Fall means a lot of things, but in my house one thing it definitely means is baking. I wanted to try my hand at some patterned cookies, so I made these checkerboard pumpkin cookies. They turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself. I used a pink, orange, and beige color combination, which lends itself nicely to Halloween, fall, and Thanksgiving. You could also go for a black-and-orange look to keep it creepy. Use your favorite sugar cookie recipe or buy the dough pre-made. There are no rules!

Head here to see the full video tutorial.

Supplies:

• Cookie dough (homemade or store bought)
• Food coloring
• Pumpkin cookie cutter
• Rolling pin
• Baking sheet and oven

Instructions:

Step 1: Mix up a batch of cookie dough or take your pre-made dough out of the refrigerator. Separate the dough into four sections, and dye the sections in your colors of choice. I dyed one pink and one orange and left the other two cookie-dough color.

Step 2: Roll out each section of dough into a rectangle shape. Stack the sections on top of each other and cut the edges to make the rectangle shape more defined.

Step 3: Begin cutting the rectangle into strips the long way. Stack the strips on top of one another to make a rectangular log shape.

Step 4: Slice the log into squares, then lay them out together to form a checkerboard pattern. Use your rolling pin to carefully roll out the dough while keeping the pattern in place.

Step 5: Use your pumpkin cookie cutter to cut out cookies. Place them on a baking sheet in an oven preheated to 375° F. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

I’m so glad I hopped on this patterned sugar cookie trend. These were a blast to make. Let me know—what pattern should I try next?