From left to right: Target 8-piece cookie cutter set, $6.99; Betty Crocker decorating tips, gingerbread cookie mix (with egg + butter), & white, green, & red icing; grocery-store-brand red hots & sprinkles.
Decorating gingerbread cookies is awesome, but making gingerbread cookies? Not so much. Year after year, I'd follow recipes to the letter, only to pull out a pan of hard, over-spiced sadness. So this year I just used Betty Crocker everything (plus cheap Kroger "decors"), and the result was a hit.
Pre-bake image. Love these cookie cutters!
I was extra impressed with the Betty Crocker gingerbread cookie mix. The cookies did taste like they came from a mix, but only slightly. The balance of spices and chewy texture were excellent, and best of all, it was easy. I know there's been a backlash against "easy way out" cooking, but sometimes a girl just wants to throw a party.
Tragically, these were all decorated by adults.
I liked everything about this article except for the use of cookie mix. I prefer to make the cookies from scratch but the rest is right on. Decorating the cookies is really the fun part.
I tried to make some of these and they didnt look nearly as good as your.
From scratch is definitely better. I had to cook dinner too, otherwise I’d have put more effort into the cookies.
In fact, I was going to use this recipe, which looks amazing:
http://manggy.blogspot.com/2007/11/thick-and-chewy-gingerbread-cookies.html
They look tasty. I think I will try making these tonight, but maybe without the xmas theme. Thanks