature unsalted butter 4 ounces
• ½ cup room temperature salted butter 4 ounces
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1-3 tbsp. whole milk
• brown, orange, burgundy, eucalyptus/sage, and copper gel food dye

Sugar Cookies

• 1 cup cold salted butter cubed
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 cups all purpose flour measured with the scoop & level method
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1.5 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

• Remove all of the butter from the refrigerator. You will make the sugar cookies first but the butter for the frosting needs to come to room temperature before mixing.

Sugar Cookies

• Preheat the oven to 350℉ and prepare an aluminum cookie sheet by placing either parchment paper or a silicone baking mat on it.
• In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the flour and baking powder and mix together. Set this aside.
• Cube a cup of salted butter and then, in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the cubed butter with the granulated sugar. Mix until creamed together well.
• To the stand mixer, add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
• Slowly add in the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl to the stand mixer.
• Roll the dough out to 3/8" thick and use the cookie cutters to cut out the cookies. Place the cookies onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes or until the tops of the cookies no longer look wet. When baking the cookies, only bake 6-8 cookies at a time to leave proper space between each cookie to cook without spreading. Overcrowding the cookie sheet will cause spread.

Buttercream Frosting

• In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the room temperature salted and unsalted butter and mix on high until light and fluffy.
• Mix in the powdered sugar little by little. Add in the vanilla extract and milk about halfway through adding the sugar to help the frosting come together. Start with one tablespoon of milk and work up to three if needed, depending on the consistency you want. I like to aim for a peanut butter consistency or thinner.
• Divide the frosting into five bowls and color the frosting.
• Place one of the #101 tips into a bag and add the orange buttercream to it. Place the #4 tip into a bag and add the brown buttercream. Place couplers into the remaining icing bags and add the remaining colors.

How to Decorate the Fall Wreath Cookies

• Use the brown bag of frosting that has the tip #4 in it to draw several non-perfect circles on top of each other near the edge of the cookie.
• Use the orange frosting with the tip #101 in it to pipe three mini roses onto the cookie.
• Attach the other tip #101 to the burgundy bag of frosting and pipe two mini roses.
• Attach the tip #349 to the eucalyptus green bag of frosting and pipe some small leaves. I piped one long leaf and then did smaller leaves branching off of it.
• Replace the tip #349 with the tip #352 to pipe larger leaves onto the cookies.
• Remove/rinse/dry the tip #352 from the eucalyptus bag and put it onto the copper bag. Pipe some copper leaves onto the cookies.
• Replace the tip #352 with the tip #1.5 on the copper bag and pipe dots onto the cookie to create more foliage.
• Remove the tip #101 from the burgundy bag of icing and replace it with the tip #2 to pipe small berries onto the cookie wherever it could use a pop of color. 

Notes

These buttercream sugar cookies are room stable for a few days on the counter. Otherwise, store in the freezer in an airtight container until ready to use, or for up to three months. You can also freeze the undecorated cookies and buttercream frosting three months in advance to decorating.

Check out the photo series tutorial and video tutorial above this recipe tag for more instruction.

Make sure to follow me on YouTube for more cookie tutorials as well! You can also find more of my fall inspired buttercream sugar cookie tutorials here.

If you need to package and transport these fall wreath cookies, check out my post on how to package and transport buttercream sugar cookies. 

Save the Tutorial for These Fall Wreath Cookies

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