Sparkly Snowflake Gingerbread Friends

This team of gingerbread treats is happily showing their winter spirit with Wilton Royal Snowflake Icing Decorations. Simple lines, dots and swirls of royal icing give each treat a personality of its own.

AmountMakes about 3-1/2 dozen cookies

Ingredients & Tools
Instructions

Instructions

Click to mark complete

Icing Colors Tinted
Use Color Right base colors and QuickCount color formulas to tint icing in the following shades:
- Pastel Pink: 2 cups white royal icing + 1P
- Reserve remaining royal icing white
Oneday in advance, prepare gingerbread cookie dough. Roll out 1/8 in thick; cut gingerbread boys and place on parchment-lined cookie sheet.
Position snowflake icing decoration on cookie, centered between the arms; fold arms over snowflake.
Bake and cool cookies.
Prepare royal icing. Tint 2 cups pink following formula above; thin with 1 teaspoon water. Place pink and white icing in separate decorating bags fitted with tip 1.
Pipe outline facial features using white icing. Pipe dot cheeks with pastel pink; pat down if needed with finger dipped in cornstarch. Pipe white outline accents on arms and legs. Let dry 4-5 hours.

Notes

- Wait one day before eating.
  Let cookies sit in an airtight container for 24 hours to allow the flavors to bloom. This also allows the cookie to absorb some moisture from the filling, which helps it stay intact when bitten into.
- Use room temperature ingredients.
  Make sure to use room temperature egg whites in your batter. Store-bought liquid egg whites or meringue powder will not create a meringue batter that is strong enough for macarons.
- Use aged egg whites.
  "Aged" egg whites are necessary to help prevent over-whipping and create stiff peaks. Make sure to separate your egg whites a day prior, refrigerated in an air-tight container. Bring your egg whites back to room temperature when ready to use. Having the egg whites at room temperature helps them whip up better. Never use cartoned egg whites or meringue powder for making macarons.
- Test for proper batter consistency.
  Use the figure 8 method. Lift a small amount of batter with a spatula and drop it back into the bowl in a figure 8 motion. The batter is ready to pipe when the 8 is absorbed back into the batter within 10 seconds.
- Trace outlines on parchment paper.
  Trace circles on the back of your parchment paper in pencil using the macaron template. You can also use a 1-inch cookie cutter or another round object to trace circles.
- Use grease-free utensils and bowls.
- Use gel food or ultra-concentrated coloring.
  Liquid food coloring can negatively affect macaron batter.
Macaron Troubleshooting
- Hollow shells: Hollow shells occur when egg whites are over-whipped or under-whipped. To prevent this, make sure your egg whites reach stiff peaks.
- Cracked tops: Cracked tops typically occur when there's too much air in the batter. After piping macarons, make sure to rap the baking tray against your counter to remove any air bubbles.
- No feet: The most common reason feet don't develop is because macarons didn't develop a skin before going into the oven. Always allow piped macaron batter to sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes to develop skin. Another reason may be that the batter is too wet, which may be caused by coloring or flavoring.