Okay, here’s my blog post about decorating gingerbread men, written in a casual, personal style:
So, I decided to get all festive and bake some gingerbread men this weekend. I’d never actually decorated them properly before, just kind of slapped some icing on and called it a day. But this time, I wanted to go all out!
First, I mixed up a batch of gingerbread dough. The smell alone was enough to get me in the holiday spirit! I used that basic recipe, the one you know always works. Then I rolled it out – not too thin, not too thick – and used my trusty gingerbread man cookie cutter. I got a whole army of little dudes ready for the oven.
While they were baking, I whipped up some royal icing. This is the key, people! I separated it into a few different bowls and added food coloring. Red, green, white, of course… but I also went a little crazy and made some blue and yellow, too.
The Fun Part: Decorating!
Once the cookies were cool, it was time to get creative. I loaded up some piping bags with the different colored icings. I don’t have any fancy piping tips, so I just snipped the tiniest bit off the corner of the bags. Worked like a charm!
Here’s what I tried:
- Classic buttons: Little dots of white icing down the front. Easy peasy.
- Smiley faces: Red icing for a big grin. You can’t have a gingerbread man without a smile!
- Zigzag scarves: I used green and red icing to make stripes. A little wobbly, but hey, that’s part of the charm.
- Fancy pants: I gave some of them blue “pants” with white icing outlines.
- Hairs:I did make different color for their hairs.
I also had some sprinkles and those little candy eyes on hand. The eyes really bring them to life! I stuck those on with a tiny dab of icing.
Honestly, it was so much fun. And a little messy. My kitchen looked like a rainbow exploded, but it was totally worth it. The gingerbread men turned out super cute, even if some of them looked a little… wonky. They tasted amazing, though!
My big takeaway? Don’t be afraid to experiment! There’s no right or wrong way to decorate a gingerbread man. Just have fun with it, and enjoy the process (and the delicious results!).
