Cookie decorating brings two sisters together at a broad wooden table covered with leaf-shaped biscuits. The younger girl holds an orange piping bag in both hands and smiles toward her older sister's careful work. Beside her, the older girl concentrates on a line of green icing. Their separate cookies and small hand movements give the shared activity a quiet rhythm, with each sister absorbed in a different part of the same task.

Cream aprons protect a rust-colored cardigan and a blue cotton shirt. A plain clip keeps the younger sister's short hair to one side, while two braids fall over the older girl's shoulders. Sage cupboards, a pale sink and a bright window surround the table. Russet branches in a tall vase echo the biscuit shapes and bring the autumn kitchen into the scene.

A wire rack holds finished cookies near bowls of icing, a folded cloth and a baking tray. Fine flour marks remain on the worn tabletop. Soft daylight connects the sisters' faces, the textured knitwear and the glossy green and orange decorations.