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Holiday Ornament Cookies

Amber Spiegel, SweetAmbs

These Ornament Cookies are a beautiful decorated cookie to add to your holiday baking list this season. They may look a little complicated, but once you break down the steps--and use the right equipment--they are really quite simple.
30 min Prep Time
0 min Cook Time
  • Prep Time: 30 min
  • Cook Time: 0 min

Ingredients

  • 1 batch gingerbread cookie dough
  • 1 batch royal icing
  • Plaque or ornament cookie cutter
  • Paring knife to trim the cookies
  • Decorating tip 5 to cut a small hole in the cookies (optional)
  • 15-second count royal icing in light green, dark pink, light blue, light 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)
  • Piping consistency royal icing in white (this consistency is thick enough to hold its shape when piped, but not so thick that it’s difficult to squeeze)
  • 12” decorating bags
  • Decorating tip 1 and 2
  • Couplers
  • Scriber needle or toothpick
  • White, pink, green and blue pearl dust (I used Wilton brand, which is available at most craft stores in the cake decorating aisle)
  • Paint palette or small dishes for holding pearl dust
  • Vodka or any flavored extract for painting with pearl dust
  • Eyedropper to add alcohol to pearl dust
  • Soft round brush
  • Granulated sugar in a shallow dish
  • Ribbon for hanging cookies (optional)

Instructions

Step 1

Cut plaque-shape cookies from a chilled sheet of gingerbread dough.

Step 2

Use a paring knife to shape the cookies into ornaments.

Step 3

If you’d like to hang the cookies for decoration, cut a small hole in the top with a decorating tip 5.

Step 4

Bake and cool the cookies according to the recipe instructions.

Step 5

Ice the cookies in different patterns using the 15-second count royal icing and a decorating tip 2. Use the scriber needle or toothpick to help shape the icing. Allow the icing to dry completely, about 8 hours.

Step 6

Place a small amount of white and pink pearl dust into a paint palette or small dishes. Add pink, blue and green pearl dust to the white pearl dust to create pale shades. Add a few drops of vodka or flavored extract to form a paint. Mix well with a soft round brush.

Step 7

Apply the pearl dust mixture to the icing using the soft round brush. The pearl dust paint will be dry within a few minutes.

Step 8

Pipe different patterns using white piping consistency royal icing and a decorating tip 1. Dip the cookies into a dish of granulated sugar. Only work on one small section at a time so that the icing doesn’t dry before you have a chance to dip it into the sugar.

Step 9

If you’d like to hang the cookies for decoration, tie a ribbon through the hole.