GingerDead Men Cookies
These GingerDead Men cookies are the perfect Halloween treat. They’re easy to make, don’t require much time, and are also kind of funny. Who knew that simply chopping off the head of a gingerbread man would make such a delightfully spooky dessert? I’m going to outline how I made these cookies below, but they really don’t require a ton of instruction. You can probably figure out how to make these just by looking at the picture. However, I’ll go through and explain how I got my results and provide some tips and tricks. I also don’t give recipes for the dough or the icing in this post, so just use whatever recipes you have on hand or do a quick google search as it really doesn’t matter too much.
You will need: a gingerbread man cookie cutter, one portion gingerbread cookie dough, one portion royal icing, red food coloring, icing bag (or sandwich bag)
step 1: Make and bake your cookies according to your recipe. Make your royal icing as the cookies cool.
step 2: Separate your royal icing into two portions. Color one portion a deep red with your red food coloring. Leave the other portion white.
step 3: Once your cookies are cool, chop off their heads. I chose to bake them with their heads on and then break them off, but you could bake them with their heads off by removing the dough with a knife before baking. I like doing it after they’re baked to create jagged edges on the necks (and so I can snack on the little heads).
step 4: Take your decapitated cookies one by one and dip the necks in the red food coloring. I used a spoon and scooped up some royal icing, then dipped my cookies neck first onto the spoon, then slowly moved the spoon away from the cookie causing a drip effect. That may be a horrible explanation, but if you play around you will find what works for you. If you mess up you can always wipe away the icing and try again. It may stain the cookie, but that’s actually a good thing for this recipe.
step 5: Using the white royal icing, finish decorating your cookies. Spoon the icing into an icing bag or sandwich bag and cut the tip. Enjoy yourself as you decorate your gingerdead men any way you like. I chose a classic christmas cookie style which I thought was nicely juxtaposed by the morbidity of the bloody stump of a neck. Leave the cookies out to dry and make sure the royal icing has hardened before storing.
And thats it. I hope you make these fun and easy cookies this Halloween and please let me know in the comments how it goes. Stay Spooky🕸