For years I made my pumpkin cookies the same way - very simply. Recently, I have tested so new techniques for making pumpkin cookies look much more realistic. This includes changing the "shape", adding texture, and painting on shadows and highlights.
Icing used: orange + warm brown flood consistency for pumpkin, brown 15-second consistency for stem.
Gel colors used for painting: chocolate brown for shadows, terracotta for blending, white for highlights.
Gel colors were diluted with Everclear to make watercolor-like paint.
Recipes:
Classic sugar cookie recipe: https://bit.ly/3iH5qfT
Pumpkin white chocolate sugar cookie: https://bit.ly/3d2rYpW
Royal icing: https://bit.ly/3jxotdK
Supplies:
Turn Table: https://bit.ly/2VSiy9n
Food Marker: https://bit.ly/2EYIeHM
Piping bags: https://bit.ly/3hrxlRd
Scibe tool: https://bit.ly/2oE9KG6
Food coloring: https://bit.ly/2RmAxm2
White food paint: https://bit.ly/2HZCG5f
Paint brushes: https://bit.ly/39QYAQ8
Paint pallet: https://bit.ly/2C4l4lM
Black powder: https://bit.ly/2Gy9phF
Arkon Mount for holding the camera: https://bit.ly/36Bo3z5 (use code THEHONEYBLONDE for 20% off)
Website: thehoneyblonde.com