Gingerbread Wreath Cookies

I have to credit my #65 Wilton leaf tip for these cute and realistic looking gingerbread wreath cookies. Making them isn't hard at all, it just takes some time. The real trick is just piping the leaves in random directions, making their placement look as natural as possible.

These make great Christmas tree ornaments and can be enjoyed year after year if you carefully box them up after the holidays. Keep them wrapped in tissue paper and nice and dry.

Here's how to make them:

Bake some round gingerbread cookies and be sure to make a hole in the dough before baking if you want to turn them into ornaments.

Outline a wreath shape with white icing.

Immediately fill it in and use a skewer or scribe tool to help evenly distribute the icing.

Give the cookie a gentle shake to help the icing settle and set it aside to dry completely before moving onto the next step.

When the cookie is dry mix up some stiff green icing and place it in a pastry bag fitted with a small leaf tip. I used a Wilton #65. Start piping leaves, working your way around and trying to make their placement as natural as possible.

One done, more to go!

Once the leaves have dried for at least 15 minutes, you can pipe on some small red berries using medium consistency red icing and a #1 tip. Let the cookie dry completely before threading twine or a small ribbon through the hole.

Once I got going with my leaf piping,  I found it hard to stop!

Cookie closeup.

Cookie Tags And Ornaments

Transform your decorated cookies into gift tags and tree ornaments just by making a hole in the top of them before baking.

The tags are a sweet addition to wrapped gifts and the ornaments are little works of art that will last year after year if kept in an airtight container.

This is an especially fun cookie project for a large group or the whole family.

Here's how:

Make a batch cookie dough. Click here for my favorite sugar cookie recipe and click here for my favorite gingerbread recipe.

Lay your cut out cookies onto a sheetpan and make a hole in the top of them.

I used the end of my scribe tool to make the holes but you could use a dowel, straw or another tool to make about a quarter-inch size hole in the top of the cookie. It's important that you make the hole larger than you need it to be since it will close up a bit during baking.

For the gift tags, I outlined the baked and cooled cookies with red piping consistency icing and let that dry for about 15 minutes.

Then I flooded the cookie with ivory tinted icing and set the cookies aside to dry completely.

Once the cookie tags are dry, you can write on them with edible markers and thread a piece of twin or ribbon through them. The markers can be found online, in decorating supply shops and art and craft stores like Michael's and JoAnn's.

Gingerbread Trees

When you decide to go into decorated cookie mass production like I have this past week — I made and packaged more than 300 — It's imperative that you pick a doable design that's simple.

Because if you don't, and I've learned from experience, you will drive yourself absolutely crazy and the decorating will be tedious. And, intricate designs have a real tendency to look messy when you combine decorating with feeling overwhelmed.

Now simple doesn't mean boring or basic as these gingerbread trees prove. A simple cookie can still look very special with a smart design. I think these actually turned out quite elegant and the best part is that I accomplished a lot and enjoyed the process.

Here's how:

Make a batch of gingerbread trees. Click here for the recipe that I use.

With flood consistency royal icing and a #2 tip, outline the cookie.

Using the same icing and tip, immediately flood the cookie.

Use a skewer or scribe tool to help evenly distribute the icing and give the cookie a gentle shake to help the icing settle. Set the cookie aside to dry.

Let your cookies dry completely before moving onto the next step.

With medium consistency icing and a #2 tip, add the swirl details starting at the top left of the tree and working your way down the cookie. Medium consistency means icing that holds its shape but also settles and doesn't leave a peak. If you look at the design, it's just two linked capital cursive "L's" and very simple. It's a good idea to practice the design by first piping onto a plate so you get it just right before you go for it on a cookie.

Let the cookies dry completely before serving or packaging.

Gingerbread Lollipops

I chose to make these gingerbread lollipops for a recent fundraising sale at church because they are what I call a simple showstopper — Attention getting, yet quick to make.

The sticks that I used are candy apple sticks which take the heat of the oven and have a semi-pointed end that's easy to insert into the cookie.

Really, the only real trick to making these is to cut your cookies extra thick to accept the stick and then it's just two color wet-on-wet decorating and some basic packaging.

Here's how I made them:

Cut gingerbread rounds thicker than the diameter of the sticks you want to use.  Insert a stick into each cookie, pressing gently until it's more than half-way through it. Check the back of the cookie and if you see thin areas, you can press in a bit of extra dough for support.

Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake.

To decorate, add a touch of royal icing at the base of the cookie for extra support and then outline and fill the cookie. Immediately pipe on a spiral of another color and that's all there is to it. Leave the cookies to dry completely at room temperature.

Once dry, the cookies are super sturdy and easy to pick up.

I wrapped the gingerbread lollipops for the fundraising sale by clipping the adhesive strip off of a self-sealing cellophane bag and sliding it over the cookie. Then, I tied on the bag with a piece of ribbon and that's all there is to it!

Gingerbread Hearts

These Gingerbread Hearts are the perfect cookie decorating project for those who want to make cookies but want to start with something simple.

They come together quickly and the bonus is that baking them will make your house smell amazing and is sure to get you in the holiday spirit.

I made them using my favorite Gingerbread cookie recipe. The resulting cookies are soft and very gingery.

Use a small heart cutter to make them and then decorate them by just outlining and filling the cookies using medium consistency royal icing and a #2 tip. When I outline and fill small areas, I always use a thicker icing so that it's easier to control on the cookie. Aim for the consistency of yogurt. It isn't runny but is soft enough to not leave peaks and settles into place.

After filling the cookies you may need to use a skewer to scribe tool to move the icing and fill in all of the spaces. Give the cookie a gently shake to help the icing settle and that's it. Let the cookies dry completely before serving or packaging. 

