Easy peasy, whimsical and sweet, this gingerbread girl was so fun to make. I’m going to get right down to it and let you know all the details on how to make her, as decorating my Christmas tree is next on my list, and I can’t wait to start. So happy cookie and tree decorating to you as well, and please feel free to drop me a comment below if you have any questions!
How to Decorate Gingerbread Girl Cookies with Royal Icing
Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
The gingerbread cookie recipe can be found here. There are other cut-out cookie recipes here.
What you’ll need (these are affiliate links):
For the dough, I used a large rolling pin and the*Dough E-Z Mat to roll out the dough. You’ll also need baking sheets.
*I would like you to know that I will receive an affiliate commission if you purchase the Dough E-Z mat through my site and I only recommend products that I love and use myself. You can get 10% off your purchase of the Dough E-Z mat with coupon code sweetopia.
Thanks to Miss Kate Cuttables for allowing me to share the gingerbread man design which I purchased on their site here. I had the cookie cutter custom made through How Sweet is That?, but the cutters are not allowed to be sold. You can find similar gingerbread man and girl cutters here. You could take a gingerbread boy cutter and add a gumpaste or fondant bow to make it more girly.
Royal Icing
You can find my favorite royal icing recipe here. The consistency of icing is key for easy decorating. Click here to see a YouTube video on finding the right icing thickness.
Icing gel paste colors used; Wilton brown, Wilton black, Wilton no-taste red, Wilton ivory, Wilton pink
Decorating Items
What you’ll need (these are affiliate links):
- Piping Tips – PME #1.5, PME #4
- Piping Bags
- Couplers
- Gel paste colors
- Scribe Tool or Toothpicks
Decorating Steps
This video on outlining and flooding is a good place to start if you’re new to decorating cookies with royal icing. These cookie decorating basics YouTube videos may also be helpful to get you started.
Her counterpart, the gingerbread boy, can be seen in this tutorial.
If you have any questions or comments please feel free to drop me a line below in the comment section or on social media. You can find me on Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and YouTube.
Happy baking!
xo,
Marian
Jackie says
Hi Marian! I love your site! I’m trying to make show stopper cookie. I tried my good friends shortbread recipe but it fell flat, literally, the dough spread – a lot! I notice you’re not in love with the flavor of sugar cookies, what would you recommend for a very yummy cookie dough that can hold it’s shape? Thanks!
marian says
Hi Jackie,
Thank you! It’s true; I’d rather eat a decadent piece of chocolate cake with yummy frosting (most of the time), but I do actually like sugar cookies and have a recipe which I humbly (ha ha) think is delicious. There are some tips to follow to help cookies prevent from spreading as well, so here are some posts for you if you’d like to try my sugar cookies out:
https://sweetopia.net/2009/12/sugar-cookie-recipe/
https://sweetopia.net/2011/04/top-8-tips-on-preventing-cookies-from-spreading/
All the best! xo
Maria Theresia says
Hi Marian,
very interesting talented lesson of how to decorate your style of cookies. Love your site. Your gingerbread girl is sweet. You make it look so easy!
Thank you for sharing.
ML
marian says
Hi Maria Theresia,
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! xo
niloo says
Hello Dear Marian
I am an Iranian girl and I love decorating cookies
Your blog is great
Which is just the best gingerbread cookie recipe?
Thank you
marian says
Hi Niloo,
Thanks! Here is my favorite gingerbread cookie recipe; https://sweetopia.net/2016/11/video-recipe-how-to-make-gingerbread-cut-out-cookies-decorate-gingerbread-men-with-royal-icing/
Ann Baker says
Love, love your decorating. Any substitute for the Lactantia butter & maple butter?
Sarah says
I noticed you say to wait 6-12 hours for cookies to dry but in this video you only waited “at least 15 minutes”. My question is when you’re decorating how do you know how long to wait in between layers? Thank you for your time!
marian says
Hi Sarah,
I wait longer if the base icing is lighter than the color I’m putting on top, for example, my base is yellow and the next layer or details are darker. This helps prevent bleeding. (A full post on that is here if you like; https://sweetopia.net/2011/07/how-to-avoid-spots-on-icing/).
Another factor I consider is whether or not I will need to shake the cookie to help the icing settle. For example if I need to pipe a second layer that has quite a bit of icing which I’ll likely need to gently shake or use a scribe tool to push around the icing, then I will wait until the base is completely dry. I usually break my decorating up and do it the next day. That being said you don’t NEED to do that, you could just wait 15 mins to an hour or so, you just may end up having a bit of cracking here and there on your base if you don’t wait.
If I were decorating this gingerbread girl in the post, I don’t need to wait as long for the base to dry because the details on top of the base (the line around the perimeter, face etc.) are quite simple.
I hope that helps!
In case you’re interested, here is a post on how I usually break up my cookie decorating schedule here:
https://sweetopia.net/2011/11/cookie-making-schedule-free-printables-ballet-tutu-cookies/
and I think you mentioned elsewhere you’ll be doing classes so this post might help:
https://sweetopia.net/2016/08/teaching-cookie-decorating-classes-for-kids-preparation-tips/
Have fun!