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Gingerbread Story Cookie

Amber Spiegel, SweetAmbs

SweetAmbs shows us a cute and cozy twist on the classic gingerbread house with this beautifully decorated, buttery design! Just grab your cookie cutters, bake gingerbread cookies and make royal icing, and follow along with SweetAmbs as she shows how she brings this festive gingerbread cookie to life.
1 hr Prep Time
10 min Cook Time
  • Prep Time: 1 hr
  • Cook Time: 10 min

Ingredients

  • 1 batch gingerbread cookies
  • 1 batch royal icing
  • House cookie cutter
  • Gingerbread man cookie cutter
  • Wax paper
  • Gingerbread templates
  • Food coloring
  • 15-second count royal icing in pink. (Test the consistency by taking a spoonful of icing out of the bowl and dropping it back in. It should take about 15 seconds for the icing to be completely smooth)
  • 30-second count royal icing in white, red, and teal
  • Soft peak royal icing in white, teal, and red
  • 12” decorating bags with couplers
  • Decorating tip numbers 1, 2, and 3
  • 1 tsp granulated sugar (optional)
  • Scriber needle or toothpick
  • Yellow, orange, brown, blue, gray, and white food coloring for painting (or use ready-made edible paint)
  • Vodka or any flavor extract to mix with food coloring to use as paint
  • Decorator brush

Instructions

Step 1

Cut the gingerbread cookies from a chilled sheet of cookie dough. Trim the arms from the gingerbread man and cut another set of arms to bake separately.

Step 2

Bake and cool the cookie according to the recipe instructions.

Step 3

Trace the windows onto the house cookie with a scribe tool or toothpick.

Step 4

Fill in the windows with white 30-second count royal icing and a decorating tip 2. Use the scribe tool or toothpick to help shape the icing.

Step 5

Fill in the rest of the house (except for the chimney) with pink 15-second count royal icing and a decorating tip 3. Use the scribe tool or toothpick to help shape the icing. Set the cookie aside to dry.

Step 6

Cover the gingerbread templates with a piece of wax paper.

Step 7

Fill in the components with red, teal, and white 30-second count royal icing.

Step 8

For the pompom on the hat, fill in the small circle and then cover it with granulated sugar. Remove the excess sugar and continue filling in the rest of the components. Set them aside to dry overnight.

Step 9

Carefully remove the icing components from the wax paper.

Step 10

Using a mixture of food coloring and vodka or edible paints, paint the glass of milk blue on the top and around the edges. Add shading with gray and a reflection with white.

Step 11

Pipe a rim around the glass with red soft peak royal icing.

Step 12

Paint the windows on the house with yellow and add orange around the edges. Blend the colors to create a glowing effect.

Step 13

Attach the candy cane sticks around the windows with a little bit of soft peak white royal icing and a decorating tip 1.

Step 14

Paint bricks on the chimney with brown edible paint.

Step 15

Attach the peppermint round and candy canes to the house with the white soft peak icing.

Step 16

Use the white soft peak icing and a decorating tip 3 to pipe snow on the chimney and along the roof of the house.

Step 17

Attach the hat and scarf to the gingerbread man. Use the soft peak teal and red icing to add a knit texture.

Step 18

Attach the glass of milk to the cookie.

Step 19

Attach the arms to the cookie to look like they are holding the glass (if you like, you can remove the tails of the scarf and reattach them so that it is draped over the arm).

Step 20

Pipe details on the gingerbread man’s hands, feet, and face with white soft peak icing and a decorating tip 1.

Step 21

Attach the gingerbread man to the house.