i am a food blog

I know the season of gingerbread is over, but I couldn’t resist making these little gingerbread corgis. I get that gingerbread is associated with Christmas, but I think it’s really a winter cookie; I love the warmth of the spices and fresh gingerbread out of the oven on a cold day can’t be beat.

Of course these guys aren’t right out of the oven – they’ve had a lot of time to cool off before being decorated. Decorating cookies with royal icing is something that I find deeply satisfying. I even had a short stint as a professional cookie decorator. Real talk: I just decorated cookies and sold them at a local bake sale, but it’s kind of sort of like being professional, right?

Anyway, these corgi cookies are so cute that after I finished decorating, I stared at them for a good five minutes. Mike walked into the kitchen and asked me what I was doing and I was so entranced that it took me a couple of seconds to reply. Corgis are one of my favorite dog breeds (dachshund are the other) and I’m forever trying to decide if I want a corgi dog or a wiener dog.

I feel like they both have really good qualities and are kind of similar. They both have short legs and long bodies and are absurdly cute. Both breeds seem to have fun personalities too. To be honest, some of my favorite Instagram accounts are actually dogs. Dogs just too cute, like these cookies.

If you have a corgi lover in your life, or if you just love gingerbread, I hope you give these cookies a try. The gingerbread recipe is one that I’ve been making for over ten years, adapted from an old photocopy of a recipe that my sister-in-law gave me back in the day – to be honest I’m not sure where the recipe is from. I like it because unlike other recipes I’ve tried, it’s not too hard or crispy, even once it cools. I also upped the ground ginger in it to make it extra gingery.

If you are interested in making cutout cookies and decorating them, here are a couple of tips:

1. If the recipe you’re using has a chilling time, make sure you chill the dough, it helps prevent spreading when you bake.
2. In a similar vein, if I have the time, I’ll actually chill the cut out cookies in the fridge.
3. Let the cookies cool completely before icing otherwise the residual heat will cause the icing to melt.
4. It’s best to let the icing “cure” overnight. Sometimes it looks dry but it’ll dent.
5. Practice! I really does make perfect. Plus if your cookies don’t come out looking how you want them to, you always get to eat them.

Have fun with it! Oh, and let me know: corgi or dachshund?

PS – Here’s the link for the corgi cutter!

Gingerbread Corgi Cookie Recipe
makes 20 corgi cookies
prep time: 30 minutes
bake time: 10-15 minutes
total time: 2-3 hours plus overnight drying

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup fancy molasses
• 1 large egg yolk
• royal icing*

Sift the first 8 ingredients into a bowl and set aside. In another bowl, cream the butter with the sugar and molasses until fluffy and light. Beat in the egg yolk. Stir in the dry ingredients until mixed well. Divide the dough into two disks, wrap with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour minimum.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Roll out the cookies, cut with a corgi cutter (or desired shape) and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on size. Let cool completely before icing.

To ice: outline the orange/brown parts of the corgi and fill in. Outline the white parts and let dry for 1 hour. Pipe on the eyes and noses. Let dry overnight.

I used this royal icing recipe and I found that it worked really well. But if you don’t have meringue powder, I’ve also used this one, and it works equally as well. If you’re looking for icing tips, check this out.

cookiecorgigingerbreadicingroyal icing