How to Make Edible Gingerbread Cookie Ornaments
"Catch me if you can! I'm the gingerbread man!" Where? There on your tree, as Gingerbread Cookie Ornaments!
As a girl, I grew up making and decorating sugar cookies with my mother. My grandmother, Nan, made the ginger cookies from her old Swedish recipe. They were rolled thin and cut with her round, fluted edged cookie cutter.
Gingerbread cookies were something I first tried when I was a young Home Ec teacher looking for a fun Christmas activity for my students.
We loved making them! They were more sturdy cookies and the dough lent itself to rolling and cut out cookies as well as hand built cookie figures.
I posted this ornament craft several years ago here on the blog, but thought it would be fun to share again. This round, I added a few extra tips, and added in the full recipe for the dough!
An Easy Gingerbread Recipe
I don’t know who to credit this recipe to (I am no longer a young Home Ec teacher!!), but find many similar ones to it online. I share it with gratefulness to whomever shared it with me years before the internet.
Mix up the simple dough according to the instructions below. This is a great simple recipe to have the little ones help you make, though be sure to instruct them around the heated ingredients in the first several steps!
Tip: There are packaged Gingerbread Cookie Mixes. I’m sure they would work fine if you are needing to save some time.
Tips for Making Edible Ornaments
I’ve found it important to have the dough refrigerated for awhile as it gets softer and stickier as it is handled. The recipe calls to refrigerate the dough for 2 hours, or overnight.
Once you are ready to make your ornaments, be aware that the kids want to play with it like play dough. This can make it sticky quick, so if you can steer them towards getting the cookies made as soon as possible that is a good idea.
It’s OK to make a few cookies and then put the dough back in the fridge to chill again until making a few more if need be. Put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or longer to make it more firm, and easier to manipulate.
We put a piece of waxed paper down in front of each child and gave them each a chunk of gingerbread dough. The Christmas Cookie Cutters were in the center of the table.
This time they all used the Christmas Cookie Cutters, but the dough can be used to hand build little figures if you prefer. If you choose this option, try to keep the cookies from getting too thick. It’s hard to get them to bake evenly.
It worked really well to just pat the dough down into a flat pancake about ⅜ in thick. You can use a Wood Rolling Pin to roll out the dough of course.
Choosing Your Christmas Ornament Shapes
Littles can be taught to fit the Christmas Cookie Cutters shapes close together on the dough to get several cut out at the same time. It’s like a puzzle!
Smash up the unused dough and roll it out again to make even more cookie ornaments. Remember, you can place it back in the refrigerator if it is getting difficult to handle!
The cookies can be peeled off the waxed paper and placed on an ungreased cookie sheet. You may prefer using a thin spatula, but I kept mashing the cookie shape that way!
I always recommend the AirBake Cookie Sheets. I’m so much less likely to burn the cookies that way!! Truth alert- I did burn one sheet of cookies because I pulled out the wrong cookie sheet. Bummer!!
Once on the cookie sheet, we used a drinking straw to make holes in the top of the cookies so we could add a ribbon and hang them. Place the holes at least ⅜ inch from the edge and centered on the top of the cookie.
Tip: Some of the holes baked shut and I used the straw to make them bigger again as soon as they came out of the oven and were still soft.
Bake the cookies, then allow to cool completely on the cookie sheets. You will love the spicy cinnamon smell that comes from the oven while baking. It will make your whole house smell like Christmas!
How to Decorate Gingerbread Ornaments
If you would like, the cookies can be decorated with Cookie Icing. We used white icing in a tube and the smallest circular tip to edge our cookies. The Red Hots made fun decorating as well. Of course you can ice the whole cookie if you want, but the edging is so cute on a tree ornament.
After the icing has had some time to dry, run a ribbon or Gold Cord through the hole at the top of the cookie.
How Long Do Gingerbread Ornaments Last?
Hang the ornaments on the tree and enjoy the cinnamon smell of these old fashioned gingerbread cookie ornaments for the whole Christmas season.
Or…eat them instead! They are so good!
If they do last long enough to make it to the tree, you can keep them up for several weeks through the holiday season. I wouldn't recommend keeping them beyond the Christmas season as they can spoil. But don't worry, that just means making these edible Gingerbread Ornaments can become a Christmastime tradition for every year!
What you'll need to make Gingerbread Cookie Ornaments
Gingerbread cookie dough, chilled (made from the recipe below or use a packaged Gingerbread Cookie Mix)
Wood Rolling Pin (optional)
Cookie Icing- tube icing
Icing tips for decorating (if needed for your tubed icing)
Red Hots (optional)
Ribbon or Gold Cord for hanging cookies as ornaments
More Homemade Christmas Ornament Ideas
If you are getting a kick out making your own Christmas ornaments, go ahead and give these a try too!
Easy Glass Pebble Christmas Ornaments
DIY Sparkling Wire & Bead Ornaments
Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments
Enjoy!
If you try this craft, let me know! Go ahead and leave a comment, rate it, and tag a photo with #WelcometoNanas wherever you post.
How to Make Gingerbread Cookie Ornaments
Equipment
- AirBake Cookie Sheets
- Christmas Cookie Cutters
- Wood Rolling Pin (optional)
- Icing tips for decorating (if needed for your tubed icing)
Items Required
- 1 cup Margarine (or butter)
- ⅔ cup Packed Brown Sugar
- ⅔ cup Molasses (or corn syrup)
- 1 ½ teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 Egg beaten
- 4 cups All Purpose Flour
- ¾ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Ginger
- ½ teaspoon Cloves
- Cookie Icing- tube icing
- Red Hots (optional)
- Ribbon or Gold Cord for hanging cookies as ornaments
Instructions
- In a saucepan, combine the margarine (or butter), sugar, and molasses (or corn syrup.
- Cook and stir over medium heat until the margarine is melted and sugar dissolves. Pour into a mixing bowl.
- Stir in vanilla, then cool 5 minutes. Add the egg, mix well.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, mix well.
- Cover and chill 2 hours, or overnight.
- Put a piece of waxed paper down in front of each child and give them each a chunk of gingerbread dough.
- Roll or pat the dough down into a flat pancake about ⅜ in thick, then use cookie cutters to cut as many shapes out of the dough as will fit.
- Peel the cookies off the waxed paper and placed on an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Once on the cookie sheet, we used a drinking straw to make holes in the top of the cookies so we could add a ribbon and hang them. Place the holes at least ⅜ inch from the edge and centered on the top of the cookie.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheets.
- Decorate the cooled cookies with white icing and red hots, or use your favorite icing colors and candy!
- Thread string through the holes in the cookies, and tie into a loop. Hang on your Christmas tree and enjoy all season long!
Alison says
What’s the oven temp and how long do you bake them?