Here are the recipes:

Gingerbread Cookie Dough
 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
4 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 teaspoon finely ground pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 large eggs
1 cup unsulfured molasses

Sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder into a large bowl. Set aside.

Put butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until fluffy. Mix in spices and salt, then eggs and molasses. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Divide dough into thirds; wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface to a 1/4-inch thick. With cookie cutters, cut into desired shapes. Space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.

Bake cookies until crisp but not dark, 10 to 14 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

Royal Icing
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons meringue powder
6 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Food coloring, optional

In a large bowl combine meringue powder, water and lemon juice and stir until meringue powder is dissolved. Add powdered sugar and with an electric mixer on low speed, beat until evenly moistened. Then beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form. Divide and tint as desired and add water a few drops at a time to get desired consistency. 

Snowy Scene Gingerbread Cookies

A round cutter and three colors of royal icing are all you need to make these Snowy Scene Gingerbread Cookies.

A cool 3-D effect on the cookie is created by adding the tree and a few additional snowflakes after the basecoat has dried. These are fun to make and there are so many design options depending on what colors you choose. Using black icing for the background would give you a night scene and you could even add a few gold dots for stars to the sky. A snowman would also be a cute and easy to pipe free-hand.

Here's how I decorated them and my favorite Gingerbread Cookie recipe:

Outline and flood the cookies with blue royal icing and immediately add different sized dots of white using medium consistency icing and a #1 tip. Let the cookies dry completely before moving onto the next step.

Using medium consistency green royal icing, outline and fill a tree in the center of the cookie.

Immediately add a few dots of medium consistency white icing on the tree and outline and fill a snowy bank under the tree.

The final step is to add a brown trunk with medium consistency royal icing and a #1 tip.

Let the cookies dry completely before serving or packaging.

Gingerbread Cookie Dough
6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
4 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 teaspoon finely ground pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 large eggs
1 cup unsulfured molasses

Sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder into a large bowl. Set aside.

Put butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until fluffy. Mix in spices and salt, then eggs and molasses. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Divide dough into thirds; wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface to a 1/4-inch thick. With cookie cutters, cut into desired shapes. Space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.

Bake cookies until crisp but not dark, 10 to 14 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

Gingerbread People

These gingerbread people are cute, bright and fun to make. Creating them will make your house smell fantastic and inject you with holiday cheer.

I used my favorite gingerbread recipe and a 6-inch cutter to make them. After baking, I made a big batch of royal icing and just got creative and tried to give the gingerbread people a bit of personality. I hope you give these a try, it really is fun.

Here's my recipe for royal icing:

Royal Icing
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons meringue powder
6 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Food coloring, optional

In a large bowl combine meringue powder, water and lemon juice and stir until meringue powder is dissolved. Add powdered sugar and with an electric mixer on low speed, beat until evenly moistened. Then beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form. Divide and tint as desired and add water a few drops at a time to get desired consistency.

And, here's how I decorated the Gingerbread People:

I started off by using piping consistency royal icing to add hair to the people.

For the pants, I outlined the shape with piping consistency royal icing and added three dots for buttons. After letting the icing dry for about 5 minutes, I filled the pants in with flood consistency icing in the same color.

For the dress, I outlined the shape and stripe with piping consistency blue royal icing. After the icing dried for a bit I filled in the dress with flood consistency blue royal icing and then immediately dropped in the white dots and stripe using flood consistency white royal icing.

I added some red detail to the dress with piping consistency icing. I also outlined and flooded the feet with green royal icing and outlined and filled the face and hands with tan royal icing. Two drops of blue for the eyes and a red mouth finish her off.

For a raised effect like the little red button on this girl's pants, add the drop of red royal icing after the base coat has dried.

This guy's "v" neck sweater was made by outlining the shape of the sweater and the neck and arm stripes with piping consistency red royal icing and then immediately filling in the rest of the sweater with flood consistency green royal icing.

Gingerbread Snowflakes Underway

A cookie project like this kind of takes over the kitchen.

I just finished baking my gingerbread snowflake cookies. It's been a long morning but boy does my house smell wonderful!

I have half of the baked cookies set out and ready for the basecoat of royal icing. I hope to have them finished by this evening and will post pictures.

Here's my favorite gingerbread cookie recipe:

Gingerbread Cookie Dough
 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
4 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 teaspoon finely ground pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 large eggs
1 cup unsulfured molasses

Sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder into a large bowl. Set aside.

Put butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until fluffy. Mix in spices and salt, then eggs and molasses. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Divide dough into thirds; wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface to a 1/4-inch thick. With cookie cutters, cut into desired shapes. Space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.

Bake cookies until crisp but not dark, 10 to 14 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

Gingerbread

Gingerbread cookie dough chilling in the refrigerator.

Today I'm creating some sample gingerbread snowflake cookies for our cookie box presale on December 2nd. The scent of spicy gingerbread is just the thing to get me in the spirit of happy holiday baking.

I've experimented with lots of recipes and my favorite is this one from Martha Stewart. The dough is forgiving and sturdy yet tender and delicious. The addition of a teaspoon of fine ground black pepper is unexpected but adds a nice spicy dimension.

I also like that one batch yields more than three dozen 3-inch cookies.

Gingerbread Cookie Dough
 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
4 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 teaspoon finely ground pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 large eggs
1 cup unsulfured molasses

Sift together flour, baking soda, and baking powder into a large bowl. Set aside.

Put butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until fluffy. Mix in spices and salt, then eggs and molasses. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Divide dough into thirds; wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface to a 1/4-inch thick. With cookie cutters, cut into desired shapes. Space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.

Bake cookies until crisp but not dark, 10 to 14 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.