Simple Iced Gingerbread Man Cookies

Posted on December 1, 2013
Hi Everybody! Happy December and happy first Sunday of Advent! It is terribly cold here and it feels like winter has arrived, now all we need is some snow! I’m so excited to start decorating our home for Christmas; our tree is all set up and waiting to be decorated, the Christmas movies are out ready to be watched, and some Christmas treats have already been baked! Decorating the tree is one of my favorite things to do at Christmas time, and when my husband and I were first married I wanted to get the biggest, most beautiful (real) Christmas tree I could find for our first Christmas together. Being the (very) picky person that I am, we searched for hours in the cold to find the perfect tree and finally found The One, the biggest tree there, with the most perfectly spaced branches and the most wonderful piney Christmas smell. My Christmas mission was complete and it was all perfect, until the tree fell during the night because it was SO big, and half of my precious ornaments broke! Needless to say, we now have a fake tree, but it’s still just as beautiful, and a little safer! Baking Christmas cookies, especially gingerbread cookies, is another one of my favorite traditions, and I wanted to share my first ones of the year with you today! There will be lots more to come, so make sure to come back over the next couple of weeks!
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SIMPLE ICED GINGERBREAD MAN COOKIES
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YOU WILL NEED
COOKIES
Use a homemade gingerbread cookie recipeย or use a store bought mix.
ICING
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 – 3 tsp milk
2 – 3 tsp light corn syrup
Gel food coloring
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DIRECTIONS
First, make your cookies. Once they have cooled, make your icing. You may need to add more liquid to it, depending on your desired consistency of the icing. Once you have your icing, add your food coloring (I used the Wilton gel food colors, they work very well and you only need a little bit of them to get rich colored icing) to get a beige color (I don’t have an exact formula for this color, I usually just experiment and tweak the color until I get what I need). This will be your base color. Then, take out about a quarter of the icing, and use more food coloring to get it darker, this will be for the buttons. Next, using a plastic piping bag with your icing, outline your gingerbread man cookie with the beige icing, then “flood” the inside, and spread it around using a toothpick to help you smooth it out. Wait a couple of minutes for the icing to set, then use another piping bag with the darker icing to make the buttons. This recipe only makes a small amount of icing, so you may need to double it if you are making a big batch of cookies! (Note: You can also substitute more milk or use egg whites instead of the light corn syrup if you don’t want to use it, it just makes the icing more shiny.)
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For another Christmas cookie idea, check out my Snowy Tree Sugar Cookies HERE!
Happy Baking, Everyone!

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  • Leslie December 1, 2013 at 7:58 pm

    Your cookies are adorable! I love gingerbread boy cookies, and they make up the theme of my kitchen Christmas decor!
    Sorry about your beautiful real tree, but I’m sure your fake one is gorgeous, too! ๐Ÿ™‚
    Blessings,
    Leslie

    • Maria December 1, 2013 at 9:27 pm

      Thanks, Leslie! They were fun to make! I love gingerbread man cookies too, what a great theme for your kitchen! It sounds so cute! Hope you have a wonderful start to the Christmas season and enjoy lots of firsts with your children! ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Courtney Killpack December 2, 2013 at 10:57 am

    These are perfection! I love making gingerbread men and you did an awesome job decorating these!

    • Maria December 2, 2013 at 6:23 pm

      Thank you so much, Courtney! They were so fun to decorate! Thanks for stopping by!

  • Stacey December 2, 2013 at 1:03 pm

    Gingerbread men are my favourite treat! I haven’t found the perfect recipe yet, I might try yours this year!

    xoxo
    Stacey
    Five Minute Style 

    • Maria December 2, 2013 at 6:24 pm

      They are one of my favorites too! There’s nothing that smells more like Christmas than gingerbread cookies! ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Denise @ Soup Spice Everything Nice December 2, 2013 at 8:19 pm

    Hi! Maria, New follower here. Thank you for stopping by Soup Spice Everything Nice. These gingerbread men are right up my alley. The ratio of icing to gingerbread looks perfect. I also love both holiday treat bags you have made. My Deviled Pecans would be perfect in those bags. Thanks for taking the time to visit on comment on them. Have a great day!

  • cooking with curls December 2, 2013 at 9:33 pm

    Those are awesome Maria! I love that they are not the traditional white piped line around the outside edge…you are so creative. ๐Ÿ™‚

  • marty (A Stroll Thru Life) December 3, 2013 at 9:25 am

    I love your pretty iced cookies, they look fabulous. Thanks so much for linking to Inspire Me. Hugs, marty

  • Heather Kinnaird December 4, 2013 at 10:27 pm

    your icing is perfection!

  • Debi and Charly @ Adorned From Above December 10, 2013 at 4:40 pm

    Your gingerbread men are so cute. Thanks so much for sharing with Adorned From Above’s Link Party. Have a great week.
    Debi and Charly @ Adorned From Above
    http://www.adornedfromabove.com

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