Edible Gingerbread Men Garland
This Edible Gingerbread Men Garland is super easy to make and a great way to get your family and friends together for a fun project! Make and bake the gingerbread ahead of time and then gather everyone around for a cookie decorating party. Watch as everyone gives life and personalty to these delicious cookies and then string them together into a cute garland that you can hang up as a simple decoration around the house. Then once you are done admiring your beautiful garland, just go ahead and start taking a bite out of them.
I recommend stringing them up right before you plan on having your party or gathering, or right before you plan on eating them. And if you don’t feel like making a garland with the cookies, well, at least you can enjoy homemade gingerbread men cookies just as they are! They’re actually quite tasty. Use the same dough to make gingerbread houses as well! It’s a great cookie base for all of your gingerbread needs!
Edible Gingerbread Men Garland
Equipment
- Mixer
- Rolling Pin
- Gingerbread man cookie cutter
- Baking sheet
- Piping bags with tips
Ingredients
Cookies:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ¼ cup vegetable shortening
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup molasses unsulfured
- 1 lemon zested
- 1 teaspoon dark rum or vanilla extract
Royal Icing:
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons meringue powder
- 3 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and spices. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and vegetable shortening. Add the brown sugar and mix until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and stir well until completely combined. Mix in the molasses, lemon zest and rum. Add the dry ingredients, in parts, and stir until the dough comes together. It should be soft and slightly sticky to the touch. Divide the dough in half and wrap each half, tightly, with plastic wrap forming them into disks. Place in the fridge and allow to chill for at least 3 hours or overnight. It can be made up to three days in advance.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Working with one dough disk at a time—keeping the second disk in the fridge—roll it out onto a lightly floured work surface. The thicker you roll out the dough, the chewier the cookies will be. And the thinner you roll it out, the crispier they will get. You can decide how to roll it, depending on your taste for gingerbread. Cut into gingerbread men shapes and place on baking sheets, lined with parchment paper, about 2 inches apart. Using the small end of a plain circle decorating tip, cut out two holes in the center of each cookie. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Remove the sheets from the oven and allow the cookies to cool for 2 minutes on the pan. Transfer the cookies to wire racks and allow to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Whisk together the icing ingredients until completely smooth. If you want a thicker icing, add less water. If your icing is too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar. Pour the icing into a piping bag, fitted with a small round tip, or into a food storage bag with the end cut off. Decorate the cookies as you wish. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes to set the icing.
- String the cookies together using ribbon or sturdy cooking twine and hang right before you plan on enjoying them! Enjoy!
