Looking for thanksgiving cookies to add to your dessert table? Little turkey faces, colorful leaves and pumpkin-shaped cookies give you plenty to choose from.
There are simpler looks here too, including white drizzle, pecan toppings and cookies without any icing.
You can keep it simple or go all out with a whole cookie box. I especially love the tiny pie designs!
Start with your favorite shape or decoration, then save a few ideas for your holiday spread.
Thanksgiving Cookie Ideas Worth Saving
turkeys with colorful feathers
How adorable are these little turkeys? I love the orange, yellow and white patterns across their wide tails.
The tiny eyebrows give each face a slightly different expression.
If you’re planning a decorated set, keep those little orange feet on your inspiration list too.
ridged orange pumpkins
These pumpkin cookies may just be one of my favorites here. The curved orange sections give them such a cute shape, with a brown stem and little green leaf at the top.
There are pale pumpkins in the background too. Try mixing both colors on your platter if you like that extra variety.
leaves with drizzle and sprinkles
Don’t want every cookie to look exactly the same? This leaf platter is for you.
Some have dark brown coating all over while others have diagonal drizzle or a partly coated edge.
I especially love the little orange and white sprinkles. Choose a few different finishes if you want to follow this mix.
white drizzle on golden rounds
If you are looking for a simpler decorating style, this one is for you. These golden-brown rounds have cracked tops with white drizzle running across one side.
The uneven lines are part of what makes this look so pretty.
cranberries and orange flecks
The deep red cranberries look so pretty against these golden cookies. Little orange flecks and pale chunks are scattered through the tops too.
For a similar serving idea, pile your cookies on a plain plate and let those bright colors do the decorating.
black hats with yellow buckles
How cute are these hat-shaped cookies? The black tops and wide brims have a white band across the middle, finished with a yellow buckle.
That sparkly-looking buckle is my favorite detail. I’d keep the rest of the design just as simple if you’re saving this for decorating inspiration.
pecan-covered rounds
Calling all pecan fans! These cookies have big pecan halves nestled among smaller chopped pieces, with little white crystals scattered over the tops. You don’t need a turkey shape to make a cookie feel right at home on a Thanksgiving platter.
white icing and tiny speckles
Don’t want to go all out with orange and yellow? No problem!
These leaf and rounded fruit-shaped cookies stick to white icing with fine brown speckles.
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I love how the different outlines still stand out without lots of piped details. Keep one icing color if you want a similar understated set.
cookies around a holiday pie
Why choose between cookies and pie when your platter could have both? This spread places a pie in the middle with decorated cookies, plain rounds and little frosted squares around it.
The tiny pie cookie beside the real pie is so cute. Try spacing your decorated shapes around the outside so each one has a spot to show.
Read also: 20 Christmas Birthday Party Ideas With Festive Cakes, Decor and Treats
toasted marshmallow tops
Those toasted marshmallow pieces are the detail I’d save from this idea. Their pale edges and golden centers sit beside chopped pecans on the brown cookie tops.
If you want something different from an iced cutout, try a marshmallow-and-pecan cookie recipe.
chunky cookies with oats
There’s so much tucked into these little rounds. You can see oat flakes, reddish dried-fruit pieces and tan chips across their bumpy tops.
I love the casual stack here. Try serving a few in a short pile beside your more detailed decorated cookies.
little dipped acorns
These acorn-shaped cookies are just too cute. Each one has a pointed brown-coated bottom, a golden cap and a tiny dark stem.
The upright arrangement makes their shapes easy to see. A small raised plate would be a lovely way to display a similar batch.
colorful fall sprinkles
Who doesn’t love a cookie covered in sprinkles? These pale rounds have red, yellow, brown and white decorations scattered across the tops.
I especially love the little turkey shapes mixed in with the long sprinkles.
Read also: 18 Non-Alcoholic Christmas Drink and Garnish Ideas
Choose an autumn-colored sprinkle mix if you want to bring this look to your own cookies.
a fall decorating kit
Want the decorating to be part of your Thanksgiving plans? This box pairs plain leaf and acorn cutouts with orange, yellow and brown icing bags.
Little tubs of sprinkles sit beside them.
Read also: 15+ Cute Thanksgiving Nail Ideas You Need to Try This Year
You could put together a similar kit and let everyone choose their own colors and patterns.
pumpkin gingersnap rounds
If you prefer cookies without extra decoration, save this one. These pumpkin gingersnap cookies have deep cracks and a fine sparkling coating across their brown tops.
I’d leave the icing off a batch in this style and serve it beside the colorful cutouts.
a box full of fall shapes
I am obsessed with this cookie box. There are little turkeys, acorns, dark pinecones and orange pie slices all tucked together.
Those swirled red, orange and yellow leaves are gorgeous.
Try grouping matching shapes in small clusters rather than mixing every cookie together. That way, you can still see all the little designs.
white-filled cookie sandwiches
These sandwiches give you a different way to bring a little white into the mix. A thick white filling sits between rounded orange-brown halves, with no extra decoration on top.
I love the neat rows here. Keep the filled edges facing outward if you’re arranging a similar tray.
pecan centers and brown drizzle
This is another pretty pecan idea, but it’s a little different from the rounds above. The chopped nuts sit in a glossy dark center with brown drizzle crossing over the top.
Read also: 20 Butter Board Ideas and Serving Inspirations to Save
The pale cookie edge frames the filling like a tiny pie. Save this look if you want something pie-inspired without the bright icing.
a colorful cornucopia
If you are looking for a cookie with lots of little details, then this one is for you. The curved brown cornucopia holds orange produce, purple grapes, dotted yellow corn and green leaves.
I love the raised lines along the basket. This is a lovely reference to bring to a cookie decorator if you want a detailed centerpiece cookie.
candy corn turkey pops
Last but definitely not least, we have this cute turkey pop in progress. Candy corn pieces fan out behind a shiny brown-coated round cookie on a white stick.
The face hasn’t been added yet. For your own version, you could finish the front with candy eyes and a little orange beak.