What happens if I don’t chill the gingerbread dough?

Chilling the gingerbread dough is very important; without it, rolling out the dough for shaping and handling the dough becomes very challenging. Also, the gingerbread men are prone to spreading in the oven if the dough isn't chilled beforehand.

Can I make gingerbread cookie dough in advance?

Yes, you can make gingerbread cookie dough well in advance! Once you make the dough store it in the refrigerator for up to three days. Or you can freeze it for two months. Make sure to wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and then place it in a freezer bag.

Gingerbread Men

Royal Icing

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A classic, simple royal icing recipe that can be used to fancy up cookies, cakes, and all sorts of treats.

Author: Alie Romano
Prep Time: 8 mins
Total Time: 8 mins
Yield: 2 cups 1x
Category: Dessert
Cuisine: British

Ingredients

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2 egg whites, at room temperature
2 cups sifted icing sugar
1–2 teaspoons lemon juice (optional)

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Instructions

In a clean, dry bowl of a stand mixer, whisk egg whites until foamy (about 3 minutes), add lemon juice if using.
Slowly add icing sugar.
Raise the speed to medium – high until icing is thick and shiny. This should take about 3 minutes (If you feel the mixture is still too runny at this point you can add more icing sugar to help stiffen it up, just add a little at a time).
Add icing to a piping bag and pipe on cooled cookies.
Let air dry for at least an hour or until rock hard.

Notes

Royal icing is a bit of a trial and error to find the consistency that you like to work with (thick or runny). Rule of thumb is one egg white to one cup of icing sugar. Remember when the icing is runny the icing will spread out.
Also the icing needs lots of time to air dry (I like to let my cookies air dry overnight).
The cookies will keep 2-3 weeks in an air tight container.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 Tablespoon
Calories: 44
Sugar: 10.7g
Sodium: 3mg
Carbohydrates: 10.9g
Protein: 0.3g

Find it online: https://bakingforfriends.com/gingerbread-men/